Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
despoina.miltiadou@cut.ac.cy
2500 2590
Despina Miltiadou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science (ABF). She graduated from the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology of the Agricultural University of Athens and committed research in molecular immunogenetics of ruminants at Roslin and Moredun Research Institutes for the requirements of her Masters by Research (MSc) and Doctorate (PhD) degrees that were awarded by the University of Edinburgh. During her undergraduate and postgraduate studies she has been awarded 16 scholarships/prizes and/or distinctions.
Since 2008 that she joined ABF, she teaches courses related to Genetics and Molecular Biology. Her research interests include identification of genetic loci affecting milk performance and quality traits in small ruminants of local breeds, studying the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and milk production, phylogenetic and expression analysis of ovine and bovine MHC genes.
She has acted as the coordinator of two 3.5 year research projects funded by the Research Promotion Foundation (RPF), entitled ‘Use of molecular and population genetics for the improvement of Chios sheep’ and ‘Genetic characterisation and the influence of aquaculture on native European seabass populations in Cyprus’, has worked as a principal investigator in two work packages of the project ‘Improvement of lipid fraction in ovine milk and halloumi cheese, towards healthier local products’ and has participated in a 3 year project entitled ‘Study of the effect of production method, organic vs. conventional, on the quality of fat in milk and dairy products of Cyprus’ funded by the biggest dairy industry in Cyprus ‘Kristis-Charalabides’. She has also participated in the international ‘Sheep HapMap Project’, is a member of the International Sheep Genomics Consortium’ and acts as a member of the national Cyprus committee for Animal Genetic Resources.
For more information, please visit the website http://ktisis.cut.ac.cy/cris/rp/rp00047
Dimitris Tsaltas
Professor-Department Chair
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
dimitris.tsaltas@cut.ac.cy
2500 2545
Dr Dimitris Tsaltas is a Professor of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science at Cyprus University of Technology. He is a founding member of the Cyprus University of Technology since early days in 2007. He has a BSc in Agricultural Sciences and an MSc in Plant Protection from the Agricultural University of Athens. He gained his PhD from Imperial College London in Molecular Plant Pathology and continued his postdoctoral training at the University of Connecticut (USA) in Molecular Microbiology. He also worked at the Agricultural Research Institute (Cyprus) as a Research Advisor within the Crop Protection Department.
He served as a Delegate and Expert of Cyprus to the Program Committee of 7th Framework Program in Food, Agriculture, Biotechnology and Fisheries and as Committee Member in the Food & Agriculture Domain of COST. He is a Board Member of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU), and the Greek Phytiatry Society, National Representative at ISEKI Food Association, Ambassador of the Global Harmonization Initiative - GHI as well as Ambassador and International Mentor of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
He leads the Group of Agricultural Microbiology and Biotechnology. The Group is actively engaging in microbial biodiversity and ecology investigations in agroindustrial fermentations. Next Generation Sequencing technologies are used as a tool for these explorations as well as new approach for authenticating food products (microbiome fingerprinting). The group also engages in exploring biosafety problems in the food chain starting from the farm, such as mycotoxins and human pathogens on fresh fruits and vegetables, to the final processed products. Additionally, Dr Tsaltas team works on biosensors development, food innovation and new product development. Through this extensive and deep analytical capacity the group offers an array of services to the local food, agriculture, pharma and biomedical industry through consultation and analytical methods unique in Cyprus for various microbiology issues (microbial IDing, microbial genotyping, detection of microbes etc)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitris-tsaltas-24737013/
https://www.facebook.com/MicrobeAtCUT/?ref=bookmarks
George Manganaris
Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
george.manganaris@cut.ac.cy
2500 2307
George Manganaris is currently Professor in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology & Food Science at Cyprus University of Technology. He entered the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Division of Agricultural Sciences in 1993 and followed a 5-year bachelor degree. He continued his post-graduate studies in the same University. In particular, he completed an MSc degree in the field of ‘Genetic Improvement and Plant Physiology’ in 2001 and awarded his PhD degree in 2004.
He was appointed as contract Assistant Professor in the Technological Educational Institution of Thessaloniki (Department of Crop Production) and in the Technological Educational Institution of West Macedonia (Department of Marketing and Qualitative Control of Rural Products). During his studies, he was a recipient of two competitive fellowships given by the State Scholarship Foundation of Greece. He was also granted a fund by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for entering the Master of Science Program and an award of excellence for post-doctoral research.
In July 2006 he was offered an appointment as post-doc employee from the University of California at Davis (Department of Plant Sciences). From February 2007, after receiving a Marie Curie Individual Intra European fellowship (EIF fellowships), he was employed by the University of Padova (Division of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Agronomy & Crop Science). From 2009, he is Academic Staff at Cyprus University of Technology, initially as Lecturer (2009-2013), then as Assistant Professor (2014-2018) and from March 2019 onwards as Associate Professor.
He is responsible of the CUT Fruit Sciences/Postharvest Group, which is currently comprised of three PhD students, three MSc students and a significant number of undergraduate students. His main scientific interests include the quality evaluation/phytochemical profile of horticultural products (fleshy fruits and grapes) with the employment of physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches, the elucidation of fruit ripening syndrome with emphasis in the development of physiological disorders and overall the postharvest maintenance of fresh produce. Additionally, he is involved in projects and/or synergies dealing with the application of preharvest treatments and/or novel technologies for maintaining quality of horticultural crops and their responsiveness to abiotic conditions. He is Council Member of the International Society for Horticultural Science and is board member of European Fruit Research Institute Network. He is additionally member of the Management Committee member of EU COST Actions CA17111 (Data integration to maximise the power of omics for grapevine improvement) and CA18210 (Oxygen sensing a novel mean for biology and technology of fruit quality).
To date, Dr. Manganaris is the author of 53scientific papers (20 as senior author) in peer-reviewed journals (>2300 citations, h-index=24). Data from his work have also been presented in review papers (4), book chapters (11) and full texts in Conference proceedings (10). He is the Editor of the Proceedings of the V International Postharvest Unlimited Symposium, (Acta Horticulturae 1079) and the III International Horticulture in Europe Symposium (Acta Horticulturae 1242).
Dr. Manganaris is Associate Editor/Editorial board member in the Scientia Horticultuare, Postharvest Biology and Technology, BMC Plant Biology, Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology while he has handled over 490 reviews as ad hoc reviewer in >100 refereed journals. He was appointed by the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education to participate in the External Evaluation and Certification process of four Departments and an equal number of study programs. He has been assigned to evaluate competitive research proposals for EU (Horizon, Eurostars, Innowide) and from different countries (France, Belgium, Poland, Chile, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia). He has also acted as examiner of MSc thesis/PhD dissertations (Italy, United Kingdom, Greece, Australia).
Courses
- Arboriculture [ABF214]
- Postharvest Physiology & Technology [ABF415]
- Viticulture [ABF315]
- Principles of Plant Production [ABF212]
- Physiology & Biochemistry of Agricultural Products [ABF507]
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George_Manganaris
https://twitter.com/GManganaris
https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-manganaris-08b87a36/
Photis Papademas
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
photis.papademas@cut.ac.cy
2500 2581
Photis Papademas is an Associate Professor of Dairy Science and Technology at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science at the Cyprus University of Technology. He graduated from Reading University, UK holding a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry and Food Science and a PhD in Dairy Science. Before entering the academia, He was employed as a Quality Control Manager in several dairy industries in Cyprus.
Since 2010 he leads the Dairy Science and Technology Research group that is focused on the study of, technology and quality (organoleptic) characteristics and the authenticity of milk and dairy products. Fermentation and donkey milk bioactivity are a special research focus.
He has an active research agenda and published numerous papers in scientific journals and contributed with chapters in scientific literature/encyclopedias on dairy science and especially on cheese. Additionally, he is the co-editor of the book “Global Cheesemaking Technology: Cheese Quality and Characteristics” published by Wiley.
He is a member of the National (Cyprus) Dairy Committee and an active member of the Standing Committee on Dairy Science Technology of the International Dairy Federation.
https://ppapademas.wixsite.com/dstech
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Photis_Papademas
https://www.linkedin.com/in/photis-papademas-7b77972b/
Menelaos Stavrinides
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
m.stavrinides@cut.ac.cy
2500 2186
https://www.sustagric.com
Menelaos Stavrinides holds a BSc in Agriculture from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, an MSc in Biological Control from Imperial College, London and an MS and PhD in Environmental Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He carried out postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley and has taught undergraduate courses in Ecology and Biology at the same university. He worked as a researcher at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Agricultural Research Institute of Cyprus. His research interests include the biological control of pests, the demographic impacts of pesticides on natural enemies, the evolution of pesticide resistance in insect and mite pests and the effects of plant water stress on pest outbreaks.
Ouranios Tzamaloukas
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
ouranios.tzamaloukas@cut.ac.cy
2500 2437
Ouranios Tzamaloukas holds a BSc degree in Animal Science awarded by the Agricultural University of Athens and the Master by Research (MSc) and Doctorate (PhD) degrees awarded by the University of Edinburgh (UK). He has conducted research in animal nutrition in relation to gastrointestinal nematodes, immunology, alternative forage use, organic farming and feed analysis at the institutes of Scottish Agricultural College, Moredun Research Institute and University of Edinburgh (UK). During his academic appointment at the Cyprus University of Technology, he attracted funding from the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus, the European Union and the dairy and feed industry of Cyprus. His main research interests include the interplay of nutritional-genetic parameters affecting milk traits, organic farming, alternative feeds (by-products) and the lipid profile of milk and dairy products (mainly Halloumi cheese). He had main contribution to the development of the curriculum of the Animal and Dairy Science specialization of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science and he teaches courses related to animal nutrition, ruminant production and animal science. He has academically supervised two PhD students and 24 postgraduate and undergraduate students. He is the author/co-author of more than 60 peer reviewed journal articles, monographs, book chapter and conference announcements. He represents Cyprus to different international associations and participates in national and international committees related to animal science.
Vassilis Fotopoulos
Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
vassilis.fotopoulos@cut.ac.cy
2500 2418
http://plant-stress.weebly.com/
Vasileios Fotopoulos is a Professor in Structural and Functional Plant Biology and head of the CUT Plant Stress Physiology Group established in 2008. His main scientific research focuses on the study of nitro-oxidative signaling cascades involved in the plant’s response to stress factors, while emphasis is being given in the development of chemical and biological priming technologies towards the amelioration of abiotic stress factors and promotion of plant growth. Relevant research has resulted in the publication of a patent and the provisional filing of a second one. In addition, he is involved in research studying plant secondary metabolism and antioxidant responses in fruit crops during ripening. To date, Dr. Fotopoulos is the author of 69 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals (h-index=26; Source: Scopus), as well as 7 book chapters. He currently serves as Editorial Board member in Journal of Experimental Botany, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, BMC Plant Biology, Gene, Frontiers in Plant Science and five other journals. He has also been assigned to evaluate competitive research proposals from different countries (France, Belgium, Poland, Chile, Latvia, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Qatar, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark), EU proposals (EUROSTARS), while he participated as Review Panel Member for COST Actions (EU) in the field of ‘Natural Sciences’ and FWO (BE) in Section ‘BIO1’. Finally, he has acted as examiner of MSc theses/PhD dissertations from Italy, South Africa and The Netherlands.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vasileios_Fotopoulos
https://twitter.com/CUT_PlantStress
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilis-fotopoulos-4ab10428/
https://www.facebook.com/plantstressphysiologyCUT/
Nikolaos Tzortzakis
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
nikolaos.tzortzakis@cut.ac.cy
2500 2280
http://www.cut.ac.cy/hydro-aromatic-plants
Nikos Tzortzakis is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology & Food Science, at Cyprus University of Technology. He graduated in 1999 after majoring in the field of ‘Horticulture’, Division of Agricultural Sciences at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He continued his post-graduate studies [(Specialized Post-University Diploma -DSPU) and MSc degree] in the field of ‘Horticulture Quality Management’ specialized in Soilless Cultivation, at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh-CIHEAM) and awarded his PhD degree in 2005 in Postharvest Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. His post-doctoral research was carried out in the Laboratory of Oliviculture and Postharvest Physiology, Institute of Olive Tree and Subtropical Plants, NAGREF, as well as in the Dept. of Organic Greenhouse Crops & Floriculture, Technological Educational Institute of Crete. He is visiting professor at the Postgraduate Program of MAICh-CIHEAM. His main research interests include issues in hydroponics and substrate determination for vegetables and aromatic plants, exploitation of plant wastes in greenhouse and open field crops as well as the use of natural sanitizers with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties for fresh produce preservation under pathogenic, physiological and biochemical/molecular approaches.
Chryssoula Drouza
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
chryssoula.drouza@cut.ac.cy
2500 2503
Dr Chryssoula Drouza is Associate Professor in Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) in the department of Agricultural Production, Biotechnology and Food Science since 2023. She graduated from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Ioannina in 1991. She worked as visiting Scientist in the department of Chemistry at the Colorado State University in the development of new drugs exerting anti-diabetic properties. Afterwards, Drouza moved to Cyprus where she registered in the postgraduate program of the Department of Chemistry in University of Cyprus and obtained her PhD diploma (2003). She conducted research on synthesis, characterization and redox stability of metal complexes of transition metals with non-innocent ligands, investigating the mechanisms of action of dioxygen, and application on utilization of dioxalene type ligands for remove toxic metals from the water, human body and the food. She was employed for a Post Doctoral position in the same department undertaking research for several funded research programs. Since 2007 she holds an academic position at the Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Agriculture Production, Biotechnology and Food Science.
Her research interests comprise the following fields: (a) Interaction of transition metals with non-innocent ligands towards the activation of dioxygen (b) Use of metal-organic catalysts for the development of new methods for food characterization and monitoring of redox reactions in food processing (c) Utilization of paramagnetic probes for the food analysis (d) Study of the mechanisms of lipids oxidation and wine aging (e) Investigation for determination of markers for the discrimination/authenticity of food (f) Antioxidant content of food
To match these targets Drouza has equipped her lab with expensive equipment of advanced techniques such (i) spectroscopic: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometer (EPR), UV-vis spectrophotometer, FT-IR (ii) electrochemical: CV-voltammetry, chromatographic: GC-MS/FID, HPLC-PDA/fluorescence/RI/UV. In her research she also utilizes 1H (1 and 2D), 13C, 51V, 19F, 31P Nuclear Magnetic spectroscopy (NMR) in cooperation with her collaborators.
Drouza’s research has been funded with more than 19 funding research programs.
Drouza has been the Coordinator and Scientific supervisor of the funding research program “New Markers for the Certification of Quality and Authenticity of Food by EPR”, 395000 Euros, (2008-2012) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research Promotion Foundation (Infrastructure) which funded the purchase of an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance equipment.
Current/recent research funded research programs she participates are as following:
1. Research Promotion Foundation Programmes for Research, Technological Development and Inovation, Cyprus, “RESTART 2016-2020” EXCELLENCE/0421/, “Uranium mining from the sea” SUSS, 200.000 euros, 2022-2024. Participating role: Partner
2. Research Promotion Foundation Programmes for Research, Technological Development and Inovation, Cyprus, “RESTART 2016-2020” EXCELLENCE/1216/0508, “New quinone/hydroquinoe metal complexes for the catalytic conversion of H2O/O2 to H2O2 and the construction of aqueous photosynthetic solar cells”, QUINSOL, Funding: 250.000 euros, 2019-2021. Participating role: Partner
Her research has been published with 61 articles to peer reviewed international scientific journals, to 6 book chapters with review, and to more than 60 local and international conferences, while it has been cited in other publication more than 955 times with h factor=19. Her research group currently consists of 1 Post Doctoral research fellow, 2 PhD students, and 2 undergraduate diploma thesis students. One Ph.D. student and 2 Msc students have graduated from her group, while she has co-supervised 1 PhD and 1 Msc student.
George Botsaris
Associate Professor, Dean of Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences and Environmental Management
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
george.botsaris@cut.ac.cy
2500 2582
George Botsaris first studied Food Technology at Harper Adams University and Manchester Metropolitan University followed by a Masters in Food Chain Management at the University of London – Imperial College. He obtained his PhD in Food Microbiology from the School of Biosciences of the University of Nottingham and currently is an Associate Professor in Food Technology and Microbiology at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science of the Cyprus University of Technology. He has also collaborated as an external lecturer for the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science of the University of Nottingham. His present and future research perspectives cover three interrelated areas within Food Technology/Biotechnology and Food Microbiology: (i). Application of bacteriophage in food and veterinary diagnostics and in the biological control of bacterial diseases (ii). Detection and control of food borne pathogens and other important microorganisms in the food supply chain (iii). Development of novel functional foods and their shelf life evaluation. He undertakes projects in the detection, enumeration, molecular identification and characterization of food borne pathogens, microbial self-life evaluations of conventional and functional foods, the effect of different technologies in the preservation of food and the antimicrobial activity of natural products. He has been elected as a member of the Society for Applied Microbiology, the Microbiology Society, and also in the Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Nikolaos Nikoloudakis
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
n.nikoloudakis@cut.ac.cy
2500 2387
Nikolaos Nikoloudakis is a graduate of the Agricultural Biotechnology Department of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), awarded also an MSc in the field of plant biotechnology. He obtained his PhD at the Plant Breeding and Biometry Laboratory (AUA) caring out research involving phylogenetic relationships of Avena species and the study of intergenomic modifications using interspecific hybrids of different ploidy levels. He participated in several scientific research projects involving the genetic characterisation of economically important plant species, as well as, their genetic structure and gene regulation. Furthermore, he was a post doc researcher at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science of the Cyprus University of Technology while he has served as technical manager of the national reference laboratories of the Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food, regarding GMO detection in seed lots and the control of pathogenic viruses in plant reproductive material. His main research interests are the evolution of polyploid plants, the study of intergenomic interactions in hybrids, genetic resources and plant biotechnology.
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Loukas Kanetis
Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
loukas.kanetis@cut.ac.cy
2500 2361
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1869-558X
Loukas Kanetis is Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science (ABF) of the Cyprus University of Technology. He holds a Diploma in Crop Science from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece and a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of California, Riverside, USA. He has performed postdoctoral research at the Department of Plant Pathology of the North Carolina State University, USA, and the ABF, while he has also served as Special Teaching Staff at the latter.
During his academic career he has studied important and diverse pathosystems. His research philosophy in plant disease management combines laboratory and applied field research, using classical approaches and modern analytical tools.
His main research interests include:
- Plant disease management using conventional, biological, and integrated approaches
- Etiology of plant diseases & Mycology
- Epidemiology and population dynamics of plant pathogens
For more information regarding Dr. Kanetis academic activity (teaching & research) you may visit the following links: ktisis.cut.ac.cy/cris/rp/rp00121 & orcid.org/0000-0002-1869-558X
Iakovos Pantelides
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
iakovos.pantelides@cut.ac.cy
2500 2290
Dr. Iakovos Pantelides is employed as Special Teaching Staff in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology & Food Science, CUT. He holds a BSc degree in Agriculture (Faculty of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece), a Master by Research (MRes) in Plant Biotechnology (University of London - Imperial College, UK) and a doctorate (PhD) in Plant Pathology (Agricultural University of Athens, Greece).
His main research interests include: basic and applied aspects of plant-microbe interactions, biological control of plant diseases, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, rhizosphere microbiome in suppressive soils, fungal genetics and pathogenicity, genetic variability of toxigenic fungi.
Vlasios Goulas
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
vlasios.goulas@cut.ac.cy
2500 2141
https://npap-lab.com/
Vlasios Goulas is an Assistant Professor in Natural Products Analysis and Processing at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science (ABF). He holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Ioannina and has a PhD in Natural Products Analysis from the same Academic Institution. He also worked for 2 years as post-doc research fellow and 8 years as Special Teaching Staff at ABF. Dr Goulas performs profound research in the field of natural products and foods of plant origin. His main research interests include:
- elucidation of the bioactive composition of natural products and foods of plant origin
- discovering new bioactive compounds and/or extracts for food industry and pharmaceutics
- the impact of processing on stability of bioactive compounds and bioactivity in natural products and foods of plant origin
An array of advanced chromatographic, spectroscopic and physicochemical methods has been developed/modified to achieve our research objectives. Furthermore, in vitro and in silico methods are used for the assessment of antioxidant, antimicrobial and antidiabetic activity of natural products and foods of plant origin.
More information about teaching and academic publishing please visit the website: https://ktisis.cut.ac.cy/cris/rp/rp02281
Georgios Gadanakis
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
georgios.gadanakis@cut.ac.cy
25002500
Dr. Georgios Gadanakis is an Assistant Professor of Applied Agricultural Economics at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology, and Food Sciences at the Cyprus University of Technology. He graduated from the School of Economics, Law and Political Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, holds an MSc from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania and a PhD in Agricultural Economics and Food Marketing, from the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading. He leads research on sustainable agricultural practices, focusing on optimizing farm management through econometric modelling and input and natural resource management techniques. His most recent projects involved the use of co-production methods to assess farmers’ and agricultural stakeholders' needs in the development of Earth Observation based tools for the continuous monitoring and evaluation of farm-level environmental practices.
Dr. Gadanakis has extensive experience in EU-funded research projects that address agricultural policy and rural development challenges. He has also led research projects exploring consumer preferences and farmers' perceptions on sustainable practices, providing insights for policymakers. His work extends to climate change impacts on agriculture and environmentally sustainable strategies, technical efficiency analysis, productivity analysis while he has also lead research on consumers' willingness to pay and farmers willingness to accept for implementing innovative technologies and practices. His widely cited research on topics like economic models (innovation and entrepreneurship) and agricultural productivity bridges the gap between theoretical research and practical solutions aimed at enhancing farm resilience and efficiency.
Maria Aspri
Special Teaching Staff
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
maria.aspri@cut.ac.cy
25002617
Maria Aspri has a BSc in Food Science and Microbiology from University of Surrey (UK) and a research MSc in Food Microbiology from the University College of Cork in Ireland. She obtained her PhD at the Dairy Science and Technology Laboratory at Cyprus University of Technology. Her PhD thesis was on the isolation and identification of beneficial Lactic Acid Bacteria from donkey milk, in order to be used as starter/ adjunct cultures for the production of a functional fermented donkey drink (probiotic, ACE-inhibitory, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity), followed by the peptidomic profile of raw and fermented donkey milk after in-vitro [...]digestion. Furthermore, she was a post doc researcher at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science of CUT. She also worked as a Quality Control Manager for a private food and water testing laboratory. Her main research interests includes the development of novel functional food products in particular with probiotic bacteria, their functional properties and the production of bacteriocins and bioactive peptides after in-vitro digestion process. Furthermore, she is working with the application of non-thermal treatments (UV-C) and their effect on the microbiological and nutritional quality of the final product.
Christina Mitsiopoulou
Special Teaching Staff
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
c.mitsiopoulou@cut.ac.cy
2230
Dr Christina Mitsiopoulou graduated from the Department of Animal Science of the Agricultural University of Athens. She continued his post-graduate studies in the same University. During her undergraduate and postgraduate studies, she has been awarded scholarships, prizes and distinctions.
Her scientific background includes: 17 published articles in scientific journals and 16 abstracts/proceedings in international conferences. She has worked as a salaried researcher, in research programs of the Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology & Feeding.
Her research interests mainly focus on the regulation of immune system genes, the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and milk production, the study of rumen microbiota, the detection of bioactive components of animal products and the impact of a dietary intervention on oxidative status.
Atalanti Christou
Special Teaching Staff
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
atalanti.christou@cut.ac.cy
25002946
Atalanti Christou received her BSc in Chemistry, specializing in Environmental and Food Chemistry, and her PhD from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cyprus (UCY). She served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemistry at UCY and the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology, and Food Science at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). As a postdoctoral researcher, she contributed to research projects funded by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation, UCY, and CUT. At the same time, she worked as a Special Teaching Scientist at CUT.
Her research and expertise are focused on: (1) the development and application of analytical separation techniques for the identification and quantification of primary and secondary metabolites in food and other matrices, (2) the optimization of extraction and sample pre-treatment processes, (3) the application of chemometrics and advanced data analysis techniques, (4) the evaluation of the bioactivity of natural products and foods of plant origin, and (5) the utilization of agricultural and food industry by-products/waste for the development of added-value substances. Her research results have been published in prestigious scientific journals and presented at international scientific conferences.
Antonis Chrysargyris
Special Teaching Staff
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
a.chrysargyris@cut.ac.cy
25002114
Dr. Antonios Chrysargyris is a Biologist (BSc) graduated from the Department of Biology (University of Crete), where he also obtained his master degree (MSc) on Environmental Biology/Ecosystem Management. He obtained his PhD (2016) from Cyprus University of Technology (CUT)/Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at CUT) on numerous National and European funded projects and as special scientist teaching a series of courses at CUT and at the European University of Cyprus (2017-2024. From 2025, he is a Special Teaching Staff at CUT at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science.
His main research work is focused on the introduction of wild and unexplored plant species (ornamental, medicinal/aromatic, edible species) to cultivation schemes (extensive and intensive-hydroponics), identification of their mineral needs, nutritional value, and the evaluation of the biological activities of their extracts and essential oils.
Until now (2025), he has published 130 scientific articles/books chapters (Scopus h index: 31), and participated with more than 100 presentations in National and International conferences, while listed in the TOP 2% of researchers globally, for 2021, 2022 and 2023 (as published by the Stanford University).
Michalis Christoforou
Special Teaching Staff
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
m.christoforou@cut.ac.cy
25002484
He is currently a special teaching staff at the Department of Agricultural science, Biotechnology and Food science of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). He received his B.Sc. in Plant Protection from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece, an M.Sc. in Horticulture from the University of Reading, U.K, an MSc in Geographical information Systems and Geospatial technologies from CUT and a PhD in Plant Pathology – Nematology from CUT. From 2008 until 2021, he was working as a Special Scientist and a Research Fellow at CUT and he is an active member of Agricultural Microbiology Lab and the Geodesy Lab. During the period 2016-2021 he work as a teaching staff at the European University Cyprus. During his career, he performed research in several areas of Agricultural Nematology (PENEK), Plant Pathology (Life Green Grapes), AgroEcology (CASCADE, Black to the Future, Carbonica and GOOD) and Agronomy (AGROINNOECO, , SWSOIP), and Cost action projects (Sustainable Control of grapevine trunk diseases and Genomic BIodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems). At present, his is working on the Carbonica Project: ‘Carbon initiative for climate-resilient agriculture’ and the GOOD project: “Agroecology for weeds” His scientific interests focus on the study of plant parasitic nematodes, biotic and abiotic plant diseases and their monitoring using remote sensing applications with the use of Multispectral UAVs. He published articles in scientific journals, book chapters and proceedings of international conferences. Dr Christoforou is a member the European Society of Nematologist (ESN), the Association of Applied Biologist (AAB), the Hellenic Phytopathological Society (HPS) and the Cyprus Association of Agronomists.
Christina Malou
Laboratory Technician
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCE
christina.malou@cut.ac.cy
25 002234