[2] Upon completing her PhD, Hristova joined the faculty of the Whiting School of Engineering where she focused her research in membrane biophysics and biomolecular materials.
"[4] As an associate professor of materials science and engineering, Hristova and her research team developed new tools and techniques that "allowed her to take pictures and make measurements that reveal how the rogue protein is behaving in the cell membrane.
She began the study after suspecting that the delta peptides could weaken the protective membranes that surround cells in a patient’s gastrointestinal tract.
[8][9] Following this, she was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering "for the development of quantitative methods revealing the mechanism of activation of membrane receptors implicated in human cancers.
"[10] In 2019, Hristova received a funding award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for her project "Seeking the Biophysical Principles that Govern RTK Activation.