I finished my undergraduate studies in Biophysics at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Shortly after, I went to Germany on a DAAD fellowship to do my PhD with Prof. J. Gimsa at the University of Rostock, where I graduated in 2006. During that time I studied theoretically the interaction of high frequency electromagnetic fields with cellular media, and in particular with lipid membranes. As a postdoc in the group of Dr. R. Dimova at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Germany) I switched to an experimental project on the electro-manipulation of lipid vesicles. In 2009, I moved to Princeton University to the Complex Fluid Group of Prof. Howard A. Stone, where I laid the foundation of my current research on the biophysics of biological membranes. Since October 2013 I am working as a lecturer in the departments of Physics and Chemistry at Durham University

Biophysics Biological membranes Functional interfaces Mechanical and electric manipulation of lipid membranes

Zeraik, A., Staykova, M., Fontes, M., Nemuraitė, I., Quinlan, R., Araújo, A. P. & DeMarco, R. (2016). Biophysical dissection of schistosome septins: Insights into oligomerization and membrane binding. Biochimie 131: 96-105. Stubbington, Liam, Arroyo, Marino & Staykova, Margarita (2016). Sticking and sliding of lipid bilayers on deformable substrates. Soft Matter Staykova, M., Arroyo, M., Rahimi, M. & Stone, H.A. (2013). Confined bilayers passively regulate shape and stress. Physical Review Letters 110(2): 028101. Staykova, M., Holmes, D.P., Read, C. & Stone, H.A. (2011). Mechanics of surface area regulation in cells examined with confined lipid membranes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(22): 9084–9088. Knorr, R.L., Staykova, M., Gracija, R.S. & Dimova, R. (2010). Wrinkling and electroporation of giant vesicles in the gel phase. Soft Matter 6(9): 1990-1996. Dimova R., Bezlyepkina, N. Jordö, M. Knorr, R. Riske, K. Staykova, M., Vlahovska, P., Yamamoto, T., Yang, P. & Lipowsky, R. (2009). Vesicles in electric fields: Some novel aspects of membrane behavior. Soft Matter 5(17): 3201-3212. Staykova M., Lipowsky R. & Dimova R. (2008). Membrane flow patterns in multicomponent giant vesicles induced by alternating electric fields. Soft Matter 4(11): 2168-2171. Simeonova, M. & Gimsa, J. (2006). The influence of the molecular structure of lipid membranes on the electric field distribution and energy absorption. Bioelectromagnetics 27(8): 652-666. Simeonova, M. & Gimsa, J. (2005). Dielectric anisotropy, volume potential anomalies and the persistent Maxwellian equivalent body. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 17(50): 7817-7831. Simeonova, M., Wachner, D. & Gimsa, J. (2002). Cellular absorption of electric field energy: influence of molecular properties of the cytoplasm. Bioelectrochemistry 56(1-2): 215. Wachner, D., Simeonova, M. & Gimsa, J. (2002). Estimating the subcellular absorption of electric field energy: equations for an ellipsoidal single shell model. Bioelectrochemistry 56(1-2): 211.