Fokialakis Nikolas

Associate Professor Nikolas Fokialakis is affiliated with the Department of Pharmacy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specifically within the Section of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products. His academic journey includes a PhD in Pharmacognosy, postdoctoral research at the USDA, and advanced degrees in Pharmacognosy and Pharmacy. His research focuses on natural products from plants, microorganisms, and marine organisms, with emphasis on anti-aging compounds, cosmeceuticals, and bioactive molecule discovery. Notable awards include the Arthur Neish Award (2010) and the ASP Award (2006). He holds editorial roles in international societies and has contributed to over 150 publications. His work integrates biotechnology for sustainable production of bioactive agents and explores microbial biodiversity for drug leads. Teaching responsibilities include courses in Pharmacognosy, Biotechnology, and Pharmaceutical Analysis.

Education Highlights:

• PhD in Pharmacognosy (University of Athens, 2004)
• Postdoc at USDA Natural Products Lab
• Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacognosy (2000)
• Pharmacy Degree (University of Athens, 1998)

Research Interests:

• Isolation of bioactive small molecules from terrestrial and marine sources
• Anti-aging mechanisms targeting proteostasis
• Cosmeceutical development using microbial metabolites
• Phytochemical analysis of Mediterranean plants

Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes marine microbiota for anti-aging agents, pyrrolizidine alkaloid profiling, and sustainable bioengineering of microbes for industrial metabolites. Over 150 indexed articles demonstrate cross-disciplinary impact in natural products research.

Awards:

• 2011-2019: Board Member, Society for Medicinal Plant Research
• ANR Research Committee (2015-2018)
• OECD Scholarship (2005-2006)

Advising & Grants: Active in mentoring graduate students in natural products and biotechnology projects. Leads EU-funded initiatives on microbial diversity exploitation. Collaborates internationally on marine invertebrate chemistry and cosmeceutical development.

Labs/Teams: Coordinates the Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry lab at University of Athens, focusing on metabolomics and bioactive compound discovery pipelines.