Dr. Panagiota Evstathia Nikolaou

Health Sciences

Panagiota-Efstathia (Naya) Nikolaou, PhD, MSc, B.Pharm, is a Teaching and Research Faculty Member in Pharmacology at UNIC Athens, and a basic and translational cardiovascular scientist at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. A licensed pharmacist with MSc and PhD training in cardiovascular pharmacology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), her research bridges pharmacology, cardiovascular biology, immunometabolism, and hematology, with particular emphasis on translating molecular mechanisms into novel therapeutic strategies.

Her research focuses on cardioprotection, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, endothelial and microvascular dysfunction, heart failure, cardiac amyloidosis, and the interactions between cardiovascular disease, metabolism, and the immune system. A major component of her work investigates the mechanisms underlying light-chain and transthyretin amyloidosis and cardiovascular complications of plasma-cell disorders. Her methodological expertise spans experimental cardiovascular models, molecular and cellular biology, proteomics, mitochondrial functional studies, advanced imaging, transcriptomics, and single-cell approaches. International research mobility has included appointments at the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute and National Amyloidosis Centre at University College London, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, and Research Institute Sant Pau in Barcelona.

Dr Nikolaou has authored 40 peer-reviewed publications and more than 40 conference proceedings. Her work has appeared in journals including Nature Reviews Cardiology, Circulation Research, Blood, Basic Research in Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Redox Biology, and JACC: Basic to Translational Science. Her research has received more than 1,100 Google Scholar citations, with an h-index of 17. Her scientific contributions include studies of SGLT2 inhibitors and cardioprotection, endothelial mechanisms underlying microvascular obstruction after myocardial infarction, mitochondrial targets for ischemia/reperfusion injury, cardiac amyloidosis, and immunometabolism in heart failure.

She has participated in competitively funded national, European, international, and industry-supported projects and currently serves as Principal Investigator of a project targeting the bone marrow–immune–heart axis for healthy aging. She is also a recipient of the ESC First Contact Initiative Grant and has contributed as Co-Investigator to projects supported by the International Myeloma Society, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Johnson & Johnson.

Her international scientific leadership includes election to the Core Group of the European Society of Cardiology Scientists of Tomorrow and leadership of WG3: Immunometabolism within COST Action EU-METAHEART. She is also a guest editor and reviewer for international scientific journals and a co-inventor of a registered patent. Her work has been recognized through competitive fellowships and distinctions, including H.F.R.I. and Onassis Foundation doctoral scholarships, COST Short-Term Scientific Missions, ESC and International Society of Amyloidosis travel grants, and multiple awards for oral and poster presentations.

Alongside research, Dr Nikolaou has substantial teaching and mentoring experience in pharmacology and toxicology and has supervised undergraduate, MSc, and PhD researchers. Her overarching scientific goal is to integrate cardiovascular pharmacology, immunology, metabolism, and hematology to identify mechanisms and therapeutic targets capable of improving cardiovascular health across aging and systemic disease.