Assoc prof. Zhivka Dancheva was born on September 30, 1979, in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria. In 2005, she graduated with a degree in Medicine from the Medical University of Pleven. Since October 2006, she has been working as a physician at the Clinic of Nuclear Medicine and Metabolic Therapy at the University Hospital “St. Marina" in Varna.
In 2010, she obtained a specialization in Nuclear Medicine. In 2012, she defended her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Anelia Klisarova, DMSc, on the topic: “Metabolic Radiopharmaceutical Therapy with 89SrCl (Metastron) for Painful Bone Metastases."
In June 2016, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor, and in September 2023, she was promoted to Associate Professor at the Department of “Imaging Diagnostics, Radiotherapy, and Interventional Radiology" at the Medical University of Varna. Since October 2023, she has been the Head of the Nuclear Medicine and Metabolic Therapy Academic Unit within the newly formed Department of “Nuclear Medicine, Metabolic Therapy, and Radiotherapy."
She was part of the team that introduced PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) for the first time in Bulgaria in 2009.
Her professional interests include: Malignant melanoma, lung cancer, prostate and breast carcinoma, sarcomas, neuroendocrine tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), diseases of the nervous and urinary systems, application of PET/CT in inflammatory diseases, pediatric oncology
She is the author of the monograph “Cutaneous Melanoma through the Lens of Nuclear Medicine." (2022)
Dr. Dancheva has participated in several training courses organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) in Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Austria, and Spain, as well as numerous online seminars aimed at advancing professional qualifications.
She has authored over 80 scientific articles published in Bulgarian and international medical journals and has contributed to several textbooks and medical manuals.
Since January 2023, she has served as Deputy National Delegate to the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), representing the Bulgarian Society of Nuclear Medicine (BSNM).
She is proficient in English and is also the creator and administrator of the official website of the Bulgarian Society of Nuclear Medicine (BSNM).
