Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Technology

Education

• Degree in Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, NKUA (2014-2019). Grade: Excellent
• PhD in Biopharmaceutics - Pharmacokinetics, Department of Pharmacy, NKUA (2020-2023). Grade: Excellent
  Visiting Researcher:
     • Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara (2019-2020)
     • School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin (2022)
• Postdoctoral Training:
     • Department of Process Analysis, Design and Development, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (2024-2026)
     • Laboratory of Biopharmaceutics - Pharmacokinetics, Department of Pharmacy, NKUA (2024-2026)

Teaching

Undergraduate courses/labs

• Co-teaching of the course Introduction to Clinical Pharmacy
• Co-teaching of the course Introduction to Laboratory Practice
• Co-teaching of the course Biopharmaceutics - Pharmacokinetics Laboratory

Graduate courses/labs

• MSc Programme "Clinical Pharmacy", Department of Pharmacy, NKUA
  Co-teaching of the following courses:
     • Application of Laboratory and Analytical Methods in the Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring of Patients
     • Clinical Pharmacology I / Pathology-Pathophysiology I
     • Clinical Pharmacology II / Pathology-Pathophysiology II
     • Advanced Biopharmaceutics-Pharmacokinetics
     • Applications of Pharmacokinetics in Therapeutics
• MSc Programme "Industrial Pharmacy", Department of Pharmacy, NKUA
  Co-teaching of the following courses:
     • Advanced Biopharmaceutics-Pharmacokinetics
     • Laboratory Exercises in Industrial Pharmacy
• MSc Programme "New Drug Development: Research, Launch and Access", School of Medicine, NKUA
  Co-teaching of the course:
     • Basic Principles of Pharmacology and Biotechnology
• MSc Programmes "Neuroscience" and "Entrepreneurship of Smart Medicines", School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin
  Co-teaching, as a Teaching Fellow, of the course:
     • Clinical Trials
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master on Nanomedicines for Drug Delivery (NANOMED)
  Co-teaching of the course:
     • Basic Biology for Nanomed

Research topics

• Investigation and evaluation of clinical cases with the aim of individualising, modifying and optimising pharmacotherapy, based on clinical, laboratory and real-world pharmacotherapeutic data and the patient's response to treatment.
• Clinical pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring in the context of clinical studies
• Design, development, and in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation of nasal delivery systems and devices for direct delivery to the brain and heart (nasal films, powders, patches, etc.).
• Design, development, and in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation of oral and pulmonary delivery systems (powders).
• Pharmacokinetic modelling and simulations (physiologically based pharmacokinetic models - PBPK, non-compartmental analysis, etc., using preclinical and clinical data)
• Development and characterisation of cyclodextrin-based delivery systems to improve the solubility, dissolution rate and absorption of poorly soluble drugs.

Distinctions

• Scholarship for doctoral research from the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) (2020-2023)
• Best Abstract Award, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) (2022)
• Best Poster Presentation Award, 20th Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Congress (2023)

Patents

• Granted National and European Patent by the Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (HIPO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), respectively. Title: "A pharmaceutical formulation comprising polymeric micro-/nanofibers incorporating echinochrome A". Applicant: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Inventors: Vassilios Roussis, Efstathia Ioannou, Spyridon Kikionis, Georgia Valsami, Paraskevi Papakyriakopoulou, Panagiotis Mavrogiorgis. 20220101012 (HIPO) Date: 07-12-2022, WO2024120750A1 (WIPO) Date: 13-06-2024.
• European Patent Application submitted to the European Patent Office (EPO). Title: "Treatment of leukodystrophy". Applicants: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Inventors: K.K. Dev, Georgia Valsami, Paraskevi Papakyriakopoulou. Application No: EP23386091.5, Date: 06-10-2023
• European Patent Application submitted to the European Patent Office (EPO). Title: "Treatment of disorders using sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulators". Applicants: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Inventors: Georgia Valsami, K.K. Dev, Paraskevi Papakyriakopoulou, Dimitrios Rekkas. Application No: EP24386119.2, Date: 18-10-2024
• International application WO2026082902A1, "Treatment of disorders using sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulators", published in 2026 (priority date: 18 October 2024).

Recent publications

• Saitani E.-M., Papakyriakopoulou P., Kikionis S., Pippa N., Pispas S., Valsami G. Advanced P407/Tw80/βCD-based nasal powders of ropinirole hydrochloride for nose-to-brain delivery in Parkinson’s disease: preparation and comprehensive in vitro and ex vivo evaluation. AAPS Journal. 2025;27:143. doi:10.1208/s12248-025-01128-4.
• Athanassa Z., Papakyriakopoulou P., Marquez-Megias S., Saitani E.-M., Manioudaki S., Dimoula K., Petsa I., Valsami G., Koumaki V., Dokoumetzidis A., Tsakris A. Population pharmacokinetic model of oral minocycline in critically ill adult patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2025;80:1295–1304. doi:10.1093/jac/dkaf090.
• Papakyriakopoulou P., Balafas E., Kostomitsopoulos N., Rekkas D.M., Dev K.K., Valsami G. Pharmacokinetic study of fingolimod nasal films administered via nose-to-brain route in C57BL/6 J mice as potential treatment for multiple sclerosis. Pharmaceutical Research. 2024;41:1951–1963. doi:10.1007/s11095-024-03745-8.
• Papakyriakopoulou P., Valsami G., Dev K.K. The effect of donepezil hydrochloride in the Twitcher mouse model of Krabbe disease. Molecular Neurobiology. 2024;61:8688–8701. doi:10.1007/s12035-024-04137-0.
• Papakyriakopoulou P., Balafas E., Colombo G., Rekkas D.M., Kostomitsopoulos N., Valsami G. Nose-to-brain delivery of donepezil hydrochloride following administration of an HPMC-Me-β-CD-PEG400 nasal film in mice. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology. 2023;84:104463. doi:10.1016/j.jddst.2023.104463.

Contact

Section of Pharmaceutical Technology
Department of Pharmacy
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Panepistimiopolis, 157 84
Athens, Greece
Tel.: +30(210) 7274675
e-mail: ppapakyr@pharm.uoa.gr