Born on November 25th, 1970

Lives in Sofia, Bulgaria

Natalia Maeva has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication, as well as a Ph.D. from Sofia University „ St. Kliment Ohridski”. She started her career as a radio reporter and went on to work as a PR and marketing specialist for several Bulgarian ministries, banks and private companies. Her international career took her to Greece, Poland and Switzerland, where she worked as a regional manager.

Diagnosed in 2009, she battled pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and has made her life cause to care for other patients living with this rare disease. She is one of the few patients who receive the chance of a second life. In 2016, she underwent a successful double lung transplant at the University Hospital in Vienna, Austria. Since than she is blessed to lead a normal and active life.

Currently, she is the editor-in-chief of “News, education and culture” in the program “Hristo Botev” – BNR.

Natalia is a founder and current president of the Bulgarian Association of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension (2012). She was the vice-president of the Bulgarian National Patient Organization, responsible for rare diseases and transplants (2021-2022). Since 2018, he has also been working hard as the vice-chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Patients with Respiratory Failure and Lung Transplantation. She is currently a board member of PHAE.

Since May 2020, she has been elected as a patient representative (ePAG) in the European Lung Reference Network, which covers nine groups of rare lung diseases. From June 2021 she is a PAG in the European Lung Foundation (ELF) COVID-19 group. Scholarship holder for 2021 at EURORDIS Leadership school. Also she is a part of PAG group in European Society of Radiology since 2021.