Our Group

Nikolaos S. Thomaidis, Group Leader, Professor of Analytical Chemistry, NKUA

Nikolaos S. Thomaidis is Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Prof. Thomaidis leads a dedicated scientific group, Trace Analysis and Mass Spectrometry (TrAMS) and has established a constant research activity in the last 25 years (213 papers and 15 book chapters, 213 articles, >6,000 citations, h- 45). Moreover, Prof. Thomaidis has extensive experience in supervising and coordinating research projects with both national and European funding. The current research interest of TrAMS group is focused on the development of cutting-edge methodologies and workflows to fully characterize the molecular picture “fingerprint” of food and environmental samples, based on High Resolution Mass Spectrometric (HRMS) analysis, using both LC-ESI- and GC-APCI- QTOFMS. The remarkable experience of Prof. Thomaidis and his research group in mass spectrometry, along with their constant progress and evolution, classify TrAMS in one of the top European research groups in the field of Analytical Chemistry. FoodTrAMS is part of the TrAMS group, devoted in Food Analysis and Foodomics. For more information regarding the research activities of the whole group please visit the TrAMS Group website.

Marilena E.Dasenaki, Assistant Professor in Food Chemistry, NKUA

Dr.Marilena Dasenaki is an Assistant Professor at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and her research activity focuses on the study of food authenticity using cutting-edge mass spectrometric techniques and advanced chemometric tools. Her research interests include thedevelopment of authenticity protocols for the determination of food adulteration, geographical origin and type offarming as well as food alterations during treatment. Her PhD research focused on food safety and thedevelopment of novel methodologies for the determination of food contaminants (veterinary drugs andpharmaceuticals). Overall, DrDasenaki’sresearch has been published in 20 peer-reviewed papers (10 firstauthorships) and two book chapters, attracting more than >400 citations, with h-index 9 and her work has beenpresented in several international scientific conferences. ORCID: 0000-0002-0853-4547

Marios G. Kostakis, Assistant Professor in Analytical Chemistry, NKUA

Dr Marios Kostakis is an Assistant Professor in the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and his research activity focuses on the study of food safety using cutting-edge mass spectrometric techniques and advanced chemometric tools. His research interests include the development and validation of analytical protocols for the determination of heavy metals in food and food by-products, uncertainty quantification, laboratory accreditation, quality assurance  and statistical analysis of analytical results. His PhD research focused on development of methods for determination and identification of chemical freshness indices with mass spectrometry techniques. Overall, Dr Kostakis’ research has been published in 53 peer-reviewed articles and 30 scientific  conferences.

Reza Aalizadeh, Post-Doctoral Researcher, NKUA

Dr. Reza Aalizadeh is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and his research activity focuses on the development and application of chemometric techniques to facilitate the identification of unknowns by high resolution mass spectrometry. During his PhD, his key work was the development of retention time indices system in the liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. His research interests include the development of chemometric assisted methods for the identification of unknowns in the environmental samples (emerging contaminants and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs)) and food industry (discovery of natural products). Overall, Dr. Reza Aalizadeh’s reseach has been published in the 35 peer-reviewed papers, attracting more than >400 citations, with h-index 11 and his work has been presented in more than 20 international conferences.

Dimitrios Damalas, Post-Doctoral Researcher, NKUA

Dr. Damalas is a postdoctoral researcher at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece). His research merges Environmental Analytical Chemistry and Metabolomics, with expertise in High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) techniques. During his PhD Dr. Damalas has been investigating the effects of xenobiotics on aquatic organisms, focusing on toxicokinetics, biotransformation, and metabolomic responses in zebrafish models. In parallel, he has been developing analytical methods using techniques including LC-HRMS, GC-HRMS, TIMS, and MALDI HRMS for small molecule analysis in environmental and food matrices. His current work explores innovative MALDI HRMS Imaging workflows combined with TIMS to study the xeno- and endo-metabolome in zebrafish larvae exposed to xenobiotics

Sofia Drakopoulou, Post-Doctoral Researcher, NKUA – Co-founder of Track4Value

M.Sc. Sofia Drakopoulou is a PhD Candidate at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and her research activity focuses on the study of food authenticity using cutting-edge mass spectrometric techniques and advanced chemometric tools. Her research interests include the development of authenticity protocols for the determination of food adulteration, geographical origin and type of farming as well as food alterations during treatment. Her PhD research focuses on the development of advanced high-resolution mass spectrometry methods for the thorough characterization of olive oil.

Anastasia Kritikou, Post-doctoral Researcher, NKUA – Co-founder of Track4Value

Dr. Anastasia Kritikou is a Chemist, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and co-founder of Track4ValueNKUA spin-off company. Her research activity focuses on food authenticity studies using cutting-edge High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) techniques and advanced chemometric tools. Her research interests include the development of advanced methodologies for food authenticity characterization (discrimination of geographical/animal/botanical origin, type of farming etc.), as well as the detection of illegal practices e.g. potential adulteration, in response to industry requirements. Her PhD research was focused on the development of novel HRMS-based methodologies (MALDI-TOFMS, LC-QTOFMS, LC-TIMSTOFMS) for the characterization of food of animal origin (dairy products and meat). Her Master thesis was focused on food safety studies, mainly on the determination of veterinary drug residues in food of animal origin. She also has experience in European food safety assessment protocols, participating in national monitoring programs with the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food. During her studies, she has been awarded with state scholarships, as well as for the innovative traceability and food authenticity system “Track4Value” in entrepreneurship competitions,while her scientific work includes a submission of a European patent.

Ioannis C. Martakos, PhD Candidate/Researcher, NKUA

M.Sc. Ioannis Martakos is a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens and his research activity mainly focuses on method development for the determination of a variety of substances in food matrices. His PhD research focuses on the application of advanced analytical techniques and data treatment via target, suspect, non-target screening and chemometric methods for the chemical characterization, the determination of unknown bioactive compounds in food and food by-products and the evaluation of food product’s authenticity. His master thesis focused on the development and validation of a liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of tocopherols, pigments and squalene in olive oil by HPLC-DAD.

Ilias Tzavellas, PhD Candidate/Researcher NKUA

Ilias Tzavellas is a M.Sc. student at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and his research is focused on the study of olive oil adulteration using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS). His research interests include finding markers used for the determination of olive oil adulteration, geographical origin and variety discrimination employing the use of suspect and non-target screening.

Panagiotis – Loukas Gialouris – PhD Candidate/Researcher NKUA

Gialouris Panagiotis Loukas is a Ph.D. candidate of National and Kapodistrian University ofAthens. His research activity focuses on the study of food authenticity using cutting-edge massspectrometric techniques and advanced chemometric tools. His research interests include thechemical characterization of Greek food products, such as honey, wine and olive oil and the development of authenticity protocols for the determination of their botanical and geographical origin.

Eleni Nastou, PhD Candidate/Researcher

M.Sc. Nastou Elena is a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research activity concentrates on the study of food authenticity using cutting-edge mass spectrometric techniques and advanced chemometric tools. Her PhD research focuses on the development of novel methodologies for the determination of phenolic compounds in bee products (royal jelly, pollen, and propolis) and authenticity assessment using UHPLC-VIP-HESI-TIMS-QTOF-MS and DART-HRMS.

Dafni Preza Mayo , PhD Candidate/Researcher

Dafni Preza-Mayo-Kataki is a M.Sc. student at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research interests focus on the determination of the phenolic profile of bee products (royal jelly, propolis, pollen). Her Master thesis includes the detection and quantification of phenolic compounds in bee products using a UPLC-HESI-TIMS-TOF-MS method.

Anastasia Koupa, Lab Analyst

Anastasia Koupa is a lab analyst at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens. Her working experience focuses on the quality control of foods (e.g. heavy metals) and the determination of their nutritional value. Furthermore, she is handling samples according to ISO 17025 requirements. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the development of microorganisms in cheese Limburger.

Panagiota Laggi, Administrative Support, TrAMS Group

M.Sc. Panagiota Langi is Administrative Support in the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, in National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Ms. Langi, holds a B.Sc. in Food Technology from Technological Educational Institute of Peloponnese, and a M.Sc. degree in Food Chemistry from University of Athens. Her responsibilities are focused on communicating with suppliers and third-party collaborators, organizing the meetings and business trips of the group members, collecting / archiving and registering of invoices and other documents, and handling the procedures needed for the scientific and European programs.