The Laboratory of
HIV Immunopathogenesis
and Emerging Pathogens

Panagiotis graduated from the Pharmacy School at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and subsequently received his Masters in Medicinal Chemistry at the same university, focusing on the synthesis, molecular target identification and structure elucidation of aromatic compounds with potential dual antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. During his Masters he mostly worked on the synthesis of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives, with extensive focus on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) for structure elucidation, in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and in vivo applications in murine models, among which was the investigation of the anti-inflammatory activity with the use of the carrageenan-induced paw edema. As part of his Masters work, he refined his skills in Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, recrystallization and purification techniques, and molecular docking for identification of potential drug targets of the compounds.

Following the completion of his MSc, he was accepted in the PhD program of the Department of Pharmacology at the Aristotle University, in collaboration with the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell Medicine, under the co-mentorship of Drs. Ioannis Vizirianakis and Thomas J. Walsh. During his PhD, he worked on bacteriophage therapy of Gram-negative bacterial infections, and more specifically carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC). His PhD work focused on the isolation and characterization of bacteriophages selective against KPC, and the investigation of their efficacy in vivo in murine models of KPC gastrointestinal colonization and infection. As the pandemic of COVID-19 occurred during the second year of his PhD studies, he also worked on the identification of potential novel antimicrobials against COVID-19, with potential dual activity against the cytopathic pathway of the virus, as well as against the inflammatory cascade of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In February 2023, he joined the Ndhlovu laboratory to work on the use of bacteriophages as a potential strategy to combat HIV-related dysbiosis in the gastrointestinal tract.

Research Interest: bacteriophage therapy, bacterial infections, HIV-related gut dysbiosis, wound infection mucormycosis, COVID-19 drug screening, in vivo murine models, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling, organic synthesis, NMR spectroscopy

Awards/Accolades:

• Henry Shcueler 41&9 Foundation Fellow for research of wound infection invasive mucormycosis (2023)

Fun Fact: Panagiotis is a teacher of Byzantine music, with students ranging from the ages of 9-65 years old. He is also a certified instructor of martial arts, and more specifically Wing Chun Kung Fu, which he has been practicing for 16 years.

Hometown: Serres, Greece
 

PharmD, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

MSc, Medicinal Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

PhD (ongoing), Pharmacology – Infectious Diseases, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Weill Cornell Medicine