Milena Nikolova

Milena Nikolova is a Chief Teaching Assistant at the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Public Health, Health Care and Tourism, National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”. Her academic journey began with a Physiotherapy degree (2004–2008), followed by doctoral research (PhD 2011) on “Physical means for reducing body weight and cellulite in women with gynoid type of fat deposition”. She has held progressively senior roles since 2014, including her current position since 2017.

Her pedagogical focus includes teaching Physical Therapy for nervous/mental diseases, internal medicine, and geriatrics. Research interests span pulmonary rehabilitation, cardiorehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) across populations like athletes and women with thyroid disorders. Her work on OSA screening tools and non-CPAP therapies highlights translational clinical research.

Publications since 2003 explore neurophysiological mechanisms (e.g., motor cortex excitability via TMS) and applied therapies in respiratory and cardiovascular health. Her early work on saccadic-manual reaction coordination underscores interdisciplinary neurobehavioral research.