Dr Aikaterini Zoumi obtained her PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, USA. Her doctorate and post-doctorate research was conducted at the Beckman Laser Institute, University of California, Irvine, and involved the utilization of multiphoton microscopy and spectroscopy of micro-structural tissue and cellular components in order to address specific biological questions. She received her M.S. degree from the Department of Production Engineering and Management of the Technical University of Crete, Greece. During her M.S. research, she studied the formation of chlorination by-products during disinfection of treated wastewater. She received her B.S. degree from the Department of Mineral Resources Engineering of the Technical University of Crete, Greece. Her undergraduate thesis focused on trace element and radioactivity analysis of aerosol particles, produced from lignitic power stations in Greece. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at IESL/FORTH focusing on the development of specialized optical spectroscopic analysis methods for the identification and origin and quality control of agricultural products.
Education
- 2003, Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, USA
- 1998, M.Sc. in Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Greece
- 1996, B.Sc. in Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Biophotonics
- Imaging
- Microscopy
- Spectroscopy
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 1993–1998: Outstanding Student Scholarship from National Scholarship Foundation, Greece.
- 1998–1999: Regents’ Fellowship, University of California, Irvine, USA.
- 1999 – 2000: Whitaker Foundation Biomedical Engineering Graduate Fellowship, University of California, Irvine School of Engineering, USA.
- 2001 - present: member of the Optical Society of America
- 2001 - present: member of the SPIE-International Society for Optical Engineering
- 2001 - present: member of Women in Optics
- 2004 - 2005: Honored member of Manchester Who’s Who
Areti is author and co-author of > 15 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, matching > 800 citations (h-index is 10). Well versed in EU regulations and procedures, EC funded projects, managing R&D projects, participated in several FP7 projects and WP leader in two H2020 projects. She has been the recipient of several scholarships and awards; in 2019 she has been awarded with a Post-doctoral 'Stavros Niarchos Foundation - FORTH Fellowship' within the project ARCHERS. As a Tech Expert, she currently works as a Technology Transfer Consultant in PRAXI Network/FORTH that is the leading technology transfer and innovation support organization in Greece; where recenty she has been promoted as Head of Unit at the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at FORTH | PRAXI Network.
Education
- 2013, Ph.D. in Laser Physics, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK.
- 2009, M.Sc. in Microelectronics & Optoelectronics, Dept. of Physics, University of Crete, Greece.
- 2007, B.Sc. in Physics, Dept. of Physics, University of Crete, Greece.
Career
- 01/2023 - ..., Head of Unit, Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) | PRAXI Network
- 09/2021 - 12/2022, Technology Transfer Consultant, PRAXI network
- 01/2021 - 12/2021, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, (Heraklion, Greece)
- 07/2018 – 12/2020, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas, (Heraklion, Greece)
- 10/2018 – 12/18, Temporary Postdoctoral Research Associate in Science Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar -TAMUQ (Doha, Qatar)
- 12/14 – 06/18, Research & Development (R&D) Scientist in Nanoscribe GmbH (Karlsruhe, Germany)
- 12/13 – 11/14, Postdoctoral Researcher, Marie Curie Fellow & Laser Development Engineer at Amplitude Systèmes (Bordeaux, France)
- 12/12 – 11/13, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews (Scotland, UK)
Interests
- Novel ultrafast laser micro/nano processing techniques
- Optoelectronics Engineering, Laser methods for biomolecules patterning and materials processing
- Light – Matter Interaction, 3D Printing
- 4D Printing and Soft Robotics, 3D Bioprinting
- Laser beam shaping / Adaptive Optics
- Non-linear lithography / Laser-based nanofabrication
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 2022 - Guest Editor of Special Issue in Sensors: Women’s Special Issue Series - LINK:https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors/special_issues/WoS
- 2022 - Continues as a Vice chair @Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) Greek Chapter
- 2021 - Dr. Mourka was selected again to serve as an evaluator by the European Commission
- 2021 - Vice chair @Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) Greek Chapter
- 2021 - Women in Optics Planner | SPIE | https://spie.org/about-spie/advocacy/women-in-optics/women-in-optics-planner/2021-wio-planner/areti-mourka
- 2019 - Modular photo-induced non-linear additive manufacturing series - ‘MINOAS’ project | SNF-ARCHERS-IESL | https://archers.iesl.forth.gr/areti-mourka/
- 2019 - Best poster presentation | 12th FORTH Retreat (14th – 16th October 2019)
- 2019 - A travel grant was awarded from Marie Curie Alumni Association - MCAA for Areti's participation in the Forces and Forms of Doctoral Education 2019 conference in Hannover, Germany (5th – 6th September 2019)
- 2019 - Dr. Mourka was selected to serve as an evaluator by the European Commission
- 2018 - Visiting lecturer at the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Technological Educational Institute of Crete, in the context of the national program ‘Acquisition of Academic teaching experience in Young Scientists 2018-2019’
- 2013 - SUPA (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance) Graduate School Management Committee has supported Areti as an Early Career Researcher
- 2013 - Selected as a chairperson of the session on Laser Beam shaping at the Photonics 4 Life Network, 2nd Fast-Dot Summer School ‘Photonics meets Biology’, Heraklion, Greece (30th September – 3rd October 2013)
- 2013 - Best student poster presentation award at the Photonics 4 Life Network, 2nd Fast-Dot Summer School ‘Photonics meets Biology’, Heraklion, Greece, 30th September – 3rd October 2013 (100€ prize funded by Nature Photonics journal)
- 2011 - Photonics 4 Life Network, 1st Fast-Dot Summer School ‘Photonics meets Biology’, Heraklion, Greece, 15th - 18th September 2011. A scholarship was awarded from the organization committee to cover the cost of Areti's participation.
- 2009-2013 PhD funding from UK EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
- 2007-2009 Microelectronics – Optoelectronics M. Sc. Graduate Program, EPEAEK, National Scholarship Foundation
- 2006-2007 Student Award, State Scholarships Foundation (IKY)
Other
Projects:
- CARIOQA-PMP project - HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE | 2022 - 2026
- AccelerACTION project - HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP | 2022 - 2025
- smartHEALTH project - European Digital Innovation Haubs (DIGITAL-2021-EDIH-INITIAL-01) | 2022 - 2026
- Alternative smart ocular implants with controlled ophthalmic pharmacokinetics 2018-2021 | https://eeeeof.iesl.forth.gr
- Functional surface treatments using ultra-short pulse laser system - FemtoSurf | H2020-ICT | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825512
- High-Power Ultrafast LaSErs using Tapered Double-Clad Fibre - PULSE | H2020-ICT | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/824996
- Modular photo-induced non-linear additive manufacturing series - MINOAS | SNF-ARCHERS-IESL 2019
- PRINTOPTICS - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) 2017
- PHOIBOS - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) 2015
- Two Photon Absorbers for Biomedical Applications - TOPBIO | FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/264362
Michalis Orfanakis is a Physicist and currently a PhD student, member of the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI) of IESL. His research focuses on developing spectroscopic and photoacoustic techniques for bio-marker monitoring. The aim of this doctoral research is the development of spectroscopic and photoacoustic techniques for the identification and real time monitoring of bio-markers, using visible and infrared light. He has a MSc in Microelectronics and Optoelectronics from the Physics Dpt. of the University of Crete with his master thesis in the field of Optical Tweezers. Michalis is also a science teacher in secondary education and he is interested in adapting modern scientific research projects to school level. He is an expert in the field of STEM Education and he is honored with two European Awards. The “European STEM Teacher Award” in 2017 for the development of an Optical CT Scanner and in 2019 for the development of an Optical tweezers set up, aiming at presenting basic phycics principles in Secondary Education.
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2019
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2018
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2017
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2016
Michail (Mikis) Mylonakis completed his PhD at the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI), part of the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) at the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), in 2024. He was born in Chania in 1993 and pursued his undergraduate studies in Physics at the University of Crete (2011-2015), followed by a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Technology (2015-2018). His doctoral research focused on wavefront shaping for microscopic imaging of biological samples. Over the course of his studies, Mikis has worked on optical systems for imaging ultra-cold atoms and contributed to various research projects. He has been recognized with several awards, including the 1st Prize at Science on Stage Europe in 2019 for his innovative educational work in science, including an adaptive optics illumination device for in vivo imaging.
Education
- 2024, Phd, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete
- 2018, MSc, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Greece
- 2015, Bsc, Department of Physics, University of Crete, Greece
Interests
- Optical design
- Bioimaging
- Mechanical design
- Wavefront shaping
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Europe 2019
- 1st Prize Science on Stage Greece 2018
Other
AN ASSEMBLY OF OPTICAL ELEMENTS AND A METHOD FOR CONTROLLING LIGHT
Ioannis Zacharakis, Michail(Mikis) Mylonakis, Evangelos Marakis, Athanasios Zacharopoulos & Emmanouil Vergis, European Patent application no. 22164624.3
Dr. Konstantinos Mavrakis received his B.Sc. in Materials Science (2013), M.Sc. in Materials Science (2017), and Ph.D. in Biomedical Optical Imaging (2024) from the University of Crete, Greece. He conducted his Ph.D. research at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE).
He worked at the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI) at IESL/FORTH on European projects, including "Dynamic" and "BioImaging-Gr." His research focuses on non-linear microscopy and photoacoustic microscopy for biomedical applications. Dr. Mavrakis has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and presented at international conferences. He has also received a Fulbright scholarship and multiple awards, including the Best Speech Award at the European Molecular Imaging Meeting 2020.
Education
- 2024, Phd, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete
- 2017, MSc, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete
- 2014, BSc, Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete
Interests
- Photoacoustic microscopy
- Second Harmonic Generation
- Coherent Raman Scattering
Awards/Prizes/Distinctions
- Fulbright graduate student grant
- Soykoyli grant
Dr. Mariam-Eleni Oraiopoulou has been a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Computational Bio-Medicine Laboratory (CBML) at the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of the Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas (ICS-FORTH) in collaboration with the Laboratory for Biophotonics and Molecular Imaging (LBMI) at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL-FORTH) and the Gene Expression Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB-FORTH).
She received her PhD in the field of (Computational) Neurosciences – NeuroOncology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece and at the CBML-ICS-FORTH in 2018. She received her Diploma in Biological Applications and Technology in 2011 from the University of Ioannina, Greece with a Diploma Thesis regarding Metabolomics and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Human Subjects. She also holds an MSc in Brain and Mind Sciences since 2014 from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete with a Master Thesis regarding Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Human Brain Cancer.
Her main research interests are the Neurobiology of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and in particular, the pathophysiology of the human brain cancer in interplay with non-invasive imaging biomarkers and in silico tumor growth validation based on human, patient-derived, brain cancer models including both in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies.
Education
- 2018, PhD, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete , Greece
- 2014, MSc, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
- 2011, BSc, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Greece
