Board Members
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Dr Iris Charalambidou is a Biologist who specialized in Ecology in North Wales and The Netherlands. She has been involved in ecological research, nature conservation, civil society engagement and awareness raising for more than twenty-five years, in Greece, Wales, England, the Netherlands, Denmark, and, since 2003, in Cyprus. From 2004 to 2009, she was an independent scientific expert on the Environmental Scientific Committee of the Republic of Cyprus with an advisory role to the Ministers of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, and of the Interior. Since 2005, she is involved in bi-communal work, serving on the board of the civil society organization Friends of Nature Cyprus (2006-2009), and awarded projects supported by the United Nations, EU and American Embassy. From 2007 to 2009, she led the Greek-Cypriot team of a bi-communal group of ecologists conducting the first study of the buffer zone in Cyprus. This project received worldwide recognition and the 2009 European Countries Biologists Association ‘Best Project Award’. Since 2010 she works in academia and has served as the Coordinator of the BSc Human Biology, and BSc Environmental and Energy Management at the University of Nicosia. Since 2020, she is a founding member on the board of directors of the bi-communal ‘Cyprus Environmental Stakeholder Forum’ with the vision to tackle environmental issues in Cyprus at the island-wide level.
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Kyriakos currently works as a Senior Administrator in the Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, collaborates on research programs and teaches two courses on Business Administration and Pharmacoeconomics and Project Management. He taught courses in Organisational Behaviour, Small Business Management, Strategic Management, Project Management, Leadership, Management of Change, Corporate Risk Management and Business Management. He has supervised more than 20 MBA dissertations.
He has been working on issues pertaining to the environment and sustainable development with a focus on the rural, mountainous area of Troodos, the place of his birth, for the past 15 years. He was involved in the first research project to revitalize the area in 2003 – 2007 and then coedited a volume “Towards Sustainable Development: Sustainable Development of Mountainous Regions and Agenda 21” in 2009. Later on he produced a report entitled “Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives; Country Report Cyprus”. In the same period he supervised a project funded by the Research Foundation in Cyprus on the potentiality of application of rain enhancement programs in the area of Cyprus.
He studied Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E., 1986) and Business Administration (M.B.A., 1988) at the University of Houston in Texas, U.S.A. Has extensive experience in project management and is a certified Project Manager (PRINCE II). He is a Member of the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (E.T.E.K.) in the area of Mechanical Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Cyprus Computer Society the Cyprus Human Resource Management Association and trustee of the Foundation of the Liberation Struggle EOKA 1955 – 1959.
Kyriakos has a long experience in business and the trade union movement, where he worked as a senior manager and director of various companies, including the Cyprus Development Bank (1995-2001) and the Hellenic Bank (2006 – 1014). Served also as a Member of the Board of Directors of Hellenic Bank (Investments) Limited and Limited Liability Company Commercial Bank «Hellenic Bank» (Russia) and Member of the Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committees of the Bank’s Board of Directors.
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Panagiotis Karanis is a Professor of Anatomy and Coordinator of Unit of Anatomy and Morphology at the University of Nicosia Medical School.
Professor Karanis is a resourceful and dedicated professor with an outstanding academic background, excellent publication record and significant teaching experiences in the fields of Human Anatomy and Infectious Tropical Diseases. Possesses worldwide excellent interpersonal and liaison skills with the ability to build and maintain positive working relationships. Enjoys worldwide collaborating in a productive and successful team and thrives in challenging environments. Professorships at the Medical Schools of Bonn and Cologne in Germany, at the National Research Center in Japan and at the Center for Biomedicine and Infectious Diseases in Qinghai, China. Possesses mature administrative and managerial abilities and solid experience in science policy and public health. Since September 1st, 2019, has been appointed as Professor of Anatomy at UNIC Medical School.
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Dr. Ioannis Kyriakides received his BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University. He received his MSc and PhD degrees from Arizona State University. Throughout his graduate studies, he held a research associate position, funded by the Integrated Sensing and Processing program and the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURI) of the USA Department of Defence. In the final year of his PhD work, he received the University Graduate Fellowship of Arizona State University. His research interests include Bayesian target tracking, sequential Monte Carlo methods and heterogeneous data fusion and heterogeneous sensing node configuration. Applications of his research include localization of multiple RF sources, tracking surface vehicles using passive acoustic sensing, tracking multiple targets with constraints in motion and with heterogeneous agile sensing nodes, autonomous vehicle path planning for information acquisition, and identifying suitable areas for maritime activities such as aquaculture and renewable energy facilities. He is currently serving as the Marine Technology Research Director at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) and is responsible for both the managerial and research aspects of marine technology centers of the CMMI. Dr. Kyriakides was the Project Coordinator for projects with a total budget of over €9M. Dr. Kyriakides is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
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Lucia Protopapa is a Webmaster at the Department of Marketing at the University of Nicosia (UNIC). She co-develops and maintains all websites for all sections and institutions of the organization, including the main university website. A former Digital Marketing Officer, she has experience in web and project management, marketing and digital marketing, design, and technical troubleshooting. Lucia holds an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and is studying towards a Certificate in Project Management. She also holds a BSc in Human Biology from UNIC, where she investigated the isolation and detection of miRNA in human samples for her final year project. Lucia is a Board Member of the Environmental Research Center. During her studies, she interned at UNIC’s in-house audiovisual production hub Mediazone, where she produced, oversaw, and coordinated several projects and took on all administrative functions.
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She is currently the Vice-President for the Cyprus Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, the editor-in-chief of the PANR eJournal for Physical Activity, Nutrition and Rehabilitation and a member of the Parallel Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus in the Committee on Environment, Ecology-Sustainability and Health.
Previously she held the position of Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the University of Nicosia, participating in a number of important administrative and academic committees, chairing the University Internal Quality Assurance Committee and the Erasmus Office, and being a member of the University of Nicosia Senate and Council. She was also an Ambassador of Tourism for the Republic of Cyprus until 2018.
Prof. Yamasaki Patrikiou has established a fine record of teaching and research in her native Brazil, the USA and Cyprus. She has taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, among others, in Human Anatomy and Physiology, Molecular Basis for Neurochemical Differentiation in the Central Nervous System, Retinal Neurochemical Seminars, Fundamental Neurobiology, Fundamental Neurosciences and Physiology and Biophysics. She has also supervised MSc and PhD candidates in Brazil and in Cyprus. She is actively involved in local and international projects and has held grants from the Brazilian, Cyprus and European funding agencies. As a result of her involvement in research, she has published extensively in the area of the nervous system and in public health and the environment.
Prof. Yamasaki Patrikiou got her first degree in Medicine in 1988 from the School of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, followed by an MSc. (1990) and PhD (1994) degrees in Biophysics (Neurobiology) from the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She did her postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA; the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA; the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Her research interests include (a) the Development of the Central Nervous System (Morphological and Electrophysiological aspects, Plasticity Role of Neurotransmitters, Neuromodulators and Pharmacological Agents), (b) the Developmental and Degenerative Diseases of the Central Nervous System, (c) Drugs of Abuse in the Developing Brain, (d) Aging, (e) Development of New Materials with Potential Biological Applications, and (f) Environment, Water and Health.
She is a member of the following professional associations: (a) Society for Neuroscience (USA) member since 1989, (b) Brazilian Society for Neuroscience member since 1989 (c) IBRO (through the SFN and the Brazilian Society for Neuroscience) (d) AAAS (USA) member since 2008 and (e) Hellenic Society for Neuroscience (since 2010); ESPEN (EU since 2016) and CySPEN (Cyprus, since 2016).
EH Research Centre Fellows
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Dr Shahira Abdelaziz Ali Ahmed is a Medical Doctor and holds a Master and PhD degrees in Medical Parasitology. She is an Associate Professor and Researcher at Suez Canal University, Egypt. Her research focus is on the neglected infectious parasitic diseases and its environmental burden in human, water, and food, epidemiology and molecular genetics.
She is a highly organized individual and recognize the importance of maintaining a functional schedule especially in the academic field both in the teaching and research field.
Her expertise focuses primarily on infectious parasitic disease epidemiology, disease environmental burden, molecular and non-molecular approaches. She has good research experience in sequencing, multi-locus sequence typing and phylogenetic bioinformatics (mainly Cryptosporidium and Giardia), RNA processing, good publication records in water research (Cryptosporidium), culture of some parasites and drug trials (Blastocystis, Cryptosporidium, and Cyclospora), comparative methods (Strongyloides stercoralis), risk assessment (Blastocystis), and epidemiology (Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Cyclospora). She teaches to both undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
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Eleni Andreou is a Clinical Dietitian and Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia/Intercollege. Academic Background: She possesses a B.Sc. (Summa Cum Laude) from Youngstown State University, USA, in Dietetics (Food and Nutrition/Dietetic)(1990). She continued the biennial academic and practicum (postgraduate level) in the Clinical Dietetics (including Administrative and Community) at the same university and in Southside & Northside Memorial Hospital in the Ohio. She was granted the title of RD by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of USA upon the completion of the qualification exams(1992). She received the Doctorate in Professional Studies from Middlesex University with the title Clinical Dietetics, Nutrition Sciences and Health Education with the area of interest in Behavioural Modification, Diabetes, Obesity, Eating Disorders and Cognition-sleep and Nutrition. Today, she practises the profession as private clinical dietitian and coordinates and teaches at University of Nicosia/Intercollege the programmes of Dietetics and Nutrition as Associate Professor. Also, she is a researcher in her field and collaborates with medical centres, consults companies in Food and Pharmaceutical Industry, and she is the Scientific Advisor and member of other Health Associations (as Cyprus Association for Cancer Patients and Friends, Cyprus Diabetes Association and Cyprus Heart Association) . She is an author of scientific articles and books related to dietetics. She is currently the President of the Cyprus Dietetic and Nutrition Association, the president of the Cyprus Societic of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (CySPEN), the vice president of the Cyprus Registration Board for Food Scientists, Technologists and Dietitians and board member of the Cyprus Atherosclerosis Association.
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Doctor of Medicine (Oviedo) and Doctor of Public Health (London). Medical specialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health trained as epidemiologist at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) and Unité de Recherche Biomathématique et Biostatistique – Université Paris VII (France).
He was President of Médecins Sans Frontières – Spain and has worked in design, implementation and evaluation of international cooperation programs in the fields of Epidemiology, Disaster Medicine and Public Health in several countries of Africa, Central and South America and Asia. He is currently Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Department of Medicine of University of Oviedo (Spain) where he directs the Unit for Research in Emergency and Disaster (UIED).
Expertise areas: Epidemiology and control of communicable diseases, epidemiology of emergencies and disasters, operational research
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Following a career in industry, research establishments (the Institute Pasteur, the Athens School of Hygiene) and the public sector (Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education) Associate Professor Maria A. Efstratiou joined the academia and lectures on subjects relevant to applied microbiology, mainly water and seafood in the Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, Greece. Professor Efstratiou has a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Patras, Greece. An M.Sc. in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester (UMIST), Great Britain. A Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Microbiology from Herriot-Watt University, Edinburg, Great Britain. A Ph.D. in Marine Microbiology from the University of Patras, Greece. Her research interests include water microbiology with emphasis on pathogens, bathing water quality, beach sand microbiological load, economic, social and legislative aspects of managing the marine environment. She is Editor to the international scientific Journal Water and Health (published by IWA in collaboration with WHO), reviewer to above 12 scientific journals, Expert Evaluator to European Union funding initiatives (FP5, FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, COFASP, ERA-NET, BioBlue, EIT Food). She has been invited as Guest Professor and lectured in the Universities: Aveiro, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Sofia, Bulgaria; Palermo, Italy; Xining, China; Split, Croatia. She has been Member of the Organising and/or scientific committee of 12 International Conferences. She authored/co-authored three books and published numerous articles in scientific journals. She is CEO of the Mediterranean Institute for Education SCC, a social cooperative company working for sustainable development mainly through educational activities. Prof. Efstratiou recently retired from her academic duties in graduate courses, and teaches in postgraduate courses at the Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, Greece.
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Assistant Professor on Fish Health Protection and Welfare
Aquaculture Laboratory, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, Greece.
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PhD in Geography and Regional Planning – Branch in Territorial Management (2005). Nowadays is assistant professor, with Habilitation at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) – University of Lisbon, Portugal and coordinator of “Urban Studies and Territorial Management” Joint Master Program. Teaches subjects such as geography, urban sociology, urban and regional economics, strategic planning and Techniques in Territorial Planning, among others. He is a member of the Board of CiTUA – Centre for Innovation in Territory, Urbanism and Architecture and is also the Principal Investigator of the project MetroGov3C – Metropolitan Governance in a context of competition, cooperation and conflict. He’s also a member of the project team Erasmus+ SPHERA – “Supporting the Professionalisation of Health Engineering studies and Related areas in Asia” This academic and scientific activity as well as the consultancy activities in territorial planning and local development have been described in many scientific articles, books and chapters.
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Dr Salih Gucel was born on April 1, 1976, in Nicosia. He studied biology at the Faculty of Science at Ege University. In 1997, he conducted research for his Masters thesis on ‘The Flora of Gürle Village’ at the Department of Biology, Institute of Science at Celal Bayar University. From 2000-2005, he did a PhD at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science at Ege University. His PhD dissertation involved the protection of rare and endemic plant species entitled “Conservation biology of Asperula daphneola and Minuartia nifensis”.
Since 2005, he is the Director of the Environmental Research Center at the Near East University. He is actively involved in raising public awareness about environmental and cultural issues in Cyprus. His research interests include plant ecology, reproductive biology and plant and habitat conservation.
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Photos Hajigeorgiou is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nicosia Medical School.
Prof Hajigeorgiou holds a BSc (Honours) in Chemistry, a PhD in Chemistry (Chemical Physics and Molecular Spectroscopy) from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and a PGCertHE from the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and a research associateship in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
His research interests include molecular physics, laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, computational chemistry, human nutrition and health, environmental chemistry, and medical education.
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Dr Evroula Hapeshi has been Assistant Professor at Life and Health Department at Pharmacy Program at the University of Nicosia since 2019. She was a Researcher at the UNRF and Adjunct Lecturer at Life and Health Department at Pharmacy Program at the University of Nicosia since 2014. Moreover, she was an associate researcher at NIREAS-International Water Research Center since January 2011 and a post-doctoral fellow at GAIA-Laboratory of Environmental Engineering of the University of Cyprus since January 2008. She received a BSc in Chemistry with direction of Physical analytical Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a PhD in Chemistry, from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Cyprus.
Her current research interests focus on the development/application of advanced analytical methods based on UPLC tandem MS/MS and UPLC hybrid MS (QqTOF) capable for the multi-residue target analysis of οrganic compounds and especially licit and illicit drugs and their metabolites in different difficult matrices including urine, blood serum and wastewater. In addition to that, the most recent research lines are focused on the application hyphenated chromatography/mass spectrometry using LC‐MS/MS with a variety of mass analyzers, as triple quadruple, ion trap, TOF and hybrid QTOF for the identification of unknown degradation products and metabolites of selected drugs including elucidation of degradation pathways. Special attention has been directed in the last years on the determination of licit and illicit drugs and their metabolites in wastewater used them as biomarkers as a new source of epidemiological information. Moreover, her research is directed on the development /application of new technologies into Pharmacovigilance and Eco-pharmacovigilance of drugs. According to the study of Eco-pharmacovigilance, her research focus not only to identify and quantify some of the drugs in the environment but and some management practice options for the Eco-pharmacovigilance like improving knowledge and perceptions of pharmacy/health care practitioners about the Eco-pharmacovigilance of the licit and illicit drugs, finding pollution sources of the drugs, including the prevention of the unnecessary consumption and use of them and the dissemination of the safe disposal of drugs among the general public, as a result of the control of the manufacturing-related releases. As associated and senior researcher and post-doc fellow at the University of Cyprus has actively participated in several scientific projects that were funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation or co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund. She has authored or co-authored at 49 refereed journal papers, 51 papers in refereed conference proceedings and 8 book chapters and she is a reviewer in several international journals. Moreover, she has participated in several scientific projects and networks and she is member of the management committee at a COST Action 19144, named European Venom Network (EUVEN).
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Athena Kalokairinou-Anagnostopoulou is a Professor In Community Nursing at the Department of Nursing at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is the Director of the Postgraduate Programme “Crisis & Disaster Management and Public Health Nursing”, and she is the Director of the Laboratory in Community Nursing. Since October 2020, she has been the President of the Educational Council of the specialty of Public Health Nursing / Community Nursing.
Her activities focus on research and education at undergraduate and postgraduate level in topics: Care and Promotion of Family Health at Home, School Nursing (in Special Education, Classical Education), study of special groups of the population – Transcultural Nursing, Health Education and Health promotion.
She has developed research activities and programs in collaboration with Greek bodies in the field of Health, with the Greek Red Cross, WHO, International Council of Nurses, Workgroup European Nurse Researcher and research institutes such as the Research Center for Trans Health of Middlesex University, London UK and the Austrian Red Cross Research Institute.
Professor Kalokairinou-Anagnostopoulou was the Scientific Officer in the organization and implementation of the Balkan Transnational Program in English entitled “Health Services Management and Administration and Public Health” funded by the OECD and participated in the organization of a transnational program in English “Master in Europe: Transcultural Nursing” at the Research Center for Transcultural Studies in Health. Middlesex University 2003-2005. She is the author of many articles published in Greek and reputable international nursing journals. She has published seven Greek books as well as chapters in 2 English Books. She is a member of the editorial board of two Greek magazines and one international, as well as, a reviewer in five international journals.
She was for 14 years a member of the Board of the National Nurses Association of Greece.
Today she is the Director of the “Community Nursing Laboratory”, of NKUoA which includes the following Units:
- Family Health Care and Promotion Unit at Home.
- School Nursing Unit (Special Education, Classical Education)
- Study Unit for special groups of the population – Intercultural Nursing.
- Community Population Health Needs Study Unit.
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Pavlos Kassomenos is a Professor at the Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, Greece. His research topics related to the EHResearch Centre are related to the Monitoring and Modeling of environmental pollutants, Environmental technologies and Environmental health. Professor Kassomenos is internationally recognized for his relevant research output with a h-index 44 and i10-index 105. He has more than 175 scientific publications and has been cited more than 5700 times.
His research interests can be summarized in the following areas:
- Environmental Physics and Chemistry of gaseous pollutants, particulates and metals.
- Transportation of air pollutants in environmental ecosystems.
- Development of decision support systems concerning air pollution
- Sand transportation from Sahara and analysis of its behavior.
- Modelling of air pollutants and analysis of their dispersion and diffusion.
- Impact of meteorology and weather in the dispersion of air pollutants
His most recent relevant publications are:
- Khan H.S., M. Santamouris, Paolini R, Cacceta P and P. Kassomenos, 2021. Analyzing the local and climatic conditions affecting the urban overheating magnitude during the Heatwaves (HWs) in a coastal city: A case study of the greater Sydney region, STOTEN, 755, 142515
- Vogiatzis C, P. Kassomenos et al, 2021. Climate Change Adaptation Studies as a tool to ensure airport’s sustainability: The case of Athens International Airport (A.I.A.), STOTEN, 754, 142513
- Begou P and P. Kassomenos, 2020. One-year measurements of toxic benzene concentrations in the ambient air of Greece: An estimation of public health risk., Atmospheric Pollution Research, 11, pp. 1829-1838.
- Moshou H, Karakitsiou A, Yfanti F, Hela D., Paschalidou A, P. Kassomenos, Petrou I, 2020. Assessment of genetic effects and pesticide exposure of farmers in NW Greece. Environmental Research, 186, 109558.
- Dimitriou K and P. Kassomenos, 2020. Background concentrations of benzene, potential long range transport influences and corresponding cancer risk in four cities of central Europe, in relation to air mass origination. Journal of Environmental Management, 262, 110374.
- Tatsis G., Christofilakis, V., Chronopoulos S.k, Kassomenos P., Repapis C, Tritakis V, 2020. Study of the variations in the Schumann resonances parameters measured in a southern Mediterranean environment. STOTEN, 715, 136926
- Paschalidou A, Psistaki K, Chalampopoulos A, Kassomenos P, Damialis A., 2020. Identifying patterns of airborne pollen distribution using a synoptic climatology approach. STOTEN, 714, 136625.
- Begou P, Kassomenos P, Kelessis A, 2020. Dataset on the road traffic noise measurements in the municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece. Data in Brief, 29, 105214.
- Dimitriou K, Liakakou E, Lianou M, P. Kassomenos, Mihalopoulos N, Gerasopoulos E. Implementation of an aggregate index to elucidate the influence of atmospheric synoptic conditions on air quality in Athens, Greece. Air Quality Atmosphere and Health, 13, 447-458.
- Fdez-Arroyabe P, Salcines-Suarez C, L. Nita, P. Kassomenos, Petrou I, Santurtun, A., 2020. Electrical characterization of circulation weather types in Northern Spain based on atmospheric nanoparticles measurements: A pilot study. STOTEN, 704, 135320.
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Dr Layla Ben Ayed Khouja is an assistant professor in environment at the Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), Tunis, Tunisia.
She has a Bachelor and Master degrees in Microbiology from the University of Sciences of Tunis, followed by a postgraduate Master degree and PhD in Environmental Microbiology at the University of Sciences in Tunis, Tunisia. She is the local coordinator at Tunisian Agronomic Institute (INAT) (University of Carthage) of an Erasmus + project for teaching about climate change in agriculture “CLICHA” under the KA2 action “Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education”, coordinated locally an international project funded by the American organization “Fetzer Institute” for the establishment of a study program on global civics in the context of Sciences in the Arab world and among her research publications, she has written chapter on the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica of the book: “Sanitation and Disease, Health Aspects of Excreta and Wastewater Management. Part 3 “as part of the Global Water Pathogen Project (GWPP). She is a member of the scientific committee of the Tunisian Agronomic Institute (2017-2020), a member of the internal quality committee of the “Training” field of the Tunisian Agronomic Institute (INAT) and a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Educational Research and Development
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Dr Zeynep Koloren is a Professor at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science and Literature at the Ordu University, Turkey.
Her research interests are in the areas of Molecular parasitology, Genetics of protozoan parasites, Molecular microbiology, Water microbiology and Molecular diagnostic techniques (LAMP, PCR, Realtime PCR, gene cloning, sequencing).
She graduated from the University of Ondokuz Mayis, Turkey (1998) with a Bachelor of Biology, followed by a Master degree in Biology from the University of Gaziantep, Turkey (2002), and a PhD in Biology from the University of Cukurova, Turkey (2007), having spent 2 years at the Tufts University (Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Science, Infectious Disease) as part of her PhD studies. She has done postdoctoral trainings at the University of Cologne, Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology (2009), the University of California Davis (2012), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2018. She has been the principal investigator of several funded projects by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey with extensive publications in internationally refereed scientific journals.
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Dr Mamedova Simuzer Oruj Kyzy is a senior scientist at the Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan.
She completed her undergraduate studies in Biology (2002) from the Faculty of Biology at the Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan, followed by a PhD (2010) from the Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan. She has published more than 25 articles and abstracts in local and international journals. She utilizes a series of different techniques and methodologies in her work, including brightfield microscopy, methods of histology, histochemistry, microbiology, herpetology.
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Dr Anna Lass is a faculty member at the Department of Tropical Parasitology, Medical University of Gdansk and National Center for Tropical Medicine.
She is a biotechnologist specialized in classical and molecular methods for parasite detection and diagnostics, with a particular focus on environmental studies of parasites. She has also conducted epidemiological studies of various populations including military environment, children, Africa, and Middle East in terms of infections caused by intestinal protozoan parasites. Additionally, she is interested in improvement of diagnostics of emerging parasitic diseases, food and water-borne diseases and neglected tropical diseases. She has participated and coordinated several projects in cooperation with national and foreign scientific units.
Her current research projects are:
- ‘Studies on epidemiology of alveococcosis in highly endemic and nonendemic areas in Poland with particular reference to genetic variability Echinococcus multilocularis in definitive hosts and humans’ project financed by the National Science Centre, Poland.
- ‘Investigation of military environment stationed in Balkans for pathogenic intestinal protozoan parasites’ financed by the Military Institute of Medicine, Poland
- ‘Managing biodiversity in forests and urban green spaces: Dilution and amplification effects on rodent microbiomes and rodent-borne diseases’ financed by the BiodivERsA.
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Jader Lugon Junior completed his postdoctoral training in computational modeling (2018-2019) under the supervision of Professor Antônio José da Silva Neto at the Polytecnic Institute at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, where he also concluded his PhD (2005) and MSc (2000). He concluded his specialization in Engenharia de Segurança do Trabalho (2010) and his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering (1985) at the Federal Fluminense University.
He is currently the coordinator of the Professional Doctorate in Environmental Modeling and Technology Applied to Hydric Resources, he teaches in the Professional Master program in Environmental Engineering and in the undergraduate program in Engenharia de Controle e Automação.
He participates in the research group NUPERN – Núcleo de Pesquisa em Petróleo, Energia e Recursos Naturais (IFFluminense) and collaborates with researchers in the Laboratório Patricia Oliva Soares de Experimentação e Simulação Numérica em Transferência de Calor e Massa (LEMA – IPRJ UERJ).
His area of research expertise is in Mechanical Engineering with emphasis in transport phenomena.
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Prof. Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi is a Professor of Medical Parasitology at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. He is active in the academic field, both in the teaching and research fields, and he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
He has researched at the University of Cologne, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology (2010-2011) at the Anatomy Center of Medical Faculty as part of his PhD studies under the guidance and supervision of Professor Karanis. His expertise focuses primarily on infectious parasitic disease (especially waterborne parasites, foodborne and vectorborne) epidemiology and molecular and conventional tools.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=bjHEHcQAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
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Assoc. Prof. Frederick R. Masangkay pioneered the works on the natural contamination of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in environmental aquatic biofilms, in-situ model of growing aquatic biofilms with orientation and depth, and the first microscopic and molecular detection of Cryptosporidium hominis in a freshwater sponge.
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Antônio J. Silva Neto is a Full Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy, Polytechnic Institute, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State University). He has a diverse international education background in mechanical/nuclear engineering and applied mathematics: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (North Carolina State University – NCSU, USA, 1993), with a minor in Computational Mathematics; M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ, Brazil, 1989); and Mechanical/Nuclear Engineer (UFRJ, Brazil, 1983).
He worked for the Brazilian National Commission on Nuclear Energy, CNEN (1984-1986), Promon Engineering, the largest Brazilian private company in Consulting Engineering (1986-1997), and since 1997 works for UERJ, being a Full Professor since 2013.
His multi/interdisciplinary research activities resulted in the publication of 15 books, 61 book chapters, 155 refereed journal papers, and 441 full scientific conference papers. He has also supervised 20 visiting and postdoctoral fellows, 28 D.Sc., 48 M.Sc. and 93 undergraduate level students.
Professor Silva Neto main current research areas are: Inverse Problems; Heat and Mass Transfer; Radiative Transfer; Computational Intelligence; and Environmental Modelling.
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Dr. Maria Noula has over 50 publications in accredited Greek and International journals and abstracts in over 70 Greek and International conferences, in addition to authoring a book and currently overseeing the writing of another book. Her working experience is related to the infrastructure of Primary Healthcare in Greece. For over 15 years she was the Chief at the Ministry of Health in the management of Healthcare professions in Athens. She was also a representative of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Brussels regarding the education of nurses and midwives of tertiary education according to the documents of the European Union Council with number 7034/5/8/1994 and 8260/23/9/1996 respectively. She was also for 4 years the Dean of the School of Healthcare professions and Welfare at TEI Lamias, and according to the president’s act with number 692/24-2-2004 she was assigned as the Director of the School of Healthcare professions and Welfare of TEI Lamias from 24/2/2004 – 31/8/2004. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Life and Health Sciences at the University of Nicosia, the Leader of the Greek Nursing Program and the Coordinator of the Master Program “Contemporary Nursing”. She oversees 2 doctoral theses and is a member of the DPPC committee for 2 doctoral theses. Furthermore, she is a rapporteur in final year projects, and she was permanent research member in 2 funded research projects in TBC and HBV.
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Dr Loizos Papaloizou graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece (2003) and later obtained an MSc in Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures from the same university (2004). He then earned a PhD degree from the University of Cyprus (2009) after completing a thesis on a topic in the area of computer-aided engineering. Then, he has worked as a Visiting Lecturer and Special Scientist at the Cyprus University of Technology teaching four different courses. He also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cyprus for a period of three years. He is currently a full-time faculty member of the Department of Engineering of the University of Nicosia, teaching various Civil Engineering courses in the undergraduate programme. Some of his main research interests include earthquake engineering, computer-aided engineering, energy efficiency of buildings and innovative technologies in Civil Engineering.
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Dr Anastasia Paschalidou is Associate Professor in “Meteorology-Atmospheric Pollution” in the Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace (Greece). Her main research interest is in the field of Biometeorology and specifically the impact of weather and atmospheric pollution on public health. She is the author of numerous publications in international scientific journals and conference proceedings and she has participated in a significant number of national/international research projects dealing with environmental health. She also serves as Associate Editor in the scientific journal “Science of the Total Environment”, ELSEVIER.
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Dr Christos Petrou, holds a B.Sc Degree in Pharmacy (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), an MSc in “Pharmacochemisty, Natural Products, Design, Synthesis and Analysis of Bioactive Compounds”, and PhD (with Distinction) from the Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, Greece.
He joined the University of Nicosia in 2011, being appointed as the Link Tutor of the University of Hertfordshire’s Pharmacy Programme, and since 2013 he acts as the Coordinator of the Pharmacy Programme of the University of Nicosia.
Before joining the University of Nicosia, from 2006 to 2013, Dr Petrou was the Head of the Pharmacovigilance Department at the Cyprus Ministry of Health, and from 2010 to 2013 he served as Registrar of the Pharmacy Board (appointed by Ministerial Board of the Government of Cyprus).
He was a member of the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency from 2007 to 2014. He has been also serving as a member of other scientific Committees (Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority, National Bioethics Committee for the Evaluation of Clinical Trials on Drugs for Human Use).
His research interests are focused on the design, isolation or synthesis and biological evaluation of peptides and other bioactive compounds. He is also interested in the study of the endemic species of the Cyprus plants.
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Constantinos Phanis has a B.Sc. in Microbiology from Imperial College (1993). He is also a holder of a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology / Virology from Imperial College London University (1997). He is currently a Biology Deputy head and Advisor of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development at the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth. He is also the National Coordinator for the South Eastern Mediterranean Environment Project (SEMEP) of UNESCO. He was also a National Coordinator for the Student Drug Prevention Workshops. He has taught AS and A2 English syllabus Biology Edexcel Board at the English School of Nicosia . Constantinos has been an examination setter of the National Pancyprium exams and the National / International biology exam papers for the European Science Olympiad and the Intranational Gymnasium Science Olympiad. He is mainly interested in the application of new technologies for improving instructional practices in Biology/Ecology and Environmental biology. He is also a Microbiology and Biology part time Lecturer at the of University of Nicosia (2010/2011/2012/2014/2017/2018/2019). Constantinos is a Jury member of the UNESCO–Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences 2014-2021.
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Prof. Zoe Roupa is a medical doctor and a graduate nurse from NKUA (ΕΚΠΑ) specialized in breast cancer. She has over 139 publications in peer-reviewed Greek and International journals, and over 350 abstracts and presentations in local and international conferences. She has an extensive academic and administrative professional experience and have been involved in the development of academic programs (undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels), supervision of Master and PhD students, and the preparation and management of research programs. She was a counsellor of higher education in ΥΠΕΠΘ of Greece and a rapporteur – evaluator for ΔΟΑΤΑΠ for 5 years.
Professor Roupa worked at the University of Thessaly, Greece (2006-2016) at the Departments of Medicine and Nursing, having supervised during this period over 80 Master student thesis in the Master Program of “Primary Health Care”, and 4 doctoral theses.
At the University of Nicosia, Professor Zoe Roupa developed the MSc and PhD programs in Nursing, having coordinated the MSc in Nursing until 2019. She is the currently the coordinator of the undergraduate Nursing program and the Doctoral Program of Nursing. She oversees 6 doctoral theses and in 9 she is a member of the supervisory committee and 4 of them graduated. She is a member of the Department Committee for Doctoral Studies since 2018. She was also the scientific supervisor in two research funded projects in TBC and HBV which were funded by the council of University of Nicosia and 10 research projects which were funded by Universities in Athens.
She has written one book, and chapters in 3 books. She also has over 450 citations from other scientists. Her eBook has over 10.000 views.
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Dr Yiannis Sarigiannis is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus. Previously, he worked as Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine of the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA (August 2014 – August 2016). He obtained his Diploma in Chemistry (1998) and his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry (2006) from the University of Patras, Patras Greece. Then he performed postdoctoral research at the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Patras (Patras, Greece), whereas he was Visitor Scientist at the ISPA – Bari (Bari, Italy). He has developed broad research activities covering mostly synthetic and analytical aspects of chemistry. Research results have been published in 16 international refereed journals and 4 book chapters, more than 70 abstracts in International Conferences, 3 invited lectures, while he serves as a reviewer in several journals. He is also member of the European Venom Network (https://euven-network.eu/ ).
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7iWSPLMAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
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Dr Sarris Ernestos is an Associate Professor at the department of engineering at the Oil & Gas and Civil engineering programme of the University of Nicosia. He is the director of the petrophysics and the soil mechanics laboratories. He holds a PhD in petroleum geomechanics with applications of the hydraulic fracturing technique from the University of Cyprus. His areas of specialization and future focus is on Petroleum Geomechanics which include: Petroleum related rock mechanics, hydraulic fracturing, sanding prediction and control, wellbore stability, multiphase flows with applications in CO2 geological storage, enhanced oil recovery EOR and Indentation mechanics.
He is an active member of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) and at the Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus. He is also a reviewer in a number of scientific journals. During his career as researcher he has attracted external funding from the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation (RPF).
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Dr Elisabete R. Silva is an Assistant Researcher at BioSystems & Integrative Sciences Institute (BIOISI) and Invited Assistant Professor at Faculdade de Ciências of University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2009 and the degree Chemical Engineering in 2002 (5 years program) by Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
In her professional career has worked in and with the industry, been involved in competitive R&D projects, as a member of the Coordination, Principal Investigator (PI) in a European project, PI/team PI in national projects, and researcher member in national projects involving SME companies. Her R&D activities have been described and disseminated in numerous technical/scientific articles, books, book chapters, and several national and international patents, some licensed by international industrial companies. She has been also dedicated to knowledge transference through the supervision of graduate and undergraduate professionals and students.
Currently, she is devoted to the development of innovative environmentally friendly and cleaner materials and technologies, mainly based on chemical immobilisation of functional compounds in polymeric matrices (e.g. nano-agents and/or bioactive compounds in coatings), to infer protective properties on surfaces in general and applied in industrial systems against emerging waterborne bio-contaminants, among other biological applications, and for potential pollutants remediation.
Orcid url: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6679-4374
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Maria Stavride is a lecturer and the coordinator of the Graphic Communication program at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. She holds an MA in Fine Arts from Kent Institute of Art and Design, UK, and a BA in Graphic Communication from the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Maria has worked as a magazine designer and art director and since 2004 she is teaching Typography and Editorial Design in the Department of Design and Multimedia at the University of Nicosia. Her research interests concentrate on the history of modern and postmodern magazine design and periodical publications, the history of Cypriot typographic and ephemera design, document design, and design education. Maria is a member of the “International Conference on Typography and Visual Communication” (ICTVC) Organising Committee and has given public lectures on design education practices and social responsibility in graphic design.
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Prof Machado Torres completed his undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences (Ecology) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1990), followed by a Master Degree in Biological Sciences (Biophysics, 1992) and PhD in Biological Sciences (Biophysics, 1998) at the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1998). He is a full member of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science, Sao Paulo, and he is a full professor at the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He has wide experience in Environmental Biophysics, with emphasis in the following thematic areas: environmental pollution, DDT, PCB, organochlorides and environmental contamination.
He is the Head of the Laboratory of Organic Micropollutants Jan Japenga.
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Dr Dimitris Theofanidis is an Assistant Professor in Nursing at the International Hellenic University, Greece. He holds an MSc in Geriatric Nursing from Liverpool University, an MSc in Christian Ethics, Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University, a Doctorate in Stroke Care from Bath University, UK and a Post-Doctoral training from Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan, Honduras. His clinical background in nursing is A&E and neurological nursing, with a particular interest in stroke care and rehabilitation. He teaches courses in Community Nursing, Health Psychology, Rehabilitation, Gerontological Nursing and Public Health, in addition to clinical skills for undergraduate students. He also teaches two Master courses, Care of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Health Management. He is the Co-coordinator of 8 Erasmus KA107 projects, involving the US, Indonesia, South Africa, Georgia, India and more. He has over 140 publications, most of them in English, with an H-Index of 11.
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Dr. Ourania Tzoraki (female) Associate Professor in Management of River Basin and Coastal Zone of the Department of Marine Sciences (DMR) at the University of the Aegean. She is coordinating or involved as main researcher in several national and international research projects related to environmental modelling, coastal and water resources management (i.e. SMIRES, ERMIS-F, ENVIFRIENDLY, MIRAGE, tempQsim). She is author of more than 150 publications in journals, books and conference proceedings books. Her research interests include: (a) Hydrology and biogeochemistry of Intermittent and Ephemeral Streams (IRES) at river basin scale, i.e. flash floods, nutrient and heavy metal pollution and Climate Change impact; (b) Operational hydrology, i.e. early flood warning system development for IRES, Flow Image Velocimetry using UAVs; (c) Coastal Zone Management (Artificial Aquifer Recharge with treated wastewater, beaches resilience, marinas and ports environmental management);
ORCID number https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8862-849X
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Souzana Achilleos is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nicosia Medical School.
Dr Achilleos holds a BSc degree in Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens, Greece; a Master of Science in Environmental Health from Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health in Association with Harvard School of Public Health; and a ScD (Doctor of Science) degree in Environmental Health from Harvard University in Boston, MA, USA. Her research interests include exposure assessment and atmospheric chemistry, environmental epidemiology, and public health; and particularly the investigation of sources, fate and transport, and effects of air pollution, including dust storms, on human health.
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Dr Christiana Demetriou is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Nicosia Medical School and is also the Programme Coordinator for the Master of Public Health.
Dr Demetriou holds a BSc (Highest Honors, Dean’s List) in Biological Sciences from Geneva College in Pennsylvania USA, a Master of Public Health from Imperial College London (ICL) (awarded with Distinction) and a PhD in Clinical Medicine Research from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at ICL.
Her research interests include neurological disease and cancer epidemiology, as well as molecular investigation of the common links between chronic diseases (“diseasome”). In addition, she is interested in the field of biological embedding, the process through which external exposures, and especially early life exposures, become internalized to influence health. Dr Demetriou works also on investigating theoretical aspects of carcinogen evaluation/risk assessment. Lastly, Dr Demetriou is the Principal Investigator of the C-MOR project, which consists of a large international consortium of partners, and aims to investigate mortality trends during the COVID-19 pandemic (https://www.unic.ac.cy/coronavirus/mortality/).
Dr Demetriou has participated in several multicentre research projects funded by the European Commission as well as by National Research Foundations. She has also received funding for her research work from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the European Huntington Disease Network. Her research achievements are reflected by more than 50 publications in international scientific peer-reviewed journals (Scopus H-index: 15), 28+ oral and poster presentations in scientific conferences, 8 book chapters published by international publishing houses, and several invited lectures in national and international research institutions and conferences.
