From:
Greece
Education:
MSc in Developmental Biology and Biochemistry – University of Patras
PhD in Molecular Ophthalmology – University of Patras School of Medicine
Hobbies:
Songwriter and ukulele player, table-tennis player
Research Interests:
The main goal of my primary project in the lab is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of folate and FOLR1 action in the formation of the neural tube in a human-derived neural organoid model.
I have developed human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC)-derived neural organoids as an innovative approach to model Neural Tube Defects (NTDs), such as spina bifida, and implement genetic and pharmacologic loss and gain of function approaches to assess FOLR1 and folate function in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics of neural cells during neural tube formation. Specifically, I have developed a human-based model system to assess the molecular and cellular mechanisms of NTDs and test the hypothesis that FOLR1 is necessary for changes in cytoskeletal protein dynamics in human neural cells during neural tube formation.