Scientific Personnel

Brief Bio

Academic achievements

• 1993-1997 BSc, Department of Biology, University of Patras, Greece.
• 1997-1999 M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Program, University of Crete, Greece. Title: Study of the Minos transposable element activity in mammalian cells. Advisor: Prof. C. Savakis
• 1999-2004    Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine Program, University of Crete, Greece. Title: The transposable element Minos: Development of functional genomic analysis systems in man and mouse. Advisor: Prof. C. Savakis
• 2004-2011 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York. Advisor: Prof. T.M. Jessell
• 2011-   Researcher C - Assistant Professor Level, BRFAA, Athens, Greece.

Honors and Awards

• 1994, 1995  Annual Academic Achievement Awards, National Scholarship Foundation (IKY), Greece
• 2000 EMBO Short-Term Fellowship (ASTF 9641)
• 2004 Helen Hay Whitney Research Fellowship
• 2005  EMBO Long Term Fellowship (RALTF 1051-2004).

Invited Speaker

• 2007 “Cholinergic interneurons and motor control in the mammalian spinal cord”, Salk Motor Systems symposium, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, USA.
• 2008 “Genetic identification and manipulation of spinal cholinergic interneurons”, 2nd Annual Symposium on Motor Systems, Bethesda, USA.
• 2009 “Cholinergic interneurons and spinal motor control”, Cellular and Network Functions in the Spinal Cord University of Wisconsin- Madison, USA.
• 2009 “Cholinergic interneurons and motor control in the mammalian spinal cord", 23rd Meeting of the Hellenic Society for Neuroscience (HSFN) joint with the 41st Meeting of the European Brain and Behavior Society (EBBS) Island of Rhodes, Greece.
• 2011 “Spinal cholinergic interneurons and motor control”, 23rd Biennial Meeting of ISN-ESN, Athens, Greece.
• 2017 “C bouton in ALS: a critical player for motor neuron fate?”, Fondation Sante Symposium, Athens, Greece
• 2019 “Cholinergic modulation of the respiratory circuit”, Fondation Sante Symposium, Athens, Greece
• 2019 “The role of specific synapses in MN degeneration in ALS”, 3rd Symposium of Psychosomatic Medicine, Athens, Greece
• 2023 “Peptidergic modulation of motor output”, Nervous System Assembly workshop, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan.
• 2023 “CART peptidergic modulation of motor output”, Motor Control: Spinal Circuits and Beyond
• University of St Andrews, UK.
• 2023 “The role of spinal interneurons in ALS”, 21st conference of Clinical Chemistry, Athens, Greece
• 2024 “CART peptidergic modulation of motor output”, Sensorimotor circuits for limb control, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan.

Organization of international conferences

• 66th Conference of Hellenic Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Athens, Greece (2015)
• 73rd Conference of Hellenic Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Athens, Greece (2023)

Funding

• 2007 Project ALS, Co-PI, “Genetic and physiological analysis of cholinergic synapses on motoneurons: a ‘synaptic stripping’ hypothesis for ALS” (PI, Dr. T.M. Jessell).
• 2010     Marie Curie International Reintegration Grants (IRG), “Modulating motor output in the mammalian spinal cord”.
• 2013 ARISTEIA II, “The Role of Spinal Interneurons in Mammalian Locomotion: Developmental and Functional Aspects”.
• 2015      Fondation Sante, “C bouton in ALS: a critical player for motor neuron fate?”.
• 2018      Fondation Sante, “Cholinergic modulation of the respiratory circuit”.
• 2022   H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty Members and Researchers (II) “Unraveling the role of   specific synaptic inputs on motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis”.

Selected Publications

Kokkorakis N, Douka K, Nalmpanti A, Politis PK, Zagoraiou L, Matsas R, Gaitanou M. Mirk/Dyrk1B controls ventral spinal cord development via Shh pathway. Cell Mol Life Sci 2024 Jan 31;81(1):70.

Eleftheriadis PE, Pothakos K, Sharples SA, Apostolou PE, Mina M, Tetringa E, Tsape E, Miles GB, Zagoraiou L. Peptidergic modulation of motor neuron output via CART signaling at C bouton synapses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023 Sep 26;120(39).

Konsolaki E, Koropouli E, Tsape E, Pothakos K, Zagoraiou L. Genetic inactivation of cholinergic C bouton output improves motor performance but not survival in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroscience 2020 Dec 1:450:71-80.

Nascimento F, Broadhead MJ, Tetringa E, Tsape E, Zagoraiou L, Miles GB.  Synaptic mechanisms underlying modulations of locomotor-related motoneuron output by premotor cholinergic interneurons. eLife. 2020 Feb 21;9:e54170.

Rozani I, Tsapara G, Witts EC, Deaville SJ, Miles GB, Zagoraiou L. Pitx2 cholinergic interneurons are the source of C bouton synapses on brainstem motor neurons. Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 20;9(1):4936.

Prekop HT, Kroiss A, Rook V, Zagoraiou L, Jessell TM, Fernandes C, Delogu A, Wingate RJT. Sox14 is required for a specific subset of Cerebello-Olivary projections. J Neurosci. 2018 Oct 31;38(44):9539-9550.

Mina M, Konsolaki E, Zagoraiou L. Translational Research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): The Preclinical SOD1 Mouse Model. Journal of Translational Neurosciences 2018 Aug 14.

Jager P, Ye Z, Yu X, Zagoraiou L, Prekop HT, Partanen J, Jessell TM, Wisden W, Brickley SG, Delogu A. Tectal-derived interneurons contribute to phasic and tonic inhibition in the visual 1 thalamus. Nat Commun. 2016 Dec 8;7:13579.

Witts EC, Zagoraiou L, Miles GB. Anatomy and function of cholinergic C bouton inputs to motor neurons. J Anat. 2014 Jan;224(1):52-60.

Dougherty KJ*, Zagoraiou L*+, Satoh D, Rozani I, Doobar S, Arber S, Jessell TM, Kiehn O+. Locomotor rhythm generation linked to the output of spinal Shox2 excitatory Interneurons. Neuron. 2013 Nov 20;80(4):920-33.

Delogu A, Sellers K, Zagoraiou L, Bocianowska-Zbrog A, Mandal S, Guimera J, Rubenstein J, Sugden D, Jessell TM, Lumsden A. Subcortical visual shell nuclei targeted by ipRGCs develop from a Sox14+-GABAergic progenitor and require Sox14 to regulate daily activity rhythms. Neuron. 2012 75(4):648-62.

Siembab VC, Smith CA, Zagoraiou L, Berrocal MC, Mentis GZ and Alvarez FJ. Target selection of proprioceptive and motor axon synapses on neonatal V1-derived Ia inhibitory interneurons and Renshaw Cells. J.Comp.Neurol. Cover article. 2010 518(23):4675-70

 

PubMed:

PubMed Link