PrEP — online consultation

Dr Elena Birindzhieva has worked as a healthcare professional for 25 years. She spent the first 10 years of her career in a haemodialysis department and the following 15 years working on HIV in Bulgaria as part of Doctors Without Borders and the Health Without Borders association. Dr Elena Birindzhieva holds a master’s degree in Public Health and has spent many years specialising in medical and non-medical care for people with HIV/AIDS. National and international organisations have recognised her contribution to patients’ rights. She received the Human of the Year award in 2008. Dr Birindzhieva manages two sexual health centres that support people at risk.

Dr Boris Lukanov studied Medicine in Berlin, Germany. Since 2016, he has worked in sexual health as a healthcare professional in specialist infectious diseases clinics. His professional interests include public health, health management and health education.

Dr Ivaylo Pakov, PhD, is an infectious diseases specialist with extensive clinical, research and teaching experience. He has worked as a doctor for over 10 years and practised as an infectious diseases specialist for more than five years. In 2024, he earned his PhD with a dissertation on chronic inflammation and immune recovery in patients with HIV infection.

His professional interests include the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on HIV infection, immunodeficiency and fever of unknown origin. He has extensive practical experience caring for patients with HIV infection, acute viral hepatitis, respiratory infections, Lyme disease, vector-borne infections and other infectious diseases.

He provides examinations, consultations and follow-up care related to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. He has a particular interest in HIV prevention, prescribing and monitoring pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and counselling patients about sexually transmitted infections.

He is a Chief Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Parasitology and Tropical Medicine at Medical University – Pleven, where he teaches students in Bulgarian- and English-language programmes.

He has authored or co-authored more than 20 scientific publications in peer-reviewed, indexed international journals, speaks internationally at HIV-related events and has participated in over 50 national and international scientific meetings. He is a member of the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS), the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), the Bulgarian Society of Infectious Diseases, the Bulgarian Scientific Society for the Epidemiology of Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases, and the Bulgarian Medical Association.

Dr Teodor Tsankov holds a master’s degree in Medicine. He has completed training under the US PHTLS programme for paramedics. He works at Alexandrovska University Hospital, where he is specialising in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. He teaches future paramedics at the Progress and Knowledge Vocational Training Centre. Teodor Tsankov has been part of the CheckPoint Sofia team since 2017. He works in a mobile clinic and conducts outreach with communities at risk, providing rapid testing, support and counselling on reducing risk.

Dimana Pavlovich graduated in Nursing from Yordanka Filaretova Medical College. She has experience caring for patients with various conditions and performing nursing procedures. At CheckPoint Sofia, she is developing her experience in counselling patients on sexual health.

Dr Georgiev provides examinations, consultations and diagnosis for patients with a range of urological conditions. He graduated from Medical University – Sofia in 2017 and works as a specialist urologist at N. I. Pirogov University Hospital for Active Treatment and Emergency Medicine. His scientific interests include inflammatory diseases of the male reproductive system, injuries and emergencies in urology, urological oncology and urinary stone disease. Dr Georgiev provides examinations, consultations and diagnosis for acute and chronic inflammation of the male reproductive system, including prostatitis and urethritis; congenital and acquired conditions, including phimosis, varicocele and hydrocele; erectile and sexual dysfunction; and testicular tumours.

Desislava Yaneva is a clinical social worker with a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work and extensive experience in sexual and mental health. She has been part of the CheckPoint Sofia team for several years, working with patients affected by stigma, isolation and barriers to care. Her work focuses on individual support, crisis intervention and empowering patients as they adapt to living with health conditions. Combining empathy, analytical thinking and a systematic approach, Desislava Yaneva helps make CheckPoint Sofia a safe, supportive and welcoming place for everyone seeking help, information and care.

Martin Grancharov is a lawyer. He graduated in Law from the University of Veliko Tarnovo and works in banking. Since 2019, he has supported CheckPoint Sofia as a community outreach worker, joining other outreach workers in HIV prevention campaigns and initiatives. Martin provides legal support to the centre and its clients on discrimination based on HIV status. He researches HIV criminalisation in Bulgaria and works on partnership projects protecting the rights of people affected by HIV.