Group Leader |
|
|
|
Associate Professor
Spyros got his Bachelor’s degree in Biology, as well his PhD in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His PhD thesis was on characterization of cyanobacteria and their bioactive peptides. Part of his PhD was at the University of Helsinki, Finland (in Prof. Kaarina Sivonen’s lab). Since 2009 he has been lecturer and subsequently assistant professor the School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In addition to doing research (see research projects) he teaches undergraduate/Master’s courses in Biodiversity, Phycology, Bioinformatics, Aquacultures and serves in the board of the MSc Programs Conservation of biodiversity and sustainable exploitation of native plants and Ecological water quality and management at a river basin level. |
Postdoctoral collaborators |
|
 |
Dr. Sevasti – Kiriaki Zervou Chemist, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Sevasti – Kiriaki Zervou received her bachelor degree in Chemistry (2009) from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UOA) and her master degree in Chemical Analysis and Quality Control (2011) from UOA in collaboration with NCSR “Demokritos” under the supervision of Dr. A. Hiskia. She has joined the group of Catalytic-Photocatalytic Processes and Environmental Analysis Laboratory of NCSR “Demokritos” from November, 2007. Furthermore, she is working as analyst at the accredited (according to ISO 17025) Laboratory of Environmental Analysis of NCSR “Demokritos”. Her research focuses on environmental analysis of cyanotoxins, pesticides, PAHs and emerging pollutants, and on identification of bioactive secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria by mass spectrometry. |
 |
Dr. Ariel Kamiński
Ariel is a biologist and got his Ph.D. at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. In the laboratory, he is primarily interested in the determining stability of the secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins phytoremediation, and the influence of xenobiotics on aquatic plants. At the AUTH, with Spyros Gkelis, Manthos Panou, and Dimitris Pappas, he will conduct several experiments to determine the effects of various species of cyanobacteria on selected plants. |
|
|
Despoina Konstantinou BSc Biology, MSc Aquaculture and Hydrobiology
Despoina is a biologist with Master Degree on Hydrobiology and Aquaculture. Her MSc thesis was on sponge-cyanobacteria diversity in the Aegean Sea, supervised by Professors Eleni Voultsiadou and Spyros Gkelis.
In 2016 she started her PhD thesis, supervised by Spyros Gkelis, in the School of Biology (AUTh), in the field of sponge-microbe symbiosis. Particularly, her research is dealing with the diversity of sponge-associated microorganisms with focus on cyanobacteria in different sponge species of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the evolution of this symbiosis and the secondary metabolite production of sponge associated-cyanobacteria.
Member of CyanoLab since 2014
|
PhD students |
|
|
|
Manthos Panou BSc Biology, MSc Biotechnology-Molecular and microbiological analysis of products and food
Manthos is a biologist with Master Degree on Biotechnology-Molecular and microbiological analysis of products and food" master program in AUTH. His MSc thesis was on the characterization of cyanobacteria strains such as Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. He did his bachelor degree in Biology, in AUTH, Greece, whilst his bachelor thesis was on phytoplankton in Lake Karla, Greece. In 2018 he started his PhD thesis, supervised by Spyros Gkelis, in the field of isolation and characterization of cyanobacteria from lesser-known envirnoments. Particularly, his research is dealing with the characterisation of cyanobacteria strains and the bioprospecting of bioactive compounds contributing to the emergence of the diversity of cyanobacteria, from Greece, at taxonomic, genomic and metabolic levels. Member of CyanoLab since 2013 |
 |
Dimitris Pappas BSc Biology
Dimitris is a biologist and, currently, PhD student in the Department of Botany, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His PhD thesis is supervised by associate professor Emmanuel Panteris and co-supervised by assistant professor Spyros Gkelis. His research focuses on the effects of cyanobacterial bioactive compounds on plant cells, using both light and electron microscopy, as well as molecular methods.
Member of CyanoLab since 2015. |
 |
Urania Lortou BSc Environmental & natural recourses management, MSc Biotechnology & applied genetics
Urania obtained her BSc in Environmental & natural resources management from the University of Ioannina and her MSc on Biotechnology & applied genetics from the AUTH. Diversity and phylogenetic investigation of microeukaryotes was the thesis on her MSc performed in Cyanolab. Since 2018 she is a PhD student in the Department of Botany, AUTH, working on the characterization of microeukaryotes, under the supervision of assistant professor Spyros Gkelis. Especially her research focuses on the association of microphytes’s growth and high concentrations of CO2, as well as their metabolic diversity. Member of CyanoLab since 2014 |
Postdgraduate collaborators |
|
 |
Georgia Papapanagiotou MSci Food Science and Technology, MSc Hydrobiology and Aquacultures
Georgia Papapanagiotou holds an MSci degree on Food Science and Technology (School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – AUTH), as well as an MSc degree on Hydrobiology and Aquacultures (School of Biology, AUTH), specializing on the polyphasic characterization of commercially used microalgae. Moreover, she is currently in the last year of the post-graduate program “Total Quality Management” (School of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University - HOU). Her research interests focus on the commercial exploitation of microalgae for food and nutraceutical products and on the applications of factorial experimental design in the broad area of microalgae biotechnology. She is an accredited agricultural advisor, as well as an external research associate of the AUTH and of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
|
MSc students |
|
 |
Maria Kroustalaki BSc Agriculture, MSc Student
Maria is a postgraduate student that is currently participating in the master degree program of AUTH “ Biotechnology- Molecular and microbiological analysis of products and food “. She is researching the effects of ecophysiological parameters upon cyanotoxin production in Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Her bachelor degree is in Agriculture (AUTH) and her bachelor thesis referred to the study of gene expression and evaluation of Greek tomato landraces.
Member of CyanoLab since 2019 |
 |
Victoria Giourieva BSc in Forest Sciences, MSc Student
Victoria is a student in the postgraduate program of study “Conservation of Biodiversity and sustainable exploitation of Native Plants (BNP)” of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her thesis is focusing on the investigation of microflora (Cyanobacteria) in the Mediterranean region using Biodiversity Informatics tools. She graduated School of Forestry in 2017.
Member of CyanoLab since 2019 |
BSc students |
|
 |
John Alexopoulos Biology Student
John is an undergraduate student currently working on the detection and phylogenetic analysis of genes involved in NRPS/PKS biosynthetic pathways in cyanobacterial strains.
Member of CyanoLab since 2019 |
 |
Maximos Papadopoulos Biology Student
Maximos is an undergraduate student currently working on the detection of gene clusters of bioactive molecules in thermophilic cyanobacteria genomes.
Member of CyanoLab since 2021 |
 |
Michalis Michailidis Biology Student
Michalis is an undergraduate student currently working on the detection of gene clusters of bioactive molecules in the genome of cave dwelling cyanobacteria.
Member of CyanoLab since 2021 |
 |
John Plesias Biology Student
John is an undergraduate student, currently working on the detection and phylogenetic analysis of the genes involved in cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation.
Member of CyanoLab since 2021 |
 |
Thomas Pister Erasmus Biology Student
Thomas Pister is an Erasmus + student from Bremen, Germany. He is studying Industrial and Environmental Biology B. Sc. at the City University for Applied Sciences Bremen. At our lab, Thomas will primary support our team at the Pilot cultivation of locally isolated Dunaliella strains for the production of ß-carotene project.
Member of CyanoLab since 2022 |
Alumni |
|
|
Postdoctoral collaborators Dr. Panagiotis Giannogonas
Visiting PhD students Aga Brozowska (University of Poznan, Poland)
MSc Students Georgia Papapanagiotou Rania Lortou Despoina Konstantinou Manthos Panou Javier Díaz Álvarez Ourania Tsoulanaki [co-supervision with assist. prof. E. Chanlidou] Eleftherios Deligiannis [co-supervision with assist. prof. R. Karousou] Yiolanda Vergou
BSc Students Nikos Pappas Nikos Zaoutsos Sofia Papadimitriou Donita Kati Okan Kalentzi [co-supervision with prof. Ch. Chintiroglou]. Amalia Theodoridou [co-supervision with prof. Ch. Chintiroglou] Maria Mastoraki [co-supervision with prof. Ch. Chintiroglou] Giorgos Vergis Manthos Panou Konstantina Siampouli Marilou Natsi [co-supervision with assoc. prof. E.-N. Panteris] Antonia Kasampali [co-supervision with prof. Μ. Arsenakis] Dimtra-Lida Rammou [co-supervision with prof. Ch. Chintiroglou] Stamatia Ioakeim [co-supervision with prof. Μ. Arsenakis] Anastasia Arvaniti [co-supervision with prof. Μ. Arsenakis] Giorgia-Maria Di Lorenzo [co-supervision with prof. Μ. Arsenakis] Maro Karageorgou [co-supervision with assist. prof. E. Loukogeorgaki] Lena Valatsou [co-supervision with assist. prof. E. Loukogeorgaki] Christos Papadopoulos Kassiani Panagiotou [co-supervision with prof. E. Voultsiadou] Anastasia Galani [co-supervision with prof. E. Voultsiadou] Konstantinos Chnoudas [co-supervision with Dr. D. Fewer, Univ. of Helsinki] Dimtris Pappas [co-supervision with assoc. prof. E.-N. Panteris] Iordanis Ourailidis Panagiotis Apostolidis [co-supervision with prof. Μ. Arsenakis] Vasia Kakakiou Christina Skodra Dimitrios Karapliafis [co-supervision with assoc. prof. P. Malea] Eva Daskalaki [co-supervision with prof. E. Voultsiadou] Themis Parisis Sofia Kerestetzopoulou Christos Giannakopoulos
Erasmus students Pablo Fernandez-Tussy (Spain) |
|
