Dr. Andreas Tzakos (born 08.07.1977)
Associate Professor of Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry,
Chemistry Department, University of Ioannina, Greece.

tel: (+30)2651-008387
e-mail: atzakos@uoi.gr
website: https://chem.uoi.gr/meli-dep/tzakos-andreas/
ORCHID:  0000-0001-6391-0288

Personal profile – Studies

During his MSc (2002) and PhD (2004) studies at the University of Ioannina, he performed several long-term scientific visits in research labs in Utrecht (Bijvoet center of Biomolecular Research) and Florence (PARABIO) working on the application of biophysical techniques in biomolecular systems. After four years of postdoctoral research in structural and molecular biology at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, he became (since 2009) a Lecturer of Chemical Biology at the University of Ioannina and from 2013 he promoted as an Assistant Professor in the same Department. In June 2016 he submitted his application to be promoted as Associate Professor. He has established facilities including modern robotic synthetic and NMR methodologies with several biophysical (fluorescence, CD, ITC, DSC, NMR) and bioinformatic techniques to characterize dynamic, structural, and thermodynamic properties of biological molecules and proteins. He has taken his research from the discovery phases to potential therapeutic agents, evident in his patent with MRCT, LMB, Cambridge, United Kingdom as lead scientist and inventor of a novel and highly selective angiotensin receptor subtype 2 (AT2R) analogues. He has recently been awarded a Development Gap Fund (DGF) from the Medical Research Council Technology in London for conducting translational research. In addition, he has just filled another Greek patent on the establishment of the smallest bioreactor able to allow online biotransformation and product monitoring using complex natural product scaffold as substrates and at the same time determination of interaction of the produced molecules with pharmaceutically important protein targets.

Publications: He has more than 130 publications in International Journals (more than half of them were produced within the last 5 years from his independent lab in Greece).

Funding: The five years of his independent Lab/group (consisted of 3 Ph.D. students, 4 MSc students, 1 Post Doc) received a number of competitive grants (Synergasia II, Thalis, Aristeia II, New Knowledge (Epirus Prefecture)) which allowed to integrate/establish synthetic tools (robotic peptide synthesis, microwave peptide synthesis, classical organic synthesis of small molecules (fluorophores, metal chelating agents, drugs) biocatalysis for the biotransformation of natural products), biophysical tools (isothermal titration calorimetry, robotics NMR, fluorimetry, in silico studies-molecular dynamics), biochemical tools (cell-based screening assays), analytical tools (isolate natural products and phytochemical from plant extracts) orchestrated for small-molecule screening with relevance to disease areas including cancer, diabetes, hypertension and atherothrombosis. Very recently the lab awarded a national grant of “excellence” on the frame of which the lab has established a mass spectrometry center for bioequivalence and pharmacokinetics. The lab has been equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including a unique hybrid GC/UHPLC-QToF mass spectrometry system (Waters Xevo G2-XS) and a triple quadruple UHPLC-MS/MS system (Bruker EVOQ Elite ER), and has been accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 to quantify in human plasma anticancer drugs as also to operate according to Good Laboratory Practise (GLP).

Fellowships and awards: He received numerous fellowships and awards including the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (1997-1999); Marie Curie (Chemistry Depart., Univ. Florence); FEBS Summer Fellowship (Univ. Utrecht, Netherlands); Leonidas Zervas Award (2004); EMBO long term fellowship (MRC, LMB, Cambridge, UK); Medicinal Research Council fellowship, LMB, Cambridge, Gardiki-Kouidou Award (2007) our lab was recently awarded a Development Gap Fund (DGF) from the Medical Research Council Technology in London.

Biographical Sketch

• 1995-1999: Undergraduate student: Chemistry Department, University of Ioannina, Greece. (Entrance IKY scholarship – Ranked 3rd).
• 1999: Chemistry Degree, grade 8.18 on a scale 1-10. Graduated top of the class. (Greek Scholarship Foundation award for excellence in undergraduate studies).
• 1999-2001: M.Sc. student in the Graduate Studies Program “Bioinorganic Chemistry” with thesis title: «Investigation of the interaction of the bioactive hormone Angiotensin II with Ca²⁺, Ce³⁺, Nd³⁺, Dy³⁺ and Tm³⁺ by the use of NMR and Molecular Dynamics”.
• 2001: M.Sc. degree in Bioinorganic Chemistry. Graduated top of the class. Award by the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• 2002–2005: Ph.D. student. Research project: “The rennin – angiotensin system. The molecular Basis of Hypertension by the use of NMR and Molecular Modeling” (fellowship from the Greek Ministry of Education on the basis of student and research proposals qualifications). Award from the “Leonidas Zerbas” Foundation.
• 2005-2007: Post-doctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge (EMBO Long Term Fellowship, ALTF: 780-2004).
• 2007-2008: Research Associate at the Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
• 2008: Post-doctoral researcher at IBM, CNRS, Marseille, France.
• 2009: Lecturer of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina
• 2013-present: Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina.
• 2016: Application for promotion to Associate Professor of Chemical Biology

Fellowships and Awards

• September 1995: Fellowship from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation (Entrance Award).
• September 1996: Fellowship from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• September 1997: Fellowship from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• September 1998: Fellowship from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• September 1999: Award from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• November 1999: Fellowship from the Graduate program of “Bioinorganic Chemistry”, University of Ioannina (Selected first among 18 applicants) and fellowship from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation.
• October 2000: European Large Scale Facility fellowship (Utrecht University, Netherlands).
• December 2000: European Large Scale Facility fellowship (Univ. Florence, PARABIO, Italy).
• June – August 2001: Marie Curie fellowship (Univ. Florence, PARABIO, Italy).
• June 2001: NATO fellowship to participate at the 5th International School of Structural Biology and Magnetic Resonance: Protein Structure, Dynamics, Genomics and Function, Sicily.
• October – December 2001: FEBS Summer fellowship (Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Department of NMR Spectroscopy, Univ. Utrecht, Netherlands).
• January-February 2002: European Large Scale Facility fellowship (Univ. Florence, PARABIO, Italy).
• April 2002: Award from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation-Finished with distinction the MSc Graduate Program in Bioinorganic Chemistry, University of Ioannina.
• May – June 2002: European Large Scale Facility fellowship (Utrecht University, Netherlands).
• August 2002: EMBO fellowship for participation in the EMBO Practical course «Multidimensional NMR in Structural Biology», Il Ciocco, Lucca, Italy.
• 2002-2005: “Heracletos fellowship for basic research from the Greek Ministry of Education on the basis of student and research proposals qualifications”.
• April 2004: “Leonidas Zervas Award”.
• September – November 2005: European Large Scale Facility fellowship (Utrecht University, Netherlands).
• January 2005-February 2007: Fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Organization (long-term EMBO fellow 708-2004, Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK).
• September 2005: EMBO fellowship for participation in the EMBO Practical Course: Structure determination of biological macromolecules by solution NMR, Basel, Switzerland.
• August 2006: Fellowship to participate (invited lecturer) in the XXIIND International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Göttingen, Germany
• November 2006: Fellowship from the Hellenic Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (oral presentation) 58th HSBMB conference, Patra.
• February 2007 – January 2008: Fellow of the Medical Research Council (Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK).
• October 2007: Gardiki-Kouidou Award, 59th HSBMB conference, Athens.
• March 2009: Nomination to participate in the 59th Meeting of Nobel Laureates 2009, Lindau (Alexander Onassis Foundation).
• June 2014: Our lab has been awarded a Development Gap Fund (DGF) Award from the Medical Research Council Technology in London.
• 18 September 2015: Our lab has been awarded a research grant award from the “Institute for the Study and Education on Thrombosis and Antithrombotic Therapy”
  Positions and Employment
• 2005-07 Postdoctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge (EMBO Long Term Fellowship, ALTF: 780-2004)
• 2007-08 Postdoctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge (EMBO Long Term Fellowship, ALTF: 780-2004)
• 2008-09 Research Associate at the Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
• 2009-13 Lecturer of Bioorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Greece
• 2013-present Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Greece

Honors

• 1995-1998 Awarded four fellowships of excellence from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation
• 1999 Award of excellence from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation
• 2001 Marie Curie fellowship (Univ. Florence, PARABIO, Italy).
• 2001 NATO fellowship.
• 2001 FEBS fellowship (Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Netherlands).
• 2002 Award from the Greek State Fellowship Foundation-Finished with distinction
• 2002 EMBO fellowship, Il Ciocco, Lucca, Italy.
• 2002 “Heracletos fellowship for basic research from the Greek Ministry of Education on the basis of student and research proposals qualifications”.
• 2004 “Leonidas Zervas Award”.
• 2005 EMBO long term Fellowship (MRC-LMB, UK)
• 2005 EMBO fellowship (Basel, Switzerland).
• 2007 Gardiki-Kouidou Award, 59th HSBMB conference, Athens.
• 2009 Awarded to the 59th Meeting of Nobel Laureates 2009, (Alexander Onassis Foundation).
• 2014 Development Gap Fund (DGF) Award from the Medical Research Council, UK

Publications

He has more than 130 publications in International Journals (more than half of which were produced within the last 5 years by his independent lab). Complete List of Published Work in his site: https://chem.uoi.gr/meli-dep/tzakos-andreas/

Editorial board member

In 2012, after invitation, he became a member of the editorial board of three international scientific Journals (Biochemistry & Pharmacology, E-Journal of Chemistry, The Scientific World Journal), and the same year he has been invited and served as a lead guest editor of J. Drug Deliv. organizing a special issue in Targeted Drug Delivery for Cancer. In 2015 he has been invited to serve in the editorial board of Medicinal Chemistry (Bentham) and SRL Cancer & Cellular Biology journal.

Patents

5 patents:

• Patent 1: He has been the lead scientist and inventor of a novel and selective AT2R analogs presenting antitumor properties (patent WO 2013091883) with MRCT, LMB, Cambridge, UK. Our lab in 2014 was awarded a Development Gap Fund (DGF) from the Medical Research Council Technology in London, a pre-seed translational fund, which provides funding to conduct translational research.
• Patent 2: A second patent is being currently filled with collaboration with the pharmaceutical company ELPEN, on the discovery of a novel tumor homing peptide selectively targeting glia.
• Patent 3: A third patent has been filed towards the construction of the smallest online bioreactor for rapid biotransformation of natural products and ligand-protein interaction monitoring
• Patent 4: A fourth patent is currently in preparation towards the development of a novel cheminformatics server for the rapid determination of natural products from complex plant extracts.
• Patent 5: A fifth patent is currently under preparation with Imperial College, London, towards a new formulation of the glioblastoma drug temozolomide that allowed the enhancement of its aqueous solubility as also its stability.

Research Support

The last 5 years of our lab he has been the lead scientist of four grants co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and National Resources (Excellence II (Screening Platform for Discovery of Small molecules Targeting Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (SPEED), New knowledge II, Bilateral grant Greece-Slovakia 2011, Bilateral grant Greece-Turkey) as also our lab in 2014 awarded with a Development Gap Fund (DGF) from the Medical Research Council Technology in London, a pre-seed translational fund. He has served as a collaborator (work package leader) in 4 different National grants.

The Team

Andreas Tzakos

B.A.C. Director

Associate Professor of Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of Ioannina, Greece.

Nikolaos Parisis

Laboratory Manager

Analytical Chemist, MSc.