I am Stella, from Greece and I am biologist with special interest in Reproductive Biology and Embryology. More specifically about my background, as biologist I always wanted to study the most important characteristic of the living being, the genesis of a new organism and to work in the assisted reproductive technology field, giving hope to couples suffering from subfertility. My interest in this area was first aroused during my undergraduate studies at the University of Thessaly where I studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. After my undergraduate studies I carried out research in Max Planck institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Germany, as an intern in the laboratory of self- organization of mammalian embryo of Ivan Bedzhov. In 2018 I moved to the UK, where I earned my masters degree in Assisted Reproduction Technologies, at the University of Nottingham. As part of my postgraduate studies, I conducted research at CARE fertility in Nottingham. The period 2019-2020 I worked as Molecular Biologist at Novogene Genetics, in Cambridge, UK.

I am excited to participate in EUROVA ITN Program and to work towards my PhD  in a very promising and innovative project.  The aim of the project is the proteomic analysis of young and advanced maternal aged (AMA) oocytes, in order to determine the effect of age on oocyte quality. The changes in the proteome of human oocytes can be used for the determination of potential candidate proteins- targets able to rescue the aged phenotype of AMA oocytes. I believe that the findings of this research, in combination with the other ESRs in the project, will provide valuable information to the scientific community and will be used for the development of treatments which can extend the life span in women’s fertility.

My goals during the next three years are to developed further my scientific skills and knowledge, to communicate and exchange ideas with other scientists and to contribute in the universal attempt to enlighten the biology behind the oocytes.

Publications:

Co- Author:

Rui Fan, Yung Su Kim, Jie Wu, Rui Chen, Dagmar Zeuschner, Karina Mildner, Kenjiro Adachi, Guangming Wu, Styliani Galatidou, Jianhua Li, Hans R. Schöler, Sebastian A. Leidel & Ivan Bedzhov. Wnt/Beta-catenin/Esrrb signalling controls the tissue-scale reorganization and maintenance of the pluripotent lineage during murine embryonic diapause.