MSc Molecular Biomedicine students - Entry Year of 2024
Christos Akalestos was born in Athens, Greece in 2001. He graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2023. He conducted his thesis, entitled "Metagenomic study of gastrointestinal diseases" at the section of Genetics and Biotechnology of the Department of Biology of NKUA, under the supervision of Prof. Panagoula Kollia. In the third year of his undergraduate studies, he participated in a CIVIS exchange program for 1 semester in Stockholms Universitet (SU). As an undergraduate student, he also participated in the 33rd National Conference on AIDS with a presentation entitled "Life cycle and pathogeny of HIV". After graduating, he did a 4-month Erasmus+ Traineeship at the Department of Food Science of the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). During his Erasmus+ traineeship, he participated in the DACAPRO project, entitled "Dairy calcium to promote prebiotic effects in the gut" at the Department of Food Science of UCPH, under the supervision of Prof. Dennis Sandris Nielsen. Currently, Christos is attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC “Alexander Fleming”.
Justine Barelier was born in Istres, France, in 2003. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) in June 2023. Shortly after, she completed a one-month laboratory internship with Elsa Bazellières and her team, Evolution and Morphogenesis of Epitheliums, at the Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille (IBDM). She actively participated in experiments focused on the encapsulation of epithelial cells in alginate hydrogels, and learned the basics of cell culture, immunostaining, and confocal imaging. Following this, she continued her studies at the engineering school Polytech Marseille. During her fourth year, she had the opportunity to study abroad and joined the first semester of the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Sophia Diplari was born in Athens in 2001. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) in September 2024. For her undergraduate thesis, "The role of NR5A2 nuclear receptor ligand, DLPC, in the regulation of the transcription factor HIF-1α," she conducted research at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Department of Neurobiology, under the guidance of Dr. Panagiotis Politis (July 2023 - September 2024). During her final semester, she completed an internship at the same department, also under the supervision of Dr. Politis. There, she acquired expertise in various neurobiology and molecular biology laboratory techniques. Additionally, she completed a three-month internship at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Department of Molecular Neurobiology and Stem Cells (July - September 2022), under the supervision of Dr. Maria Gaitanou. During this internship, she investigated Tau Pathology by analyzing the expression of Dyrk1B protein in mice. Currently, Sophia is enrolled in the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the BSRC "Alexander Fleming."
Asimina (Menia) Gatsi was born in Karditsa, Greece in 1999. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2023. She has conducted her BSc thesis, entitled "Study of interaction between the antihypertensive drug Irbesartan and lipid bilayers and transfer systems with NMR spectroscopy" under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Mavromoustakos, in the laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Menia is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Konstantina Georgilaki was born in Athens, Greece in 2000. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2024. Her dissertation thesis, entitled "Prepulse inhibition as a protophenotype of schizophrenia in Drosophila Melanogaster", was completed at Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming" under the supervision of Dr. Efthimios Skoulakis (BSRC "Alexander Fleming") and in collaboration with Prof. Spiros Efthimiopoulos, (NKUA). Her focus revolves around neuroscience, especially cognition and behavior, as well as bioinformatics, and concerns particularly neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. This interest has led her to take part in various conferences and workshops on neurobiology and the molecular basis of diseases. Konstantina is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Theodora Giannousa was born in Athens, Greece in 2000. She obtained her Integrated Master’s degree from the Biotechnology Department of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) in 2023. As an undergraduate student, she undertook a two-month Erasmus+ internship at the Institut de Génétique Humaine (IGH), Université de Montpellier, France, under the supervision of Prof. Sofia Kossida, where she was introduced to immunogenetics. Additionally, Theodora completed a two-month internship at the Biomedical Sciences Research Center (BSRC) "Alexander Fleming" under the supervision of Prof. Eleni Douni, where she also conducted her dissertation thesis entitled "Study of the effect of RANKL on protein phosphorylation in breast cancer cells" in collaboration with the Laboratory of Genetics of AUA. During that period, she had the opportunity to familiarize herself with various molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools to investigate how RANKL modulates protein phosphorylation levels associated with breast cancer and identify the related aberrant signaling pathways. Theodora is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Anastasia Katifori was born in Athens in 2001. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the University of Crete (UoC). She conducted her dissertation thesis, entitled "Study of the action of androgens through membrane receptors in neutrophils – Interaction with cancer cells" under the supervision of Prof. Maria Eleni Kampa at the Laboratory of Experimental Endocrinology of the School of Medicine, University of Crete. During that time, she received training in cellural techniques and was introduced to the field of cancer research. Anastasia is currently attending the International MSc Program in Molecular Biomedicine at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Evangelia (Evi) Katsaouni was born in Athens, Greece in 2000. She graduated from the Department of Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) in 2024, specializing in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biotechnology. She conducted her Bachelor thesis, entitled "Development of a system for automatic taxonomic identification of nematodes" at the Department of Ecology of the same University, under the supervision of Prof. Stefanos Sgardelis. Motivated to gain valuable knowledge in infectious diseases, she undertook an internship at the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of West Attica under the supervision of Prof. Apostolos Beloukas. There, she implemented molecular methods for HIV genotyping and mutation detection and she conducted an internship project titled "Development of an in-house protocol for the molecular detection of Hepatitis E in HIV positive samples". Evangelia is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Anastasia Klimi was born in Patras, Greece, in 2000. She graduated from the Department of Biology at the University of Patras in 2022. As an undergraduate student, she conducted her dissertation thesis titled "Study of the Effect of Suppressive Cytokines on T-Lymphocyte Proliferation" at the Institute of Cell Therapies in the Medical School of the University of Patras, under the supervision of Prof. Alexandros Spiridonidis. Additionally, she completed a two-month internship at the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, BIOLAN AE, where she performed various analyses of blood, serum, plasma, and urine using automatic analyzers. Following her graduation, Anastasia undertook a 3-month Erasmus+ Traineeship in the Department of Physiology, Laboratory of Molecular Oncology of the Centro de Investigaciones en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CIMUS), University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Galicia, Spain. During this time, she contributed to a project aimed at characterizing new molecules that inhibit the key cancer-related interaction between PARP1 and E2F1. As part of the project, she was involved in the biological screening of a compound library and trained in cancer organoid-based models developed using a bioreactor. Driven by her interest in biomedicine, she subsequently joined the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Nikolaos (Nikos) Kyriakidis was born in Drama, Greece in 2001. He graduated from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTh) in 2023. As an undergraduate student, he performed his dissertation thesis in the field of Genetics in Diseases, entitled "Study of the genetic variation of the CHRNA1 gene encoding the α subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in Greek myasthenic patients". This project took place at the DUTh in collaboration with Department of Pharmacy of the University of Patras and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (Athens), under the supervision of Assistant Prof. Marianthi Georgitsi. During his studies, he carried out a two-month internship in different laboratories at the University Hospital of Alexandroupolis. Nikos has also completed his military duties as an assistant in the Microbiology Laboratory of the 216 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. During his academic journey, he developed a strong interest in the molecular basis of human diseases and the approaches to effectively treat them. Nikos is currently attending the International MSc Program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Cleo Kyriakopoulou was born in Patras, Greece in 2002. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Crete (UoC) in 2024. As an undergraduate student, she specialized in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. She conducted her Bachelor’s thesis, entitled "Investigating the role of ROCK/Myosin II pathway activation in tumor-derived extracellular vesicles release and uptake upon chemotherapy" in the Cancer metastasis and immunity laboratory at the Department of Biology, UoC, under the supervision of Assistant Prof. Ioanna Keklikoglou. During her thesis project, Cleo gained valuable knowledge and experience in several laboratory techniques including cell-based techniques, treatments with chemotherapeutic and other drugs and the isolation of extracellular vesicles. Her interest in advanced medicinal therapies motivated her to join the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, offered by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Efthimia Lamari was born in Larisa, Greece, in 2000. She graduated from the School of Pharmacy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) in 2024. During her final year, she conducted her Integrated Master’s thesis on RNA Editing in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, under the supervision of Associate Prof. Konstantinos Xanthopoulos, in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology of AUTh. Her research focused on creating and characterizing ADAR1 and ADAR1p150 knock-out MEC1/MEC2 cell lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool. Following her graduation, she undertook a four-month internship at SciLifeLab at the Karolinska Intitute in Stockholm, Sweden. There, her work focused on studying Polymerase I Inhibition by the chemotherapeutic Actinomycin D in breast cancer cell lines, while also practicing basic bioinformatics for differential gene expression analysis. In 2024, Efthimia enrolled in the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine offered by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Dimitris Laoutaris was born in Athens, Greece, in 2002. He graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2024. As an undergraduate student, he conducted his research thesis "Unraveling Regulatory T cell metabolic functions in solid tumors" under the supervision of Dr. Themis Alissafi and Dr. Christos Kontos in the Laboratory of Immune Regulation at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA). He also completed a two-month internship in the same lab. During that period, he had the opportunity to familiarize with various immunological areas, molecular techniques, as well as bioinformatics tools. Dimitris is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Georgios Menexis was born in Athens, Greece in 2001. He obtained his Bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, graduating from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. While a thesis was not a formal requirement of his undergraduate degree, Georgios consistently worked on various laboratory techniques and methodologies throughout the course of his program. In pursuit of expanding his knowledge and skills to meet the evolving demands of modern biology, acquiring the ability to communicate effectively within a professional environment, and performing independent research, Georgios has enrolled in the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), in collaboration with the Biomedical Sciences Research Center (BSRC) "Alexander Fleming".
Dimitra Meri was born in Athens, Greece, in 2002. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2024. During the 3rd year of her undergraduate studies, Dimitra conducted her Bachelor's Thesis, titled "Resistance Development to Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Human Osteosarcoma Cells", in the Department of Cell Biology & Biophysics of NKUA, Group of Ageing and Age-related Diseases (AArD), under the supervision of Prof. Ioannis Trougakos. Her research focused on alterations in the proteostasis network within chemo-resistant osteosarcoma cell lines of different genetic background to doxorubicin. Throughout this project, she gained valuable experience in cell culture practices and molecular techniques. Dimitra is currently attending the International MSc in Molecular Biomedicine at the Medical School of NKUA in collaboration with the Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming."
Emmanouela Panagiotaki was born in Crete, Greece in 2001. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the University of Crete (UoC) in 2024. As an undergraduate student she conducted her diploma thesis "Study of the activity of a novel synthetic GnRH analogue linked to mitoxantrone in breast cancer" at the laboratory of Clinical Chemistry, Medical School - UoC, under the supervision of Prof. Maria Venihaki and Prof. Georgios Zachos. During her undergraduate studies, she also joined the iGEM UniCrete 2023 Team as a key member of Wet Lab and Head of the Safety for the iGEM competition. The team won a silver medal for the creation of a cell-free biosensor for the detection of deltamethrin in different liquid samples. Emmanouela is currently attending the International MSc in Molecular Biomedicine at the Medical School of NKUA in collaboration with the Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming."
Nikolaos (Nikos) Roussas was born in Athens, Greece in 2001. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics of the Democritus University of Thrace in Alexandroupolis (DUTh) in 2023. During his undergraduate studies, he joined the Laboratory of Molecular Regulation & Development of Diagnostic Technology of the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, where he had the opportunity to familiarize with basic molecular biology techniques, in particular molecular cloning and biochemistry. He conducted his dissertation thesis in the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases entitled "Interplay between Chaperone Mediated Autophagy and a-synuclein in in vivo models" under the supervision of Prof. Leonidas Stefanis at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA). He studied there the effects of combined overexpression of a-synuclein and LAMP2A downregulation associated with Parkinson’s Disease, where he gained strong knowledge in Immunofluorescence, Immunocytochemistry and Image Analysis techniques. Driven by the groundbreaking discoveries in biomedical sciences and a strong desire to deepen his understanding of the mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and the development of novel therapeutic strategies, Nikos has decided to join the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC “Alexander Fleming”.
Alicia Šafek was born in Ružomberok, Slovakia in 2000. In June 2023, she acquired her Bachelor’s degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the IMC Fachhochschule Krems, Austria. As an undergraduate student, she performed a 7-month internship connected to her Bachelor thesis at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), in Gouves, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. There, she performed her thesis entitled “Characterization, Training and Genomic Analysis of λ3, a Novel Bacteriophage Infecting Vibrio tubiashii” under the supervision of Dr. Pantelis Katharios, in the Marine Microbiology Laboratory of the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree, Alicia worked in a routine blood analysis laboratory at the Department of Molecular Biology in Linz, Austria. There, she performed genetic testing for Lactose Intolerance, Hemochromatosis, Factor V Leiden Thrombophilia or JAK2 mutation. Alicia is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Sofia (Sophie) Schoina was born in Athens, Greece, in 2000. She graduated from the School of Applied Biology and Biotechnology of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) in 2023, obtaining an Integrated Master’s degree in Biotechnology. As an undergraduate student, Sophie completed a two-month internship at the Clinical Microbiology laboratory of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). She has additionally performed a two-month internship at the Biomedical Sciences Research Center (BSRC) "Alexander Fleming" under the supervision of Prof. Eleni Douni, where she also conducted her thesis entitled "Studying the effect of RANKL protein in breast cancer cells through proteomic analysis". After graduating, she worked as a Biomedical Scientist for six months in the Clinical Microbiology laboratory of the Medical School of the NKUA, where she contributed to the daily surveillance of multidrug-resistant organisms related to healthcare-associated infections and participated in two multicenter clinical research studies. Eager to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to address modern medical challenges innovatively, Sophie has enrolled in the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
Eleni (Elena) Touliou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2002. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the University of Patras (UoP) in 2024. As an undergraduate student, she conducted her dissertation thesis, entitled "PTPN2 gene expression in CD4+ T lymphocytes from healthy individuals and patients with psoriasis", in the laboratory of Genetics of the UoP, under the supervision of Prof. Ioannis Vasilopoulos. Additionally, she completed a two-month internship at Istolab, a Histology and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, where she gained proficiency in several laboratory techniques. In 2019, she had the opportunity to attend an intensive 1,5-month course at the University of Chicago, USA, entitled "Contagion: Infectious Agents and Emerging Diseases". Elena is currently enrolled in the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming."
Eleni Tsamadia was born in Lamia, Greece in 2001. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2024. For her thesis, she conducted research on the "Interactions of the κ-opioid receptor with spinophilin and cofilin" at the Cell Signaling and Molecular Pharmacology Laboratory, part of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications at the National Center for Scientific Research (NCSR) "Demokritos", under the supervision of Dr. Iro Georgoussi. During her third year of studies, Eleni participated in the Erasmus+ program; she spent a semester in Germany, attending courses at the Biology Department of the Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg. She has also undertaken a two-month internship in the Neurogenetics Unit of Eginition Hospital, under the supervision of Dr. Georgia Karadima, where she gained experience in various laboratory techniques in the field of Molecular Genetics. Eleni is currently attending the International MSc program in Molecular Biomedicine, organized by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming."