Obituary of Petia Simeonova

Petia Petrova Simeonova passed away on December 16, 2009 after long and brave battle with cancer. She was born on January 9, 1962 in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Her father, Peter Dimitrov Filev was a pediatrician, and mother Mariika Todorova Zlateva was an agronomist.She received her M.D, degree in Human Medicine, 1979-1985, from Medical University, Varna, Bulgaria, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Immunology, 1987-1990, from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria. She completed post-doc training in immunotoxicology, 1993-1996, in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. In the period 1985-1993 she worked consecutively as a Physician, in a Pediatric Dept., Intensive Care, Hospital Researcher, in the Institute of Immunology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Physician/Research Scientist, Clinical Immunology, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. In the period 1993-1996 she was a Visiting Fellow, Environmental Immunology and Neurobiology Section, NIEHS/NIH, Durham, NC. Since 1996 she works consecutively as a senior scientist, project leader, and team leader at Health Effects Laboratory Division, NIOSH, Morgantown, WV.She was an accomplished, internationally recognized scientist with numerous publications in the medical research field of immunotoxicology, frequently cited in the scientific literature. Her research contributions have been recognized by several prestigious scientific awards, including two times Alice Hamilton Award for Excellence in Occupational Safety and Health, and several nominations for the Charles Shepard Award of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. She is survived by her husband Peter Iordanov Simeonov, son Kamen Petrov Simeonov, father Peter Dimitrov Filev, mother Mariika Todorova Fileva, brother Dimitar Petrov Filev, sister-in-law Mominka Todorova Fileva, and nephews Peter Dimitrov Filev and Momchil Dimitrov Filev. Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown is handling cremation arrangements for the family.A private memorial service will be held at a later date.