Matrix Pathobiology and Angiogenesis

Prof. Evangelia Papadimitriou is a molecular pharmacologist at the University of Patras. Her research focuses on vascular biology and angiogenesis in health and disease, mostly cancer, with emphasis on the interaction of ECM molecules with angiogenic growth factors and the effect of such interactions on signaling. She preserves collaborations with numerous national and international research labs and has been awarded several national and international research grants. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed research papers, 16 chapters in books and more than 250 abstracts in conference proceedings. She has edited books on Pharmacology and Angiogenesis in Health and Disease.

After his basic BA, MSc and PhD studies in the University of Patras, and a training period at the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany, Dr. Constantinos Mikelis migrated to the United States and worked as post-doctoral fellow at the Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2014 he became Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the School of Pharmacy at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where in 2021 he was promoted to Associate Professor. The focus of his research program is on vascular physiology in health and disease, with an interest on the role of small GTPases in vascular-related pathological conditions, including cancer.

Chapter 1: Fibronectin Fibrillogenesis during Angiogenesis.- Chapter 2: Functional Interplay Between Fibronectin and Matricellular Proteins in the Control of Endothelial Tubulogenesis.- Chapter 3: Endothelial Cell-Matrix Interactions in Angiogenesis and Vessel Homeostasis: A Focus on Laminins and Their Integrin Receptors.- Chapter 4: Collagens and collagen-degrading enzymes in the regulation of angiogenesis.- Chapter 5: Kruppel-like factor 2 and matrix metalloproteinases in the context of vasculature.- Chapter 6: Extracellular Matrix-Remodeling Enzymes as Targets for Natural Antiangiogenic Compounds.- Chapter 7: Cell - extracellular matrix adhesions in vascular endothelium.- Chapter 8: Hypoxia: a potent regulator of angiogenesis through extracellular matrix remodeling.- Chapter 9: Leading roles of heparan sulfate in angiogenesis and cancer.- Chapter 10: The role of pericytes in tumor angiogenesis.- Chapter 11: Lymphatic Mechanoregulation in Development and Disease.