A biochemist by training, I have been working for years on the folding, assembly and structure of natural fibrous proteins. I subsequently got interested in using these proteins as models for the design of new fibrous materials, and I continued on this direction since my appointment at the Materials Science and Technology Department at the University of Crete.
I am particularly focusing on how to translate fundamental structural knowledge from natural fibrous proteins into concrete integration strategies and applications in the area of fibrous bio-nano-materials.
These efforts rely not only on biochemical and structural methodologies, but also on the fostering of interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues from other disciplines (eg laser science) that develop techniques to manipulate, assemble and position these materials in a controlled manner.
Education
- Habilitation, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France, 2003
- Post-Doctoral, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, U.S.A, 1987-1991
- PhD Biochemistry- Enzymology, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France, 1986
- B.S. Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 1981
Career
- Professor of Biomaterials, Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Greece
- Associate Professor of Biomaterials, Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Greece
- Research Scientist, CNRS (French National Research Center), Ιnstitut de Biologie Structurale, Grenoble, France
- Research Scientist, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, U.S.A.
Interests
- the proteins as biomaterials
- engineering and design of fibrous biomaterials
- self-assembling peptides
- protein folding and assembly
- protein engineering and production
Other
Co-author of a textbook “Plenty of Room for Biology at the Bottom: An Introduction to Bionanotechnology”, 2nd Edition (2013), by Ehud Gazit and Anna Mitraki, ISBN: 978-1-84816-930-2, Imperial College Press (World Scientific Publishing).
Jonathan King’s 80th birthday Festschrift
“Protein Folding and Aggregation, Mentoring, and a Molecular Food Recipe”
https://fnl.mit.edu/protein-folding-and-aggregation-mentoring-and-a-molecular-food-recipe/
(with permission from the MIT Faculty Newsletter)
Education
- 1965: Ph.D. Nuclear Science, University of Michigan, USA
- 1963: M. Sc. Physics, University of Michigan, USA
- 1962: M.S.E. Nuclear Engineering University of Michigan, U.S.A
- 1958: Diploma E.E. and M.E., National Technical University, Greece
Career
- 2003-today: Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser-FORTH, Greece
- 2003-today: Professor Emeritus, Physics Department, University of Crete, Greece
- 1993-2000: Director, Theory Division, Max-Planck Institut fuer Quantenoptik, Germany
- 1988 - 1991: Department Chairman, University of Southern California, U.S.A.
- 1983-1997: Director, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser-FORTH, Greece
- 1982-2003: Professor, Physics Department, University of Crete, Greece
- 1980 - 1982: Department Co-Chair, University of Southern California, U.S.A.
- 1979 - 1981: Professor, University of Patras, Greece
- 1978-1993: Professor, University of Southern California, U.S.A.
- 1975 - 1978: Associate Professor, University of Southern California, U.S.A.
- 1975 - 1978: Assistant to Associate Professor, University of Southern California, U.S.A.
- 1972 - 1973: Visiting Fellow, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Colorado, U.S.A.
- 1967 - 1972: Assistant Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory Illinois, U.S.A.
- 1965 - 1967: Senior Physicist, Bendix Research Laboratory Southfield, Michigan, U.S.A.
- 1964 - 1965: Research Associate, Radiation Laboratory, University of Michigan, U.S.A.
- 1961 - 1964: Research Assistant, University of Michigan, U.S.A.
Interests
- Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics, Quantum Technologies
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- Fellow of the American Physical Society and European Physical Society
- Xanthopoulos-Pneumatikos Prize for Excellence in University Teaching, 2003
- Distinguished Fellow of FORTH, 2003
- Chair of Gordon Research Conference on Multiphoton Processes, 1990
- Raubenheimer Prize of Excellence in Research, Teaching and Administration, University of Southern California, 1989
- Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, 1986
- Co-Chairman of ICOMP (Intrenational Conference on Multiphoton Processes), 1977, 1984, 1996, 2002
Other
- Member of the NATO Science Council, 1984-86
- Member of the Editorial Board of Zeitschrift fuer Physik D, 1984-91
- Member of the Round Table on Synchrotrons of the Large Installations Program of the EEC, 1991 - 93
- Member of the Board of Associate Editors of The European Physical Journal D, 1991-97
- Chairman of the Greek National Research Council, 1994 - 97
- Chairman of the European Group on Atomic Systems (EGAS) of EPS, 1999 - 2005
- Series Co-Editor of Springer Verlag Series of Books on Atoms and Plasmas
- Member and/or Co-Chairman of Organizing Committees of International Conferences such as International Conferences on Multiphoton Processes, European Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics, NATO Advanced Study Workshop, etc
- Member at various times (since 1984) of Ad Hoc Committees on Scientific Policy and Funding of the EEC
- Recipient continuously since 1974 of National Science Foundation (USA) Grants
- Member of the Advisory Editorial Board of Physical Review A, 1978-80
- Member of the Panel on Atomic and Molecular Theory of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 1985-88
- Member of special NSF panel for the evaluation of proposals for Science Centers in AMO Physics, 1987-88.
- Member of the Program Committee of the Division of Atomic-Molecular-Optical Physics of the American Physical Society, 1990-1993.
- Recipient continuously since 1986 of Department of Energy (USA) Grants
- Reviewer for Physical Review & Physical Review Letters, J. of Physics (U.K.) Journal of Chemical Physics, Chemical Physics Letters, Journal of Optical Society (U.S.A.), National Science Foundation, Research Corporation (U.S.A.), National Research Council (Canada)
- Reviewer of Proposals for NSF, DOE, Research Corporations, NATO, EEC
- Ph.D. thesis advisor or postdoctoral research advisor to about 50 students at the University of Southern California, the University of Crete and the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantum Optics, Garching
I studied Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated with Highest Honors in 1986. I then studied under Prof. Dan Neumark at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1991 with a PhD in Chemical Physics/Physical Chemistry. Following two years of postdoctoral research at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore California with Dr. David Chandler, I returned to Greece to join the Faculty at the University of Crete and the Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas. From 2013 I have also an Adjunct Professorship at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University and the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, in Göttingen Germany.
My main research interests are in the field of chemical dynamics. I have made well-recognized important contributions to the understanding of the state to state Photodissociation dynamics of molecules and clusters that helped shape the field. My laboratory was amongst the first photofragment ion imaging machines in Europe and part of the EU- funded Imaging Research Networks, continuously since 1997. In 2001 we pioneered a new variant of ion imaging and velocity mapping that called Slice Imaging. My team has also extended the use of charged particle imaging to the fields of (i) Molecular Electronics, by studying the electron transmission through organized thin films, (ii) Dye Sensitized Photovoltaics, and (iii) in Medical Spectroscopy / Ophthalmology, where we pioneered laser-based methods to the cross linking treatment of keratoconus, (iv)
Since 2013 I am also group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinery Sciences, in Göttingen Germany, where I have built a new experimental operation looking at fundamental processes on surfaces. My new team has demonstrated for the first time that the novel imaging techniques, developed on Crete, can be implemented towards studying the underlying chemical dynamics and kinetics for elementary processes in heterogeneous catalysis (Velocity Resolved Kinetics).
Education
- 1986, BSc with Highest Honors in Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
- 1991, PhD in Physical Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Career
- 1994-1999, Assistant Professor University of Crete and Research associate IESL-FORTH, Greece
- 1999-2007, Associate Professor University of Crete and Research associate IESL-FORTH, Greece
- 2007- present, Professor University of Crete and Research associate IESL-FORTH, Greece
- 2012-present, Affiliated Professor University and Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Germany
Interests
- Chemical Dynamics and Kinetics, Ion and Electron Imaging, Heterogeneous Catalysis
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- Humboldt Foundation Research Award 2012
- Friedrich von Bessel Award, Humboldt Foundation 2004
- Bodossaki Science Award in Chemistry 2003
- University of California Regents Fellow, Berkeley 1988-89
- IBM Predoctoral Fellow, Berkeley 1987-88
- Phi Beta Kappa, 1986
- B.J. Freud Award, Outstanding Junior in Chemistry, University of Illinois 1985
Maria Kafesaki is Associate Professor in the Dept. of Materials Science and Technology of the University of Crete and Adjunct Researcher at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) of Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH). She obtained her Ph.D. in 1997, at the Physics Department of the University of Crete, Greece. She has worked as post-doctoral researcher in the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas in Madrid, Spain, and in IESL of FORTH (1997-2001). Her current research is on the area of electromagnetic wave propagation in periodic and random media, with emphasis on photonic crystals and metamaterials. She has more than 100 publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings (with more than 5000 citations), she has participated in various European projects as well as in the organization of many international conferences and schools. Also she is Fellow of the Optical Society of America.
Education
- PhD in 1997, from Physics Department, Univ. of Crete, Greece
- MSc in 1992, Physics Department, Univ. of Crete, Greece
- BSc in 1990, at Physics Department, of the Univ. of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Electromagnetic waves in complex media (metamaterials, photonic crystals, plasmonic materials, ...)
- Elastic waves in random and periodic composite media
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- Fellow of the Optical Society of America, 2014
- Member of the team which achieved the EU Descartes prize for collaborative research in metamaterials, in 2005
Other
- Associate editor at EPJ: Applied Metamaterials Journal (http://epjam.edp-open.org/)
- Section editor at JEOS:RP (Journal of European Optical Society: Rapid Publications) (https://www.jeos.org/index.php/jeos_rp)
- Governing Board Member of Metamorphose VI (the Virtual Institute for Artificial Electromagnetic Materials and Metamaterials), http://www.metamorphose-vi.org/
Costas Fotakis is currently Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Crete and Distinguished Member of the Foundation Organization for Research and Technology (FORTH). He has served as Alternate Minister for Research and Innovation from January 2015 till July 2019. During this time, he designed and implemented Research and Innovation policies in Greece and participated in the EU Research Ministers Council.
Interests
- laser spectroscopy and photonics
- laser interactions with materials and biomaterials and related biomedical diagnostic and processing applications.
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 2004 ‘Leadership Award’ of the Optical Society of America (OSA)
- Springer Professor at the University of California, Berkeley for 2005-6
- Life Member and Fellow of OSA
- Member of the Fellows Committee of the European Optical Society (EOS)
- Honorary Doctorate by the Mediterranean University of Marseille.
Dr. Maria Chatzinikolaidou, FBSE, FTERM, FIAMBE, is a Professor of Biomaterials in Bioengineering and Head of the Laboratory for Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Crete, and affiliated faculty member at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). Her research activities focus on the development of biomaterials and scaffolds for tissue engineering applications including bone, cartilage, dental, cardiovascular, skin, and the validation of their in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility, functionality and biomechanical characteristics. Her work has led to the development of novel orthopaedic and dental biomaterials and medical devices, and tunable biomaterial platforms that control specific physiological processes for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, using the fundamentals of biological sciences and engineering.
Education
- Ph.D in Biochemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
- B.Sc. in Chemistry, University of Essen, Germany
Career
- Since July 2024, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, Greece
- 2019 - 2024, Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, Greece
- 2010 - 2018, Assistant Professor (tenured in 2014), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, Greece
- 2007 - 2010, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete, Greece
- 2006 - 2008, post-doctoral fellow, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), FORTH, Greece
- 2004 - 2006, post-doctoral associate at the University Medical School of Essen, Germany
Interests
- Tissue Engineering (bone, cartilage, dental, cardiovascular, skin)
- In vitro and in vivo biocompatibility evaluation of biomaterials, scaffolds and nanoparticles
- Investigation of the osteoinductive potential of implantable biomaterials and drugs
- Development of osteoinductive and osteoconductive biomaterials and scaffolds
- Investigation of the osteogenic potential of implantable biomaterials and drugs
- 3D printing technologies, bioprinting, electrospinning
- Biomechanics
- Functionalization of biomaterials with growth factors
- Development of protein immobilization techniques on biomaterials surfaces
- Adsorption and desorption studies of proteins on biomaterials surfaces
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- Elected Governing Council member of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) (term 2025-2027)
- Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE, elected 2024)
- Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) awarded by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE, elected in 2020)
- International Fellow of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (FTERM, elected in 2023)
- Elected Steering Committee member of the International College of Fellows of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (ICF-BSE) (term 2024-2028)
- European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) Ambassador for Greece (elected in 2023)
- Chair of the 28th Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB 2017) in Athens
- Program Chair of the TERMIS-EU 2019 (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society) Conference in Rhodes
