Coordinator of Research at Matej Bel University and Head of the Research and Innovation Centre at the Faculty of Economics. Habilitated in the field of public administration and regional development at the Technical University in Košice. Her research focuses on urban and regional development and policy, resilience, inequality, and comparative regional studies. She has been repeatedly visiting researcher and lecturer at KTH Stockholm and the University of Ljubljana. She has participated in several research stays, including in Norway, and numerous Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions research stays in Ukraine and Russia. She has extensive experience in many national and international research projects, including FP7, H2020, and Horizon Europe, focusing on smart, creative, and resilient cities, as well as urban, rural, and regional development and policy. She is currently the Principal Investigator and Coordinator of the international Horizon Europe project BRRIDGE, together with Jozef M. Mintal. She has authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific publications, including articles in prestigious journals in the field of regional science, such as Regional Studies, Cities, Journal of Regional Science, and Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. She is a member of several international research networks, including the Regional Science Association International and the Regional Science Academy.