Professor, Section of Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Research web page

Education

• 1989 Degree: Ptychion  in Chemistry, Chemistry, NKUA
• 1995 PhD in Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy, NKUA
• 1997-2000 Post-doctoral research in NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics of biomolecules, Institute of Chemical Biology, NHRF

Teaching

• Undergraduate courses/labs: Organic Chemistry II, Drug Synthesis Practicals
• Graduate courses: Protective Groups as part of the lectures in Strategy for synthesis of drug molecules

Research topics

• Medicinal Chemistry: Computational-aided drug design, computational biochemistry, drug–receptor interactions, development of new derivatives to test CADD hypotheses, structure-activity relationships
• Molecular biophysics: protein-lipid interactions
• Physical Organic Chemistry, computational mechanistic organic chemistry, weak hydrogen bonding in small organic molecules and peptides
• Dynamic NMR spectroscopy of conformational processes in strained organic molecules

Distinctions

• 1999 –2000 : Post-doctoral Fellowship, National Scholarship Foundation, Greece
• 1990 –1995 : Ph.D. Fellowship, National Scholarship Foundation, Greece
• 1 US patent

Recent publications (2023-2025)

• Tan, H.; Zhang, Q.; Georgiou, K.; Zhang, S.; Li, K.; Lambrinidis, G.; Kolocouris, A.; Deng, X. Wang, J. Identification of naturally occurring drug-resistant mutations of SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease. Nat Commun 2025, 16, 4548. 10.1038/s41467-025-59922-9

• Li, K.; Rudy, M. J.; Hu, Y.; Tan, H.; Lambrinidis, G.; Wu, X.; Georgiou, K.; Tan, B.; Frost, J.; Wilson, C.; Clarke, P.; Kolocouris, A.; Zhang, Q.-y.; Tyler, K. L.; * Wang, J.* A rationally designed 2C inhibitor prevents enterovirus D68-infected mice from developing paralysis. Nat Commun 2025, 16, 5987. 10.1038/s41467-025-61083-8

• Tietjen, I.; * Kwan, D. C.; Petrich, A.; Zell, R.;  Antoniadou, I. T.; Gavriilidou, A.; Tzitzoglaki, C.; Rallis, M.; Fedida, D.; Sureda, F. X.; Mestdagh, C.; Naesens, L.; Chiantia, S.; Johnson, F. B.; Kolocouris, A. * Antiviral Mechanisms and Preclinical Evaluation of Amantadine Analogs that Continue to Inhibit Influenza A Viruses with M2S31N-Based Drug Resistance. Antiviral Res. 2025, 236, 106104. 10.1016/j.antiviral.2025.106104

• Georgiou, K.; Kolokouris, D.; Kolocouris, A.* Molecular biophysics and inhibition mechanism of influenza virus A M2 viroporin by adamantane-based drugs – Challenges in designing antiviral agents. Journal of Structural Biology: X 2025, 100122. 10.1016/j.yjsbx.2025.100122
• Kolokouris, D.; Kalenderoglou, I.; Duncan, A.; Corey, R.; Sansom, M.; Kolocouris, A.* The role of Cholesterol in M2 Clustering and Viral Budding. ACS JCompTheoryComp 2025, 21, 912-932. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c01026
• Georgiou, K.; Kolocouris, A.*  Conformational Heterogeneity and Structural Features for Function of the Prototype Viroporin Influenza AM2. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2025, 1867, 184387. doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2024.184387 
• Liolios, C.; Bouziotis, D.; Sihver, W.; Schaefer, Martin; Lambrinidis, G.; Salvanou, E.-A.; Bauder-Wüst, U.; Benesova, M.; Kopka, K.; Kolocouris, A.; Bouziotis, P. Synthesis and Preclinical Evaluation of a Bispecific PSMA-617/RM2 Heterodimer Targeting Prostate Cancer. ACS Med.Chem.Lett. 2024, 15, 1970–1978. 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00324
• Watson, S. J.; van der Watt, M. E.; Theron, A.; Reader, J.; Erlank, E.; Koekemoer, L. J.; Stampolaki, M.; Tilahun, A.; Adewole, F.; Sadowska, K.; Pérez-Lozano, P.; Turcu, A. L.; Vázquez, S.; Ko, J.; Mazurek, B.; Malwal, S. R.; Njoroge, M.; Chibale, K.; Onajole, O. K.; Kolocouris, A.; Oldfield, E.; Birkholtz, L.-M.. The Tuberculosis Drug Candidate SQ109 and Its Analogs Have Multistage Activity against Plasmodium falciparum. ACS Infectious Dis 2024, 10, 3358–3367. 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00461
• Huang, X.; Chorianopoulou, A.; Kalkounou, P.; Georgiou, M.; Pousias, A.; Davies, A.; Pearce, A.; Harris, M.; Lambrinidis, G.; Marakos, P.; Pouli, N.; Kolocouris, A.; Lougiakis, N.; Ladds, G. Hit-to-Lead Optimization of Heterocyclic Carbonyloxy carboximidamides as Selective Antagonists at Human Adenosine A3 Receptor. ACS J. Med. Chem. 2024, 67, 13117-13146. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01092
• Zorba, L. P.; Stylianakis, I.; Tsoureas, N.; Kolocouris, A.; Vougioukalakis, G. C. Copper-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Thiazolidin-2-Imines. Copper-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Thiazolidin-2-imines J. Org. Chem. 2024, 89, 11, 7727–7740. 10.1021/acs.joc.4c00394.
• Stampelou, M.; Ladds, G.; Kolocouris. A*  Computational Workflow for Refining AlphaFold Models in Drug Design Using Kinetic and Thermodynamic Binding Calculations: A Case Study for the Unresolved Inactive human Adenosine A3 Receptor. J. Phys. Chem. B 2024, 128, 914–936. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05986
• Georgiou, K.; Konstantinidi, A.; Hutterer, J.; Freudenberger, K.; Kolarov, F.; Lambrinidis, G.; Stylianakis, I.; Stampelou, M.; Gauglitz, G.; Kolocouris, A.* Accurate calculation of affinity changes to the close state of influenza A M2 transmembrane domain in response to subtle structural changes of adamantyl amines using free energy perturbation methods in different lipid bilayers. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2024, 1866 (2),184258. doi.10.1016/j.bbamem.2023.184258
• Tan, B.; Liu, C.; Li, K.; Jadhav, P.; Lambrinidis, G.; Zhu, L.; Olson, L.; Tan, H.; Wen, Y.; Kolocouris, A.; Liu, W.; Wang, J.* Structure-based lead optimization of enterovirus D68 2A protease inhibitors. J. Med. Chem. 2023, 66, 21, 14544–14563.

Books

• National high school graduate general chemistry book (5 issues) (2000-2002)
• Computational chemistry (in Greek), ISBN 978-960-110018-0
• Computational chemistry - Molecular Simulations: Principles, Methods and Applications, in press (in Greek)
   

Contact

Dr Antonios Kolocouris, Professor
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy                          
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Panepistimioupolis Zografou, Athens, 15 771
Tel: 210-727-4834,  Fax: 210-727-4747

E-mail: ankol@pharm.uoa.gr

Web page: https://cocadds.pharm.uoa.gr/