Dr Loukia Parisiadou

Loukia Parisiadou is an Associate Professor in Molecular/ Cell Biology & Genetics at the University of Nicosia Athens Medical School.

Dr Parisiadou earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from the University of Sheffield in the UK. She then completed her Master’s degree in Endocrinology at the same institution. Afterward, she returned to Athens, Greece, where she obtained her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Athens. Following her graduate studies, she moved to the United States to pursue postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, one of the leading institutions for medical research. A few years later, she was promoted to Senior Research Fellow. Loukia received the NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence twice for her contributions to neurodegenerative research.

After her time at the NIH, she joined the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago as an Assistant Professor. There, she established her independent research program focused on the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. Her primary research interest lies in the in vivo pathogenic mechanisms of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a kinase associated with Parkinson’s disease. Her laboratory investigates the effects of LRRK2 mutations on neuronal synapses and related circuits, utilizing various techniques, including super-resolution imaging, subcellular proteomics with cell type specificity, translatomics, electrophysiology, anatomical methods, and behavioral assays. Her research has been published in high-impact journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and the Journal of Neuroscience. As a principal investigator, Dr. Parisiadou has consistently secured substantial external funding from federal and private foundations. She has trained over 30 trainees in her laboratory and is committed to inspiring future scientists and clinicians.