Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacotherapy

The beginning
In 2006 a Department of Pharmacology and Drug Toxicology was founded as a structural unit of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Medical University – Plovdiv. The new department inherits the traditions and experience in the teaching and research activities of the School of Pharmacologists from the Department of Pharmacology at the Medical Faculty. The first head of the newly established department is Assoc. Prof. Lyudmil Peychev, MD, PhD. Its members are recruited as lecturers on pharmacology and pharmacotherapy – Prof. Margarita Karaivanova, MD, PhD, DSc and Assoc. Prof. Yanko Iliev, MD, PhD.

The first assistants were consecutively appointed: Dr. Nina Doncheva (2007), Dr. Anita Mihaylova (2009), Mag. Pharm. Mihaela Shishmanova-Doseva (2009). Since 2007, Veneta Zhelyazkova (Chief of Chemistry) has been appointed to the Department, which, together with the senior laboratory technician Yonka Kolikova from the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology at the Medical Faculty, provides the complete experimental work with experimental animals. Dr. Maria Georgieva-Kotetarova, who was later transferred to Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine, participated in 2008 as a full-time Ph.D. student.

As the volume of teaching increases, the need for new teachers increases. So, in 2012, as a regular assistans were accepted Mag. Pharm. Elisaveta Apostolova, Dr. Marian Topolov and Mag. Pharm. Vesela Kokova. In 2013 – 2014 Mag. Pharm. Ilin Kandilarov worked temporarily at the Department as an assistant under Article 68 of the LC. Since its establishment, the Department of Pharmacology and Drug Toxicology of the Faculty of Pharmacy has been based in the same building with the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine.

The two departments are housed in the former building of the Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, owned by the University Hospital “St. Georgi “Plovdiv. Thanks to the skillful leadership of the two current leaders – Prof. Ivanka Kostadinova, MD, PhD and Prof. Lyudmil Peychev, MD, PhD, MHM the academic staff of the two departments works as a whole in a spirit of understanding, scientific cooperation and mutual assistance in teaching work. The Departments use common research laboratories and study rooms. The two departments have 8 study halls with a total area of 207.48 square meters and 137 workplaces. For the purposes of research, the two departments of pharmacology use 3 laboratories with a total area of 74.68 square meters and 14 workplaces.

Teaching activities
In 2006, the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria officially recognized the existence of the Faculty of Pharmacy. This caused students to study the full course of pharmacology in one semester rather than two. Teaching was organized to cover three-hour exercises twice a week. This first class of pharmacy students completed their pharmacology studies with average assessment of very good (5.30).

Under the conditions of overloading, the academic staff of the department participates in the teaching of master pharmacists, assistant pharmacists, students of medicine and dental medicine, X-ray technicians and rehabilitators. Six different disciplines are conducted together with lecturers from the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine: pharmacology (in Bulgarian and English), clinical pharmacology (in Bulgarian and English), pharmacokinetics, drug toxicology, pharmacotherapy and clinical homeopathy. We actively work with students on scientific programs for the study of biologically active substances.

Research activity
The main directions in the research work of the present department at the Faculty of Pharmacy follow the markers left by the founders of pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine in Plovdiv. The leading idea is the study of the effects of new drugs on the training and memory processes, the pharmacological study of new antiepileptic agents, neuroprotectors, the pharmacology of local and introduced plant species, the pharmacology of bee products, and so on.
Each member of the department works on its own scientific subject:
− Neuroprotection and anticonvulsants; phytopharmacology; clinical homeopathy; pharmacology of api-therapy; activators of steme-cells liberation, means and methods for giving up smoking and others (L. Peychev, M. Shishmanova-Dosseva, E. Apostolova, V. Kokova, I. Kandilarov);
− Study of the effects of agents acting on the CNS – cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, GABA-medications, benzodiazepines, neuropeptides, antiparkinsonian drugs (N. Doncheva, A. Mihailova, M. Topolov).

In the last seven years, the Department has achieved significant results in the scientific field (Table 1). The Department’s associates have 4 trademark certificates from the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the published scientific papers – 94, 51 of which in foreign journals, and the published scientific papers and presentations are 110 , 17 of which abroad. The team of the Department participated in writing 11 textbooks on pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacotherapy, 10 pharmacology manuals and 5 monographs. 2 professors’ habilitations (L. Peichev and I. Iliev) were achieved , three Masters degrees in health management (L. Peichev, Y. Iliev, M. Shishmanova-Doseva) were defended, 7 doctoral dissertations were defended (M. Shishmanova-Doseva, E. Apostolova, N. Doncheva, M. Topolov, V. Kokova, K. Saratcheva, L. Vasileva). Members of the team have participated in 10 research projects funded by the Medical University – Plovdiv and the Ministry of Education and Science.

Five PhD dissertations were defended for the period 2011-2017:
1. Mag. pharm. Michaela Stilianova Shishmanova-Doseva – “Experimental Study on the Impact of Lacosamide on Training, Memory and Physical Performance of Rats”, 2015.
2. Mag. pharm. Elisaveta Georgieva Apostolova – “Experimental Characteristics of Less Studied Neuropharmacological Effects of Retigabine”, 2015.
3. Dr. Nina Dimitrova Doncheva – “Comparative Experimental Study of analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of agents used for concomitant pain therapy”, 2016.
4. Dr. Marian Krasimirov Topolov – “Comparative Study of the Effects of Olanzapine and Aripiprazole on Models of Changed Memory Functions”, 2017.
5. Mag. pharm Vesela Julieva Kokova – “Experimental Study of the Pharmacological Effects of Etifoxin on Neural and Nervomuscular Structures”, 2017.

Table1. Publication activity of the Department of Pharmacology and Drug Toxicology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University Plovdiv for the period 2011-2017.

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	TOTAL
Number of publications in scientific journals – abroad and electronic.	–	1	–	3	8	8	12	32
Full publications – national magazines and collections.	6	6	4	3	5	9	10	43
Full-text publications abroad with IF.	–	–	2	2	4	4	7	19
Total number of citations								84
–Quotes by Bulgarian authors	5	7	3	6	8	3	4	36
–Quotes by foreign authors	7	10	5	2	18	6	–	48
Total number of scientific forum entries
–– Participation in Bulgarian forums	12	13	8	14	16	22	8	93
–Participation in foreign forums	1	5	1	2	4	3	1	17
Monograph	3	–	–	–	–	1	1	5
Reference books	3	3	2	4	3	2	4	21