Prof. Dr. Atanas Pavlov is Professor for Technology of bioactive substances at the University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Professor and Head of laboratory of the Laboratory of Applied Biotechnologies at The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He has received his MSc in Biotechnology from the University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1992 and a PhD in Biotechnology from The Stephan Angeloff institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1998. Prof. Pavlov worked as post-doctoral researcher at the Laboratoire de Biologie et Physiologie Végétales, University of Reims Champagne (France) and at the Institute of Food Technology and Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dresden, Germany (with support by a Marie Curie Host Fellowship). Afterwards he returned to Bulgaria to become Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Applied Biotechnologies, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy ofSciences. Since 2010 he is full professor and heading the laboratory, additionally holding a professorship at Plovdiv University of Food Technologies.Prof. Pavlov’s scientific interests include plant biotechnologies, bioprocess engineering, plant secondary metabolites-isolation, purification, and elucidation, and food biocativities. He has been and is co-editor, advisory board member and reviewer for numerous high impact scientific journals in the fields of biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, food chemistry and plant sciences.Prof. Dr. Thomas Bley is the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at the Dresden University of Technology (Germany). He studied mathematics in Dresden, graduating with a Diploma in 1975. After that he became a scientist at the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) at the Academy of Science of the GDR in Leipzig, and received his PhD from the Academy in 1981. In 1990 Prof. Bley completed a habilitation in biotechnology at the University of Leipzig and subsequently became the head of the division Biosignals at the IBT. From 1994-1996 he was the Head of the division Biotechnology at the Faculty of Biosciences, Pharmacy and Psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, before returning to Dresden.Prof. Bley is elected full member of the German and the Saxonian Academies of Sciences and editor-in-chief of the journal “Engineering in Life Sciences”. His research focuses on biomonitoring and biosignals, modeling and controlling of bioprocesses, biocatalysis in heterogeneous systems, white biotechnology and plant cells in bioreactors.

• Plant cell culture technology: A next generation system for sustainable production of valuable natural products.- Engineering cell and organ cultures from medicinal and aromatic plants toward commercial production of bioactive metabolites. - Plant in vitro systems as sources of food ingredients and additives. - Hairy root in vitro systems for bioactive substances production. - Sustainable production of polyphenols and anti-oxidants by plant in vitro cultures.- Production of iridoids and phenylethanoid glycosides by in vitro systems of plants from Orobanchaceae, Budleyaceae and Scrophulariaceae families.- Amaryllidaceae alkaloid accumulation by plant in vitro systems.- Taxus cell cultures, an effective biotechnological tool to enhance and gain new biosynthetic insights into taxane production.- Bioactive substances from grape cell cultures.- Bioreactor technology for sustainable production of plant cell-derived products.- Large-scale cultivation of plant cell, tissue and organ culture for bioactive substances production.- Monitoring of plant cells and tissues in bioprocesses.- Genetic transformation of hairy roots for improvement of yields of secondary metabolites.- Elicitation of secondary metabolism of plant cells cultivated in vitro.- Permeabilization-mediated recovery of metabolites from plant cultures.- Polyploidy and secondary metabolism of plant cells cultivated in vitro.- Application of GC-MS in in vitro plant metabolite profiling.- Microbial transformations of plant secondary metabolites.- Plant micropropagation.- Safety assessment of food ingredients from plant cell and tissue cultures.

Prof. Dr. Atanas Pavlov is Professor for Technology of bioactive substances at the University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Professor and Head of laboratory of the Laboratory of Applied Biotechnologies at The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He has received his MSc in Biotechnology from the University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1992 and a PhD in Biotechnology from The Stephan Angeloff institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1998. Prof. Pavlov worked as post-doctoral researcher at the Laboratoire de Biologie et Physiologie Végétales, University of Reims Champagne (France) and at the Institute of Food Technology and Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dresden, Germany (with support by a Marie Curie Host Fellowship). Afterwards he returned to Bulgaria to become Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Applied Biotechnologies, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy ofSciences. Since 2010 he is full professor and heading the laboratory, additionally holding a professorship at Plovdiv University of Food Technologies.Prof. Pavlov’s scientific interests include plant biotechnologies, bioprocess engineering, plant secondary metabolites-isolation, purification, and elucidation, and food biocativities. He has been and is co-editor, advisory board member and reviewer for numerous high impact scientific journals in the fields of biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, food chemistry and plant sciences.Prof. Dr. Thomas Bley is the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at the Dresden University of Technology (Germany). He studied mathematics in Dresden, graduating with a Diploma in 1975. After that he became a scientist at the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) at the Academy of Science of the GDR in Leipzig, and received his PhD from the Academy in 1981. In 1990 Prof. Bley completed a habilitation in biotechnology at the University of Leipzig and subsequently became the head of the division Biosignals at the IBT. From 1994-1996 he was the Head of the division Biotechnology at the Faculty of Biosciences, Pharmacy and Psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, before returning to Dresden.Prof. Bley is elected full member of the German and the Saxonian Academies of Sciences and editor-in-chief of the journal “Engineering in Life Sciences”. His research focuses on biomonitoring and biosignals, modeling and controlling of bioprocesses, biocatalysis in heterogeneous systems, white biotechnology and plant cells in bioreactors.

• Plant cell culture technology: A next generation system for sustainable production of valuable natural products.- Engineering cell and organ cultures from medicinal and aromatic plants toward commercial production of bioactive metabolites. - Plant in vitro systems as sources of food ingredients and additives. - Hairy root in vitro systems for bioactive substances production. - Sustainable production of polyphenols and anti-oxidants by plant in vitro cultures.- Production of iridoids and phenylethanoid glycosides by in vitro systems of plants from Orobanchaceae, Budleyaceae and Scrophulariaceae families.- Amaryllidaceae alkaloid accumulation by plant in vitro systems.- Taxus cell cultures, an effective biotechnological tool to enhance and gain new biosynthetic insights into taxane production.- Bioactive substances from grape cell cultures.- Bioreactor technology for sustainable production of plant cell-derived products.- Large-scale cultivation of plant cell, tissue and organ culture for bioactive substances production.- Monitoring of plant cells and tissues in bioprocesses.- Genetic transformation of hairy roots for improvement of yields of secondary metabolites.- Elicitation of secondary metabolism of plant cells cultivated in vitro.- Permeabilization-mediated recovery of metabolites from plant cultures.- Polyploidy and secondary metabolism of plant cells cultivated in vitro.- Application of GC-MS in in vitro plant metabolite profiling.- Microbial transformations of plant secondary metabolites.- Plant micropropagation.- Safety assessment of food ingredients from plant cell and tissue cultures.