Elena Zagaynova was born on May 24, 1971. In 1995 she graduated from the State Medical Institute of Nizhny Novgorod with a degree in "Paediatrics". In 2000, she defended her Candidate of Sciences thesis in Medicine, and in 2007 was awarded the degree of Doctor of Sciences in Medicine.

Elena Zagaynova is a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Sciences (Medicine), Professor of the UNN Department of Biophysics. She is an expert in the field of experimental and clinical oncology and regenerative medicine. Elena Zagaynova is the author of 244 papers and 19 patents. Her Hirsch Index is 22 (Scopus), 21 (WOS). She was appointed Rector of Lobachevsky University on April 7, 2020.