Elena has studied B.Sc. in Biology, where she did research on the Behavioural Ecology of hygrophilous dipterous insects (Diptera, Empididae: Rhamphomyia, Hilara). She then obtained M.Sc. in Biotechnology at Nottingham Trent University in 2015.

The Ph.D. has also been carried out at Nottingham Trent University. The research was focused on the synthesis of antibacterial and non-toxic to mammalian cells nanocomposites for wound healing and burn surgery applications with the following title: “Antibacterial bacterial cellulose and its derived soft gels using smectites and natural biocides”. The study was interdisciplinary; thus, Elena worked in Analytical Chemistry, Materials Science, Microbiology, and Cell Culture fields. During the Ph.D. programme, she participated in a variety of internal and external conferences and carried out the external work at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory using a neutron source for analysis of materials in 2017.

She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Professor Philippe B. Wilson at Nottingham Trent University at Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) and an hourly paid lecturer in Department of Environmental Sciences. The areas of interest include assessment of antimicrobial materials as well as detection and investigation of metabolites associated with infectious and chronic diseases in humans and other animals.