MSc Molecular Biomedicine students - Entry Year of 2023
Muhammad Moghazy was born in Gharbya, Egypt in 2000. He graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Misr International University (MIU) in Cairo, Egypt. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in July, 2023. Muhammad has cooperated with the Drug Design team at MIU for their research entitled “3D-QSAR Pharmacophore Model Generation for Virtual Screening, and Docking Studies of Aromatase Inhibitors for Lead Discovery of Novel Anti-cancer Agents” under the supervision of Prof. Nahla A. Farag, Head of Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry Department at MIU. At the end of the fourth year of his undergraduate studies, he undertook a month-long traineeship at the Clinical Pharmacy Department of Dar Al Fouad Hospital in Cairo. Furthermore, he has gained valuable experience by being trained in the Analytical Chemistry and Microbiology laboratories at Misr International University. Muhammad 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Zoe Cournia, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Raneen Beidas was born in Jerusalem in 1999. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in the field Biotechnology from the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) in July 2023. She performed her undergraduate thesis entitled “Scale-down Screening of E.coli Fab-Fragment and Nanobody production strains in a bioREACTOR 48 high-throughput facility” at the department of bioprocess engineering. During her last semester she carried out an internship at the department of Medical Biopathology of Eginition Hospital, under the supervision of prof. Stylianos Chatzipanagiotou, where she gained knowledge about several
laboratory techniques in the field of microbiology. Raneen 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Laskaro Zagoraiou, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Anna Chita was born in Athens, Greece in 1999. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Crete (UoC) in 2022. Her undergraduate thesis, titled “Cell-based screening for novel small-molecule agonists of BDNF neurotrophin receptor, TrkB”, was carried out at the Regenerative Pharmacology Lab at the Medical School of UoC, under the supervision of Professor Charalampopoulos. During that time, she received training in cell-based techniques and was introduced into the processes of research and drug development. Her interest in advanced medicinal therapies drove her to join the International M.Sc. program in Molecular Biomedicine, offered by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Maya Roubelakis, Medical School - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Stephen Coffey is an American who was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1999. He graduated from a four year program at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire where he received a comprehensive degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology . During his undergraduate program, he participated in two labs. One with Dr. James Phillips where he explored the energetic properties of different molecular complexes with low-temperature IR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, and another with Dr. Sudeep Bhattacharyay which involved the use of molecular dynamic simulations in understanding the effect of multiple inorganic crowders on the protein folding dynamics of the membrane protein GTPase Hras. Seeking a master’s program and international experience, Stephen decided to join the International M.Sc. program in Molecular Biomedicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in collaboration with the BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Efthimios Skoulakis, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Ariadne Damanaki was born in Athens, Greece in 1999. She obtained her Integrated Master in Pharmacy from the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Patras in 2022. As an undergraduate student, she did a 9-month internship in the Biology Laboratory of the Hellenic Open University, where she also conducted her dissertation thesis entitled “Knockdown of the epigenetic repressor ZBTB7A by CRISPR/Cas9 system and consequent effects on the expression levels of the human γ-globin” under the supervision of Prof. George Patrinos and Prof. Argyro Sgourou. She, also, joined the iGEM Patras 2021 Team for the iGEM Competition, where the team won a bronze medal and was nominated for the Inclusivity Award for their Pharmacogenomics project. During her last year of undergraduate studies, she completed a 3-month Erasmus+ Traineeship at KU Leuven – Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Laboratory of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Antibodies. In this lab, she carried out projects for optimizing bacterial expression of nanobodies after phage display. After graduating, she started working in Vianex S.A. as a Quality Control Analyst, where she gained valuable experience in HPLC and physicochemical analysis of raw materials and pharmaceutical products. Ariadne 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Mihalis Verykokakis, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Athanasios Emmanouilidis was born in Athens, Greece in 1998. He graduated from the Department of Chemistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). As an undergraduate student he performed his dissertation thesis in the field of Biochemistry, titled "Mechanism of action of the chaperone protein TAPBPR and its roles in adaptive immunity”, under the supervision of Associate Professor Efstratios Stratikos. Thanos 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Themis Alissafi, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Ioanna Kalogeropoulou was born in Patras, Greece in 2001. She graduated from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Patras (UoP) in 2023. At the end of the fourth year of her undergraduate studies, she undertook a three-month internship at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA). She conducted her Bachelor's Thesis, entitled " Differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes in biomimetic scaffolds of extracellular matrix in the presence or absence of chondrogenic differentiation medium" under the supervision of Professor Nikolaos K. Karamanos, at the Biochemistry Laboratory of the Section A: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Natural Products, Department of Chemistry, UoP. Ioanna 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Maria Xilouri, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Lampros Karkanis was born in Lamia, Greece in 1999. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). As an undergraduate student, he conducted his dissertation thesis, entitled "A study of ribonucleoproteins in the metabolic syndromes of fatty liver disease", under the supervision of Prof. Dimitris Kontoyiannis at the Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology at the School of Biology of AUTH. During his studies, Lampros performed a 2-month internship at the Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility of the BSRC "Alexander Fleming", where he worked on the development of a multiparametric protocol of cytometric analysis for immunophenotyping in models of inflammation, under the supervision of Dr. Sofia Grammenoudi. After his graduation, he had the opportunity to work as molecular and clinical biologist at the 424 General Military Hospital of Thessaloniki, for a period of 8 months. Lampros 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Prof. George Kollias, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Eleni Katsiouli was born in Karditsa, Greece in 1998. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in 2022. She conducted her Bachelor's Thesis, entitled "Detection of anti-inflammatory chemicals against RNA binding proteins" under the supervision of Prof. Dimitrios L. Kontoyiannis, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). At the fourth year of her undergraduate studies, she undertook a two-month internship at the Department of Immunology and microbiology of Theageneio Anticancer Hospital of Thessaloniki. She 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Vassilis Aidinis, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Marianthi Marouli was born in Athens, Greece in 2001. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at University of Thessaly in 2023. During her studies she carried out a 2-month internship at Hellenic Pasteur Institute, in the laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunobiotechnology. There she worked on detecting neutralizing antibodies that prevent the spike protein of SARS-CoV2 from binding on the human receptor ACE2 in the serum of vaccinated people using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Furthermore Marianthi conducted her dissertation thesis entitled “Characterization of a LncRNA’s enhancer regulatory sequence using CRISPR and chemiluminescence assays in cancer” in the laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genomics, at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology under the supervision of Prof. Antonis Giakountis. There she developed great interest in epigenetics, RNA biology and molecular oncogenesis. Marianthi has always been fascinated by Molecular Biology and this prompted her to attend 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Vasiliki Koliaraki, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Pavlina Micha was born in Athens, Greece in 1999. She is a graduate of the department of Biological Applications and Technology of the University of Ioannina. She performed her dissertation thesis entitled “Study of peripheral chromatin organization in the absence of peripheral proteins LBR or/and Lamin A/C” at the lab of Biological Chemistry of Ioannina Medical School under the supervision of Associate Professor Anastasia Politou. After obtaining her bachelor's degree she participated in a six-month internship at the Center for Molecular Medicine of University Medical Center Utrecht. There, she joined the lab of Dr. Aniek Janssen, where she had the opportunity to familiarize herself with standard molecular cellular biology techniques. Pavlina 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Apostolos Klinakis, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Artemis Monogyiou was born in Athens, Greece in 2000. She graduated from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) in 2023. During her third year of undergraduate studies, she completed a two-month internship at the Pathology Laboratory of the 401 General Military Hospital of Athens. She conducted her diploma thesis entitled "Toxicogenetic study of arylamine N-acetyltransferases" at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics & Pharmacogenomics-Toxicogenomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, under the supervision of Dr. Boukouvala Sotiria. After her graduation, she took part in a 4-month internship at the Laboratory of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnologies at the University of Bologna, Italy as part of the Erasmus+ Program. During that period, she studied the ability of specific Staphylococcus Epidermidis bacterial strains to utilize alternative energy sources when exposed to glucose-deficient environments. Artemis 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Antonios Chatzigeorgiou, Medical School - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Abdul Musasizi was born in Kampala-Uganda in 1996. He graduated with a BSc degree (Biology and Chemistry) in 2016 from Mbarara University of Science and Technology. He performed a study on the Prevalence of hypertension in relation to anthropometric indicesamong secondary adolescents in Mbarara, Southwestern Uganda under the guidance of Dr. katamba Godfrey. He was trained in DNA extraction and PCR techniques under Prof. Gertrude Kiwanuka in Epicenter Laboratory Mbarara where he extracted and amplified plasmodium DNA from mosquitoes in western Uganda. He also participated in a study on Alloimmunization and Vascular Thrombosis in Sickle Cell patients where he identifed D-Clusters related to Alloimmunization at Dr. Denis Kasozi’s Biotechnology Laboratory at Makerere University. Abdul’s desire to participate and progress in laboratory based studies made him apply to 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Maria Tsoumakidou, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
George Niforos-Garcia was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba in 1999. He graduated from the Department Of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the University of Thessaly (UTH) in 2022. During his studies, George performed a 3-month internship in the microbiology lab of Sofia P. Melachroinou, where he got familiar with clinical lab operations. As an undergraduate student, he conducted his dessertation thesis entitled "Immunochemical analysis of estrogen receptor localization in skeletal muscle tissue" in the lab of Functional and Structural Biochemistry, under the supervision of Associate Professor Anna-Maria Psarra, gaining experience in confocal microscopy, blotting and standard molecular techniques. George 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Kostas Vekrellis, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Rana Ozer is a Turkish student who was born in Gostivar, North Macedonia in 2001. She graduated from Department of Biology in Tishk International University (TIU), Erbil, Iraq, in 2023. Her thesis project, in field of Molecular Neurobiology, entitled "Exploring the Role of APP Gene mutations in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review", was performed in department of Biology in TIU, under the supervision of Dr. Harmand Ali. As an undergraduate student she had opportunity to attend international scientific seminars and trainings at the Tshik International University. Rana 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Panagiotis Politis, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
Panagiotis Papadopoulos was born in Amaliada, Greece in 2000. He graduated from the Department of Biology of the University of Patras in 2023. As an undergraduate student, he conducted his thesis dissertation, entitled “Familial Cat-Eye syndrome: a rare genetic disease”, in the laboratory of Medical Genetics, Patras University General Hospital with Dr. Eugenia Stefanou and under the supervision of Prof. Ioannis Vasilopoulos. Panagiotis also carried out a two-month internship in the Neurogenetics Unit of Eginition Hospital, under the guidance of Dr. Georgia Karadima, where he performed several laboratory techniques in the field of Molecular Genetics. Panagiotis 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Prof. Despina Sanoudou, Medical School - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Athina Papalamprou was born in Athens, Greece in 1999. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2022. Her bachelor thesis entitled “Investigation of the mechanism of immune tolerance induced my myelin antigens conjugated to mannan using the mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis” was completed in the Molecular Genetics laboratory of the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, under the supervision of Dr. Lesley Probert. After her graduation, she went to Rome, Italy for a 3-month Erasmus+ Traineeship at Santa Lucia Foundation IRCSS, Neuroimmunology laboratory. She participated to a project investigating antiviral immune responses in persons with multiple sclerosis and in healthy individuals, under the supervision of Dr. Giovanna Borsellino. She is currently attending 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. George Pavlopoulos, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
George Tegousis was born in Larissa, Greece in 1999. He graduated from the Department of Biology with First Class Degree at York University in Toronto, Canada. During his undergraduate studies, he took a variety of courses mainly in molecular and cellular biology. In summer 2023, he participated in a research project at the University of Texas at Arlington, US in the field of Drosophila’s heart development. During that time, he conducted experiments using ChIP-seq and Single-cell RNA-seq technologies. He developed a great interest in epigenomics and proteomics. George 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Prof. Maria Gazouli, Medical School - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Sofia Politi was born in Athens in 1998. She obtained her BSc in Biology from National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). She conducted her thesis, entitled “Regulation of gene expression, in Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD), in transcriptional and post-transcriptional level” at the Department of Genetics at the Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens , under the direction of Prof. Dimitrios J. Stravopodis and the supervision of Dr. Ema Anastasiadou. She specifically analyzed the expression of coding and non-coding RNAs, genes and microRNAs in different stages of Hepatic disease. After her graduation she was trained for three months in various laboratory assays at the Section of Cell Biology and Biophysics, of the Department of Biology (NKUA), under the supervision of Dr. Dimitrios J. Stravopodis. Sofia 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Georgios Skretas, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"
Victoria Zagana was born in Athens, Greece in 2000. She graduated from the Department of Biology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in 2023. She conducted her Bachelor's Thesis, entitled «Systemic and Tissue-Specific Modeling of Human Diseases in the Drosophila Model Biological Brain System», in the Section of Cell Biology and Biophysics, under the supervision of Dr. Dimitrios J. Stravopodis. Victoria, also, had the opportunity to perform her two-month internship in the Laboratory of Chemical Biology of the National Hellenic Research Foundation under the guidance of Dr. Dimitrios Stellas where she gained experience in several molecular techniques. Victoria 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".
● First Rotation Supervisor: Prof. George Kollias, Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"