My name is Peter Ivanov, and I am a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at the Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria. My area of expertise is in Physiology, and my PhD explores anthropometric and bioimpedance predictors of metabolic health in people living with obesity.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Most workdays start early and are quite full of activities, but the types may vary. Some days I am mostly teaching, others – trying to juggle teaching, paperwork, grinding through the PhD and side projects.
What first sparked your interest in working in the field of obesity?
I have been interested in movement, nutrition, psychology, and health since I was a teenager because I had a great martial arts teacher. This guy really inspired me, helped me in so many ways had a huge impact on my general life direction. Some years later I got into studying medicine, had the luck to be accepted as a teaching assistant in the Physiology department after graduation, and was introduced to my current PhD advisor – prof. Teodora Handjieva-Darlenska, who told me about EASO and the whole journey began. But it all started some years ago with a teacher who really cared about his students and made an awesome example.
What’s one tool, method, or hack that makes your work life easier that you wish everyone knew about?
So far, whenever I manage to have a longer period of time with consistent physical movement – that’s the thing that makes my work life a lot easier. It’s a thing everybody knows about but as I can see with myself – don’t do enough of. So yes, being able to squeeze some diverse physical activity in my workday is probably the biggest game changer for me, hope I can learn how to keep it consistent in the long run.
How has being part of the ECN changed your journey so far?
Being part of the ECN has changed my journey in the best way possible! The organization offered so many great things – travelling, meeting awesome people, learning from high level lecturers, webinars, communication, networking, and a whole new perspective on obesity that I knew nothing of. I am truly grateful for those amazing opportunities and the attitude of the people responsible for them (the EASO ECN board members – huge appreciation!).
When I started my academic career, I had almost no previous experience with science and was pretty confused about it. But the ECN events and communication with those people showed me a glimpse of how science is done abroad, how things might happen and what should I aim for. Big inspiration and example so thank you guys for that!
What has been the most rewarding or exciting project that you’ve worked on?
I am pretty excited about finishing my PhD – and it’s surely going to be rewarding, can’t wait for that relief. But besides that – we recently started developing a local ECN branch in Bulgaria (BASORD ECN) with some great colleagues of mine – Kristina Vavura, RD, Kalina Topuzova, MD, and Venelin Denchev, MD – awesome young people that I admire. We got some valuable help from Bram Berntzen (ECN board) who even came to Bulgaria to support us for the official start of the initiative and offered a ton of helpful advice! I think there is a lot of potential in that, so the best is yet to come.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to the “you” who was just starting out?
“Start learning statistics early, give up your illusions that you understand science and get involved with the ECN!”
What excites you most about the future of obesity research?
What mostly excites me about that is the diversity of directions of obesity research. A few months ago, I had the luck to be approved for the EASO ECN exchange programme and had the huge privilege to visit the Human Appetite Research Unit, University of Leeds, UK. I spent almost a week with Dr. Kristine Beaulieu and Prof. Graham Finlayson – amazing mentors who let me tag along and introduced me to their awesome team and work. What struck me was not only the high quality of their process but the fact that those guys pursued different angles of obesity research that are less popular compared to the obesity medications that now get most of the hype and attention. The team is exploring food preferences, chronotypes, behavioural aspects of nutrition – very interesting topics that hold so much promise. So, what excites me is that there are many more options for discovery and development.
Where do you see yourself in five years – what’s your dream project or role?
I would really love to continue teaching but also studying – there are so many valuable things I would like to learn and understand. Hope to get involved in more research projects and collaborate with colleagues from abroad.
Is there anything else you’d like the ECN to know about you?
So far, my engagement with the EASO ECN has been a wonderful experience, so I would love to connect with anyone who wishes to collaborate, communicate and do something meaningful together!