BIOGRAPHY
About Me
I am a polymer and colloid scientist and I come from Athens, Greece. I hold a B.Sc. in Chemistry and an M.Sc. in Polymer Science from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In 2020, I obtained my Ph.D. in Chemistry, working within the group of Prof. Rachel O'Reilly at the University of Birmingham and, then, joined the group of Prof. Giuseppe Battaglia at University College London (UCL) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Currently, I am an EPSRC-funded Research Associate in the group of Prof. Steven Armes at the University of Sheffield. My research interests lie in the chemistry-biology interface and include the use of controlled polymerization techniques for the engineering of well-defined amphiphilic copolymers and self-assembled nanostructures with precision functionality and biomimetic properties. Moreover, I am interested in the application of such polymer-based nanomaterials in drug delivery, biocatalysis, and cell/organelle-mimicry.
Research Experience
EPSRC Research Associate (September 2021 – present)
Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Project: “Engineering of bio-mimicking, dynamic and shape-shifting block copolymer nanostructures via aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA)”
Supervisor: Prof. Steven P. Armes
EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow (July 2020 – June 2021)
Department of Chemistry, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom
Project: “Engineering of superselective block copolymer nanostructures with controlled morphology, surface properties and functionality for biomedical applications”
Supervisor: Prof. Giuseppe Battaglia
Education
Ph.D. in Chemistry (2018 – 2020)
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Thesis Title: “Tuning the membrane properties of functional polymersomes developed by aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA)”
Supervisor: Prof. Rachel K. O’Reilly
Ph.D. in Chemistry (2016 – 2018)
Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Supervisor: Prof. Rachel K. O’Reilly
M.Sc. in Polymer Science (2014 – 2016)
Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Thesis Title: “Synthesis, characterization and self-assembly of multi-responsive copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide), poly(L-histidine) and poly(L-cysteine) for the encapsulation of anticancer drugs and their controlled release”
Supervisor: Prof. Hermis Iatrou
B.Sc. in Chemistry (2010 – 2014)
Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Thesis Title: “Encapsulation of anticancer drugs into polypeptide-based nanostructures”
Supervisor: Prof. Hermis Iatrou
Awards & Funding
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Rideal Travel Bursary, Sir Eric Rideal Trust (June 2022) (link)
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2022 JEOL USA Image Contest Winner (May 2022) (link)
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2022 PMSE Future Faculty Scholar, ACS PMSE Division (March 2022) (link)
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2022 ACS Global Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Polymer Science and Engineering, ACS PMSE Division and CME (March 2022) (link)
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RSC Researcher Development Grant, Grant No. D20-977 (January 2022)
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Best Oral Presentation Award, 13th Hellenic Polymer Society International Conference (December 2021)
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Macro Group UK Jon Weaver PhD Prize 2020 (August 2021) (link)
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2020/21 Zouhair Atassi PhD Prize, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham (July 2021)
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Katharine Burr Blodgett Award 2021, Joint Colloids Group (May 2021) (link)
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2021 JEOL USA Image Contest Winner (May 2021) (link)
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Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship – “Neuro-oncological precision nanomedicines”, Grant No. EP/R024723/1 (July 2020 – June 2021) (link)
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Macro Group UK Young Researchers Meeting (YRM) 2020 Best Poster Prize (June 2020)
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Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research, ACS POLY Division (March 2020) (link)
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Ottewill International Travel Scholarship 2020 (November 2019) (link)
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RSC Biomaterials & Soft Matter Poster Prize, 14th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC14) (July 2019)
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Macro Group UK DH Richards Memorial Travel Bursary (June 2019)
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Soft Matter Cryo-TEM Certificate, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) (March 2017)
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European Research Council (ERC) Doctoral Scholarship – “Developing sequence controlled polymers for organization, templation and recognition”, Grant No. 615142 (October 2016 – June 2020) (link)
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Distinction Award from the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs (October 2010)
Teaching & Mentoring Experience
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Teaching Assistant, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK
Courses: Organic Chemistry II Practical Demonstrating (October 2018 – December 2018), Organic Chemistry III Practical Demonstrating (February 2019), Year 3 Mini-Project on Polymer Chemistry Practical Demonstrating and Marking (November 2019)
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Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, UK
Course: Inorganic Chemistry III Practical Demonstrating (October 2016 – December 2016)
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Course Certificate on “Preparing to Teach in Higher Education”, University of Warwick, UK (November 2016)
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During my current employment as Research Associate at the Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield (UK), I am co-supervising 2 MChem students and acting as peer-to-peer mentor for 3 Ph.D. students.
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During my Ph.D. studies at the School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham (UK), I had co-supervised 3 Ph.D. students, 1 M.Sc. student, 2 MChem students and 1 B.Sc. summer project student.
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During my M.Sc. studies at the Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), I had co-supervised 2 B.Sc. diploma project students.
Professional Memberships & Service
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Communications Manager for the Early Career Colloid (ECCo) Network (May 2022 – present)
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Presider (Session Chair) for the ACS PMSE Division at the ACS Fall 2021 National Meeting (August 2021)
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Ambassador of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) (May 2021 – present)
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Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) (January 2019 – present)
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Member of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE), Polymer Chemistry (POLY) and Colloid & Surface Chemistry (COLL) Divisions (ACS) (January 2019 – present)
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Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) (June 2017 – present)
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Member of Macro Group UK, Biomaterials Chemistry Group and Materials Chemistry Division (RSC) (June 2017 – present)
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Member of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) (June 2017 – present)
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Member of the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) and European Microscopy Society (EMS) (April 2018 – present)
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Graduate Network Committee Member of the United Kingdom & Ireland Controlled Release Society (UKICRS) (January 2018 – November 2020)
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Member of the Association of Greek Chemists (AGC) (October 2014 – present)
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Reviewer for the following scientific journals: Journal of the American Chemical Society, ACS (5), Chemistry of Materials, ACS (1), ACS Macro Letters, ACS (1), Macromolecules, ACS (3), Polymer Chemistry, RSC (3), Journal of Polymer Science, Wiley (1), Polymer, Elsevier (1), Polymers, MDPI (1), Nanomaterials, MDPI (3)
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Invited Guest Editor for Polymers (MDPI) (November 2020 – June 2021)
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