Dr. Anastasia Zerva, Biologist, MSc, PhD in Chemical Engineering, is an expert in the use of microbiology methods for submerged batch cultures and bioreactors, but also molecular biology tools for production of biotechnologically relevant enzymes in heterologous hosts. She has experience in methods of isolation, purification and biochemical characterization of enzymes. Moreover, her area of research includes methods of isolation of bioactive compounds from mycelial biomass and culture filtrates.

Professor Elias Eliopoulos is the Director of the Genetics Laboratory at the Biotechnology Department of the Agricultural University of Athens (A.U.A.) and leads the bioinformatics and structural biology group. He is professor of Biochemistry, a biophysicist and crystallographer by training with considerable experience in biomolecular structure analysis, epitope mapping of protein receptors, genetic polymorphisms and variation, cloning, with experimental and computational methods, protein structure prediction, ligand and drug design, protein design, in silico antibody design and biosoftware development. The group has experience and international reputation on computational protein folding, ab initio and homology modeling of proteins derived from edge gene research and membrane protein modeling. The group is also involved in many ligand computational design projects for pharmaceutical, medicinal and agricultural applications. 

Dr. Stathis Frillingos is Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of Ioannina, Department of Medicine, and Director of the Interinstitutional Interdepartmental Programme of Postgraduate Studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Ioannina, Greece (http://msc-mcbb.ac.uoi.gr). His research team focuses on the analysis of structure-function-specificity and evolutionary relationships of membrane transporters, with current emphasis on Solute Carriers responsible for the transmembrane transport of nucleosides, nucleobases and their antimetabolite analogs. His research studies include the functional characterization of new nucleobase/nucleoside transporters from microorganisms and analysis of their binding-site interactions with inhibitors and antimetabolite compounds as potential antimicrobial drugs (http://www.frillingoslab.gr).

Dr. Vassilis Douris is Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Ioannina, Department of Biological Applications and Technology. His research team focuses on the analysis of synergistic interactions between molecular mechanisms of insecticide resistance using reverse genetics (CRISPR/Cas9) approaches and functional expression in Drosophila and insect cell-based models, with current emphasis on the potential role of insect chemosensory proteins in insecticide detoxification. His research includes the functional characterization of resistance mutations and detox genes from resistant insects and their employment towards generation of screening platforms for inhibitory compounds to be used as potential synergists  (https://www.bri.forth.gr/douris).

Stratos Mylonas studied at the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department at the Democritus University of Thrace in Alexandroupolis and conducted his BSc thesis research at the Immunology lab of Prof. Chris D. Platsoucas at the Temple University of Philadelphia. He was accepted at the EMBL International PhD program and joined the lab of Dr. Dmitri Svergun at EMBL Hamburg, Germany focusing on method development and structural analysis of flexible proteins using Small Angle Scattering. After his PhD, he joined the lab of Dr Naoto Yagi at Spring-8, JASRI, Japan working on the structural analysis and simulations of surfactant assemblies, as potential gene delivery systems, and DNA polypods working mostly in collaboration with the group of Prof. Kazuo Sakurai at the University of Kitakyushu. He, then, worked at the lab of Prof. Michael Kokkinidis at IMBB-FORTH in Heraklion, Crete and was involved in several projects including a protein folding model protein, designing enzymes with new specificities, non-coding RNAs and bacterial Type III Secretion Systems. He will soon join the Department of Chemistry at University of Ioannina as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry. He is interested in the structural analysis of biological macromolecules, combining information from experimental and computational methods for the better understanding of structure-function relations.

EDUCATION

2019: PhD in Structural Biology and Protein Biomaterials (UoC, IMBB-FORTH - Greece)

2012: M.Sc. in Protein Biotechnology (UoC-Greece)

2009: Diploma Degree in Biology (UoC-Greece)

WORKING EXPERIENCE

Oct 2019 – Now: Post-Doctoral Researcher at I.M.B.B.-F.O.R.TH, Greece
                                (Laboratory of Structural Biology)

Sep 2020 – Now: Autonomous teaching and exam organizing of the under-graduate courses
                                "Enzymatic Biotechnology" and “Protein Engineering” at the Dept. of
                                 Biology of the Uni. of Crete

2014 – 2020:  Experienced scientist position at I.M.B.B.-F.O.R.TH, Greece (InnovCrete project /FP7-Regpot  program) and at University of Crete

Oct. 2010 –Jan. 2011: Laboratory Teaching Assistant of Microbiology Teaching Lab

                                        at the Dept. of Biology, Uni. of Crete

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

*Kefala K., Kotsifaki D., Providaki M., Kapetaniou E., Rahme L. and Kokkinidis M. Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the C-terminal fragment of the MvfR protein of  Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (2012). Acta. Cryst F, 68, 695-697

*Kefala A., Kotsifaki D., Providaki M., Amprazi M. and Kokkinidis M. Expression, purification and crystallization of a protein resulting from the inversion of the aminoacid sequence of a helical bundle. (2017). ). Acta. Cryst F, 73, 51-53

 Dimovasili C., Fadouloglou V.E.,  Kefala A.,  Providaki M., Kotsifaki D,  Sarrou I.,  Plaitakis A.,  Zaganas I. and Kokkinidis M. Crystal structure of glutamate dehydrogenase 2, a positively selected novel human enzyme involved in brain biology and cancer pathophysiology. Journal of Neurochemistry (accepted) 

RESEARCH PROFILE

Being in a Structural Biology group since 2011, Dr. Kefala A. has studied deeply the protein folding problem, elucidating the relation between amino acid sequence and structural properties of α-helical bundles. The knowledge obtained was used for protein design leading to bio-derived materials for bio-medical applications and basic research through structural studies of protein folding through reverse sequences.

Notable achievements include: 

The elucidation of the protein folding of mutants of the α-helical protein Rop that is used as a canonical paradigm of this structural motif.

Protein design of novel protein-based biomaterials with specific engineered properties.