MEDGENET Guest Lecture

Dr. Petrakis received the Diploma in Biology (2001) and PhD in Molecular Pharmacology (2007) from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece. He continued his post-doctoral training in MDC Berlin working with Prof. Dr. Erich Wanker on molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Dr. Petrakis employed high-throughput screening methods to identify protein-protein interactions (PPI) and genetic modifiers of polyglutamine (polyQ) cytotoxicity and protein aggregation. His work led to the identification of a molecular mechanism of protein aggregation for mutant ATXN1, the polyQ protein which causes spinocerebellar ataxia type-1. From 2009 to 2015, he was leading a research group in the biotechnology company Biohellenika, working on the generation of cell models for human diseases using genetically modified mesenchymal stem cells. Dr. Petrakis is currently Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB), Centre of Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH). His research interests lie in the generation of stem cell models for neurodegenerative diseases and the identification of the relevant pathogenic mechanisms. He has published more that 20 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and proceedings of international conferences. He is also an Associate Editor in Frontiers in Genetics