Meet the people who make up STEM Faculty.
I am a molecular biologist with a strong interest in epigenetics research and its applications in biotechnology. I primarily study plants and algae, but I happily venture into other fields where epigenetics can provide a more comprehensive understanding of biological causality.
My training has taken me across five prestigious institutions in three different countries: Greece, the UK, and Ireland. I completed my BSc in Biology at the University of Athens, followed by an MSc in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Crete, Greece. I then decided that I had received enough sunshine for the years to come and moved to the UK to undertake a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Glasgow, where I developed a keen preference for chromatin biology. Following my doctorate, I held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin, broadening my research experience and contributing to interdisciplinary collaborations.
In 2023, I gained valuable teaching experience as a Teaching Associate at the University of Nottingham before joining The Open University as a Lecturer in Plant Biology.
I lead the Developmental & Environmental Epigenetics (DEEP) lab, and my vision is to make epigenetic research engaging, relevant, and accessible to a wide range of learners.
DEEP lab
Research interests
The DEEP Lab has several ongoing research themes:
Unravelling the epigenetic regulation of the biosynthesis of high-value natural pharmaceuticals from plants and microalgae.
Understanding the diversity and regulation of the plant Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2)
Developing targeted therapeutic approaches through epigenetic engineering
Research Studentship Opportunities
I am a registered prospective supervisor for the BBSRC/NERC ILESLA Doctoral Landscape Award.
My work aligns with the following core ILESLA research themes:
Rules of Life: Developmental Epigenetics of Plants and Algae.
Transformative technologies: synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for production of natural pharamaceuticals
Animal and Human Health: Precesion medicine therapeutics through targeted epigenetic engineering
Please contact me to discuss potential projects.
