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Basics

Name Kristina Gagalova
Label Bioinformatics Scientist
Email kristina.gagalova@curtin.edu.au
Url https://kristinagagalova.github.io/
Summary Bioinformatics researcher developing genomics methods for data-driven discovery

Work

  • 2023.10 - current
    Research fellow
    Centre for Crop and Disease Management, Curtin University
    I develop bioinformatics methods to study plant-pathogen interactions and genome variability using pangenomics, protein structures and high-performance computing
    • Pangenomes
    • Protein structures

Volunteer

  • 2025.01 - current

    Ambassador
    Nextflow Ambassador Program
    Promote Nextflow and nf-core, mentor and support students and developers in Nextflow.

Education

  • 2017.01 - 2022.05

    Vancouver, Canada

    PhD
    University of British Columbia - Genome Sciences Centre
    Algorithms for genome annotations and comparative genomics in complex genomes
    • Genomics
    • Evolutionary Genomics
    • High Performance Computing
  • 2013.09 - 2015.09

    Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    MSc
    Vrije University
    Bioinformatics algorithms and Machine Learning
    • Dynamic programming
    • Data mining
    • Bioinformatics databases
  • 2010.10 - 2013.03

    Bologna, Italy

    MSc
    University of Bologna
    Biotechnology and Synthetic biology
    • Model organisms
    • Molecular genetics
    • Translational research

Awards

  • 2013.11.01
    FindAMasters fellowship
    FinAMasters
    Awarded by FindAMasters in recognition of exceptional academic performance, active engagement within the postgraduate community, and a positive influence on peers.
  • 2013.09.01
    VU Fellowship Programme
    Vrije University of Amsterdam
    A competitive merit-based award covering tuition fees for outstanding students

Certificates

Machine Learning Specialization
Stanford Online 2025-10-01

Publications

Skills

Bioinformatics
Pangenomics methods
Omics data analysis
Statistics for omics data
Software development
Object-oriented programming
Functional coding
Python
GROOVY
Reproducible research
Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR)
Pipelines

Languages

Bulgarian
Native speaker
Italian
Native speaker
English
Fluent

Interests

Science philosophy
Epistemology
Logic
Ontology
Scientific Thinking

References

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Projects

  • 2025.01 - current
    Plant pangenomics
    Developing computational methods to construct and analyze graph-based representations of pangenomes, enabling more accurate modelling of genomic variation across populations and improving downstream analyses like variant calling, functional annotation, and comparative genomics
    • Structural variants
    • Rare gene variants
  • 2025.06 - current
    Structural bioinformatics for pathogenicity characterization
    Using computational models to predict and analyze protein structures and their interactions, aiding in the understanding of molecular function, binding mechanisms, and potential targets for disease development in crops.
    • Protein-protein interaction
    • Effectors