Meet the people
behind Helena.

Vladimir founded Helena Bioinformatics to bring scientific research, engineering and clinical genomics into practical systems for laboratories and partners.

A pioneer of medical genetics and genomic medicine in Bulgaria, Academician Draga Toncheva brings more than four decades of scientific, clinical and academic experience. As Founding Chair, she advises Helena on scientific direction, clinical validation strategy, evidence boundaries and responsible human oversight.

Sena is an associate professor of genetics whose work covers medical genomics, rare and complex diseases, and human genetic variation. Her expertise supports the interpretation of whole-exome and whole-genome data, particularly where disease-associated variants must be understood in their clinical and population context.

Svetoslav is an associate professor of genetics whose work spans metagenomics, microbial genomics and molecular genetics. He brings specialist knowledge in the design and validation of metagenomic workflows, including microbial community analysis, bacterial genomics and antimicrobial resistance.

Marija is a medical doctor working in human genetics and clinical genomics. She contributes a clinical perspective to the interpretation of genetic findings, with particular attention to patient context, evidence assessment and the responsible use of genomic information in clinical practice.

Slavica is an associate professor at the Institute of Biology, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, where she works in the Laboratory for Molecular Biology and Genomics. Her research and teaching cover molecular biology, molecular genetics, genomics and genetic engineering. She advises Helena on molecular and genomic methods and academic collaboration in Southeast Europe.

Sasho is a professor of molecular biology and Head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genomics at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. His work focuses on molecular diagnostics, cancer genomics and the genomic profiling of solid tumors, including the interpretation of clinically relevant molecular alterations. His contribution to the Board is centered on oncology genomics and the future development of somatic-variant analysis.

Daniela is a molecular geneticist with academic training in molecular biology, genetics, genomics and reproductive biology. She works with genomic and molecular evidence in a laboratory setting. She supported the clinical validation of ACMG classification rules by reviewing classifier outputs against case evidence and documenting rule behaviour that required correction or clarification.

Spasimir is a molecular geneticist with experience in clinical genomics, rare-disease analysis and laboratory genetics. His work has included genomic research, clinical case analysis and the evaluation of molecular evidence. As a Clinical Validation Contributor, he reviewed Folklore's classifier outputs against case evidence and helped identify rules that required correction or clarification.