Academic Council 

The Academic Council, with 5-members, chaired by the founder and Director Prof. Constantinos Deltas, is mainly responsible for decisions on matters related to its scientific activities and research planning, Biobanking development, funding challenges and administration, amongst others.

The chairman of the Academic Council is responsible for the day to day activities of the Center, assisted by the Operations Manager, Administrative Managers and Officers as well as senior research personnel. The Director is appointed by the Senate for a period of five years (with possibility of renewal) according to the rules drawn up by the Senate and approved by the UCY Council. Other members of the Academic Council are preferably colleagues in research projects under development at the CoE.

The Academic Council meets every four months (or more frequently if it is necessary) and an agenda is prepared by the CoE Director prior to the meeting. The Academic Council submits CoE’s annual budget to the Senate. In addition, the CoE prepares and submits to the Senate an annual report describing past year’s activities including details of income and expenses.

For the duration of the CY-Biobank Project, similar reports must be submitted to the UCY Research and Budget Offices as well as to the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (Cyprus). The activities of the CoE are evaluated 6 months prior to 5-year term of the Director, based on criteria stipulated by the Senate and a decision is made regarding continuing of operations. Members of the UCY that work at the CoE research programs can be invited at the Academic Council meetings as observers.

Prof. Constantinos Deltas
Director, biobank.cy CoE 

Constantinos Deltas studied Pharmacy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, in January 1988. While studying at Duke University School of Medicine in 1991, he was invited to work at the newly established Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, where he started the first molecular genetics laboratory on hereditary kidney diseases and other disorders. In 2002 he was elected Professor of Genetics at the newly established Department of Biological Sciences, of which he was the first President, contributing to the preparation of curricula and the organization of the first research laboratories. Since 2020 he is Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the Medical School of the University of Cyprus. Research in his laboratory, or in collaboration with other groups in Cyprus and abroad, led to the discovery of important new knowledge about new genes, mutations and molecular mechanisms that cause disease. His discoveries had a significant impact on international nephrology, contributing to the better diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of kidney diseases and were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Read More

Dr Gregory Papagregoriou
Senior Scientist / Group Lead, biobank.cy CoE   

Dr Gregory Papagregoriou has a long interest in studying rare kidney diseases. His research is focused on ADTKD-MUC1 a rare disease with high frequency in Cyprus, which he aspires to describe, identify robust biomarkers and therapeutic interventions. 

Dr Papagregoriou is an expert biobanker and geneticist, while he oversees the Next-Generation Sequencing facility of the biobank.cy CoE. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cyprus, an MRes in Medical and Molecular Biosciences from the University of Newcastle and a BSc in Biology from the Aristotele’s University in Thessaloniki.The years following his PhD, Dr Papagregoriou was a PostDoctoral fellow at the Molecular Medicine Research Center at the University of Cyprus working on the modulation of podocyte gene expression during differentiation through miRNA involvement at the transcriptional level, while he had the opportunity to set up and run the first NGS system in Cyprus.He developed a series of diagnostic NGS panels, including bioinformatic analyses and variant annotation pipelines.Read More

Dr Konstantinos Parperis 
MD, FACP 

Dr. Konstantinos Parperis is an Assistant Professor of Medicine/Rheumatology at the University of Cyprus Medical School. He previously served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, USA. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Patras and during his final year he participated in clinical electives at Yale University. Thereafter, he completed his Internal Medicine residency at Bridgeport Hospital/Yale New Haven Health followed by his fellowship in Rheumatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Parperis has an active role as a clinician educator in the area of Medicine and Rheumatology and has been a recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award by the Department of Medicine in Arizona. Read More

Prof. Fofi Constantinidou
Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus 

Fofi Constantinidou is Professor of Psychology & Director of Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus. She is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist (US and Cyprus), a certified brain injury specialist (CBIS-ABIS) and a neurorehabilitation researcher. Prior to her return to Cyprus, she was Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Miami University, Ohio, USA. Fofi and her interdisciplinary team at the Neurocognitive Research Laboratory, Center for Applied Neuroscience (University of Cyprus) explore the neurophysiological substrates of neuropsychological disorders resulting from acquired brain conditions and the development of effective neurorehabilitation methodologies. Her research has been supported by competitive grants (>11m euros; 4.5m euros as Coordinator) from the National Institutes of Health, the European Union and the Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF). Fofi holds various leadership positions in Cyprus, the US, and other European and International organizations and serves on several Advisory Boards. Read More

Dr Nikolas Dietis
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, University of Cyprus 

Nikolas Dietis is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cyprus Medical School, with a 10-year track record in academia and 5-year professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry sector. He is the founder and Ηead of the Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory at UCY, which focuses on drug repurposing studies against molecular targets in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Dietis is an EU-registered Expert in Pharmacology, a certified Research Evaluator of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation in Greece, a certified Quality Reviewer of Online Courses by Quality Matters (USA), a Speaker at the Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) alliance, and a registered Independent Evaluator at the Council of Recognition of Higher Qualifications (KYSATS). Read More