Demokritos

Demokritos

Research Objective

The Unit 20 years now has successfully taken part in several European and national eHealth and knowledge management projects. Within the realm of these projects eHealth and eLearning platforms have been developed and hosted within NCSR premises.

The core business and skills of the unit includes:

• Medical informatics
• Web services and technologies and mobile applications to support healthcare e.g. Tele-health platforms to enhance the provision of medical services and emergency services for both citizens and travelers in remote/isolated regions, for chronic patients and disable and ageing population.
• Unobtrusive monitoring services and applications for home care services like Internet of Things platforms and ontologies for supporting assistive living,  
• Decision Support Services to Professionals using information extraction from heterogeneous content for enhancement of diagnosis with Electronic Health Records and intelligent algorithms
• Information systems and knowledge management,
• Foresight and strategic planning and
• Competency-based learning.

Future Objectives

Our aim is to connect society, business-innovation and research by continuously develop, validate and bring out of the lab and into the market state of the art services for making life better.

1. We intend to enhance new research perspectives stressing interdisciplinary approaches in areas with strong societal and economic importance like health, assistive living and wellness. The areas of research are:
2. use of Intelligence to support models of digital doctors, automatic diagnosis, and multispectral imaging
3. develop virtual assistants to support self-management services
4. further develop models for age friendly homes
5. work on integrated care models
6. Support the digital transformation of society and organizations (education, organizational activities, processes, competencies and models) to fully leverage the potential of digital technologies
7. Transform research results into tangible innovative applications and services and commercialize the research findings coming from NCSR relevant projects.

Research Activities

• ICT in Healthcare and Assistive Living, Knowledge Management
• Competency based Learning, Foresight & Strategic planning to support AI in Electronic Health Record domain, search technologies and NLP

NCSR “DEMOKRITOS” /Institute of Biosciences and Applications

HUMAN TISSUE BANK

Personnel:

Helen Vavouraki, Ph.D, SeniorResearcher- Scientific Responsible

Yiannis Ninios, Ph.D, Research Collaborator

Charalampos Voudommatis, MSc, Research Collaborator

Milena Tselia, Technician

Laboratory Description

The Human Tissue Bank of NCSR “DEMOKRITOS” is one of the first legislated laboratories of the Center, always mentioned in the laws of the Ministry of Health regarding transplantations. The main objective of Human Tissue Bank (HTB) is the collection of various human tissues, their processing and the production of grafts to be used in Regenerative Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.

It is recently licensed as a Tissue and Cell Bank by the Ministry of Health (Greek Government Gazette 768, 26.02.2021) /Scientific Responsible: Helen Vavouraki .Member of the European Association of Tissue Banks, it is the only bank of its kind in Greece, applying its “knowhow” in the processing of a great variety of human tissues. It has gradually developed the necessary expertise in each procedure (procurement, tissue processing, irradiation sterilization and disposal of tissue grafts) involved in the Tissue Banking. All the above activities comply with the European Directives 23/2004, 17/2006 and 86/2006 concerning human tissues and cells, as they were implemented in Greece by the 26/2008 Law, as well as, to the recommendations of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In over 46 years of continuous operation, HTB has delivered more than 54.000 tissue grafts without any reported quality-related problems. All procedures taking place in the Bank are fully computerized and accredited according to ISO 9001/2015. It is a great concern for us to constantly be updated in quality control topics and to ensure our compliance with the Greek and European Standards.

The produced grafts are delivered to various hospitals, health clinics, medical and dental laboratories, all over the country. The Tissue Bank’s research interests are mainly focused on the study of the activity of the produced grafts, the optimization of the production methods, the process of new types of tissues, the development of new techniques and new graft products. Its research activities are therefore based on collaborations with universities and healthcare institutions, in order to promote Public Health by launching improved products, publishing original papers and participating in doctorate degrees (Ph.D. theses).

Principal Investigator

Dr Homer Papadopoulos (M) holds a Physics degree and a Pre PhD on Telecommunications from the University of Athens and a Bio-design Graduate Certificate from Stanford University US. He has an MBA at Warwick University and he holds a PhD from IS/IT Department of Bath University UK. Dr. Papadopoulos is working for NCSR “Demokritos” for 17 years managing various European funded Research programs within the fields of e-services, mobile services and technologies and broadband telecommunication networks. He has successfully coordinated among the others the www.usefil.eu project. He has published several papers in journals and international conferences. He is coordinating the EIP-on AHA Synergy group and A1-04 group for ICT technologies in Adherence in polypharmacy and medical plans.

Dr Dimitra Pappa holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) with a specialisation in Telecommunications, an MBA from the Hellenic Open University and a PhD from the University of Surrey (UK). She has participated in numerous European and national research and development projects in Information Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), eLearning and Knowledge Management as project coordinator, research supervisor, project leader and/or work team member. Projects include POSITIVE LEARN, HEALTH CASCADE, PHAETONS, ADVANCE, CLOUDLEDGE, CRe-AM, OEI2, OpenScout, PROLIX, PROLEARN, COCAL, etc. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed international scientific journals and conferences.

Name: V A V O U R A K I    H E L E N

Prof. Address: National Center for Scientific Research (NCSR) “DEMOKRITOS”, 15310 Ag. Paraskevi, Attiki, Greece.

Tel- Fax: + 30 2106540856, 2106503777

e-mail : helvav@bio.demokritos.gr

ACADEMIC DEGREES

1975 – 1980          Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Athens                       

              Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy, (Distinction, 8/10)

1980 – 1985          Fellowship from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission                   

            1985         Ph.D. Thesis in Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry,

                             (University of Athens, Distinction: excellent)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE    

1985-1986   Scientific Collaborator in Radiopharmaceuticals Group, NCSR “DEMOKRITOS”

1986-1989   a) Responsible of Clinical Pharmacokinetics Lab

                        Pharmacy Dept., LAIKON General Hospital, University of Athens               

                        (Establishment of the Lab., Development of Pharmacokinetics Research Projects)

                    b) Assistant Professor in Greek Technological Institutes, Health Division

                        Title of the lesson: “Radioisotopes in Nuclear Medicine”

                    c) Collaborator in Radiopharmaceuticals Group, NCSR “DEMOKRITOS”

1989-1992   Research Associate in Radiopharmaceuticals Group, NCSR “DEMOKRITOS”

                    (Research, Development, Production, Radiopharmacology)

1990   Scientific Collaboration and Training with Rossendorf Radiopharmaceuticals              

           Lab. (Dresden, Germany) as representative of Greece, on: “Technetium Radiochemistry”

1991   Scientific Collaboration with the Biomedical Chemistry Research Center,

           Chemistry Department, University of Cincinnati,

           “Preparation, analysis and biodistribution of Tc-HDA complex”

1993   Head of Clinical Pharmacokinetics Lab., LAIKON General Hospital  

1994-today   Human Tissue Bank, NCSR ” DEMOKRITOS”  

2006-2011   Researcher Associate “Tissue grafts-Research and Development of Health products”

2009   Certification of Professional Formation in the field of ‘Business Administration’

2012-today   Senior Researcher     

MEMBER OF ASSOCIATIONS

Greek: Nuclear Medicine and Biology, Medicinal Chemistry-General Secretary 1989-1991, President 1991-1993 – Hospital Pharmacists, Hellenic Society for Biomaterials -Treasurer), and 

European: Association of Musculo-Skeletal Transplantation (EAMST), Association of Tissue Banks (EATB).

BILATERAL COOPERATIONS – GRANTS – COLLABORATIONS (Greece-abroad) 

PARTICIPATION IN CONGRESSES

PUBLICATIONS IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS             19

PUBLICATIONS IN SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS   16

PUBLICATIONS IN BOOKS OF ABSTRACTS            26

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

• Reviewer in Scientific Journals: Cell and Tissue Banking (Springer), Platelets
• Member of Scientific Committee and Reviewer of the journal ACTA ORTHOPAEDICA ET TRAUMATOLOGICA HELLENICA (peer-review Journal in English)
• Member of European Committee for the establishment of unique nomenclature of human tissues and cells
• Member of European auditors-net of human tissue and cells banks
• Expert of National Transplant Organization and Ministry of Health in the field of Human Tissue Banking

Research Proposals Assessor

Name: Yiannis P.Ninios

Date of Birth: May 23, 1977, Athens, Greece

Address: 06 Nikis St., 16673, Voula, Greece

Telephone: +30 213 0264430, +30 6972109259

E-mail: yninios@yahoo.gr, yninios@bio.demokritos.gr

EDUCATION-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1989 – 1995: 1st High School, Voula, Greece.

1997– 2003: School of Biology, University of Athens, Greece.

July 2003: Graduation, Bachelor’s in Biology, University of Athens, Greece

July 2000- July 2001: Completion of my Diploma thesis in the Laboratory of Biology , Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, School of Biology, University of Athens, Greece. Diploma thesis topic: “Study of the High Mobility Group proteins in insects”.

Advisor: Assistant. Prof. V. Aleporou-Marinou, School of Biology, Univ. of Athens.

September 2001 – July 2003: Visiting undergraduate student in the Laboratory of Biology , Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, School of Biology, University of Athens.

July 2003 – June 2004: Visiting Postgraduate student in the Laboratory of Biology , Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, School of Biology, University of Athens.

June 2004 – July 2006 : Visiting Postgraduate student in the Laboratory of Histone Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, National Centre of Scientific Research “DEMOKRITOS”, Athens, Greece.

July 2006 – October 2009: PhD student at the Medical School of the University of Athens. Phd thesis title: “Histone deacetylases (HDACs) Inhibitors as inducers of apoptosis in cancer cells”.

November 2010-August 2011: Biologist in the Greek Stem Cells Bank ‘’Stem Health Bank’’, the stem cells bank of the Hospital ‘’YGEIA’’.

September 2011-September 2012: Scientific collaborator at the Nuclear Proteins and Chromatin Function Laboratory of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications of the National Center for Scientific Research ‘’Demokritos’’.

October 2012-February 2014: Post doc scientific collaborator at the  ‘’Molecular and Cellular Ageing’’ Laboratory of the National Hellenic Research Foundation.

April 2014-September 2015: Post doc scientific collaborator at the  Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis and Rare Disease Genetics of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications of the National Center for Scientific Research ‘’Demokritos’’.

October 2015-December 2016: Scientific collaborator and Manager at the ‘’iDentical Premium Care’’ dental clinic.

January 2017-today: Scientific Research Collaborator at the ‘’ Human Tissue Bank’’ of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications of the National Center for Scientific Research ‘’Demokritos’’.

December 2021-today: Associate Scientific officer at the ‘’YGEIA INNOVATIONS IKE’’ spin-off company of the National Center for Scientific Research ‘’Demokritos’’.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

English (Cambridge First Certificate)

MEMBERSHIPS

1.Hellenic Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

2.Hellenic Society for Biomaterials

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY TECHNIQUES

1. Cell Culture Techniques
2. SDS, AUT Histone Protein Electrophoresis
3. Western Blot Analysis
4. Southern Blot Analysis
5. Flow Cytometry
6. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP)
7. PCR amplification
8. Real time PCR Amplification

PUBLICATIONS: 6

CITATIONS: 52
PROCEEDINGS: 13