Panagiotis Moschou
Group Leader
Panagiotis Moschou obtained a Master’s and PhD in Plant Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology at the University of Crete (Greece). His work focused on the roles of the catabolism of small metabolic molecules known as polyamines. He discovered a new polyamine oxidase class that regulates plant development, stress responses, and cell fate. He did a postdoc at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala (Sweden), where he studied mechanisms by which plant cell polarity and fate are coupled by proteolysis. In 2016 he spent a year in the Sainsbury Lab, UK as a visiting researcher focusing on developing new methods for studying proteolysis. At the same time, he started his lab in the Department of Plant Biology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences as an Associate Professor. At the end of 2018, he started a lab at the Department of Biology, at the University of Crete as an Associate Professor. He is also affiliated with the Foundation of Research and Technology, Hellas.
Recent papers:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39117606/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39547849/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40763704/
Postdoctoral Researchers
Konstantin Kutashev
Konstantin joined the laboratory as a postdoc researcher working on the PLANTEX project. He received Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Genomics and Proteomics programme from Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia in January 2021 for his work describing chromatin states associated with transcriptionally active and inactive fractions of ribosomal DNA. Konstantin previously worked at 3D organization of the cell nucleus laboratory at Plant Biology Department of Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala, Sweden. His main focus there were questions related to DNA damage response and mechanisms governing changes in chromatin positioning within the nucleus (chromatin mobility).
Recent papers:
The role of membrane-biomolecular condensate interactions in stress
Maity Shudenku
Dr. Sukhendu Maity is a plant biologist whose research bridges molecular physiology, stress biology, and environmental toxicology. He earned his Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Presidency University, Kolkata, investigating the biochemical, molecular, and genomic impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on plants. Currently Maity as a postdoctoral researcher at IMBB-FORTH, Crete, is working in ERC-Project: Plant Translating Vertex (PLANTEX) focusing on the limited proteolysis mediated regulation of selective protein translation to improve heat tolerance in plants. He has authored several peer-reviewed publications and reviews, contributed to environmental risk assessment.
Recent papers:
Ashwani Verma
Ashwani Kumar Verma is currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow under the guidance of Prof. Panagiotis N. Moschou at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), FORTH, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. His research focuses on Plant stress biology and biomolecular condensates. He holds a Ph.D. in Science (2018–2024) from the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), conducted at the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, India, where his thesis explored “Effect of Elevated CO₂ on the Epigenome of Arabidopsis thaliana Populations from Different Elevations”. Prior to his Ph.D., Dr. Verma completed his M.Sc. in Botany (2017) and B.Sc. in Biology (2015) from the University of Lucknow, India, securing First Division in both degrees.
From August 2024 to February 2025, he served as a Project Associate-II at the Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Lab, CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow. Earlier, from 2022–2023, he worked as a Project Associate-I and as a Senior Research Fellow (2019–2022) in the Plant Molecular Biology and Epigenomics Lab at CSIR-NBRI. His journey began as a Junior Research Fellow (2017–2019) at the same institute, where he contributed to cutting-edge research in plant epigenetics under the CSIR-Ph.D. fellowship program.
Dr. Verma’s expertise spans Plant stress biology, epigenetics, and molecular mechanisms, making him a promising researcher in plant biotechnology. His work bridges fundamental science with potential agricultural applications.
(Contact: +30 16970617148 | Based in Heraklion, Greece)
Recent papers:
Stress delays the bloom: ROS sustains condensates to protect the tomato meristem
Jose Pepe-Moya
Dr. José Moya-Cuevas is a Postdoctoral Researcher specializing in plant stress and computational biology. His expertise includes implementing advanced bioinformatics for plant stress response analysis, gene regulatory network modeling, transcriptomics, and cell-wall integrity maintenance. He currently leads the development of deep learning approaches to predict biomolecular plant condensate formation within Prof. Moschou’s IMBB-FORTH research group. He earned his International PhD in Biotechnology and Biomedicine (with honors) from the University of Valencia, preceded by a Master’s in Molecular, Cellular, and Genetic Biology Research and a Bachelor’s in Biology. His scientific contributions are published in prestigious journals, and he has collaborated internationally at institutions such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Moya-Cuevas is also committed to scientific education and outreach, teaching bioinformatics and organizing scientific communication events.
Recent papers:
Adrian Suarez Covarrubias
co-supervised with Peter Bozhkov, SLU
Recent papers:
PhD students/candidates
Fanourios Mountourakis
Fanourios Mountourakis is a biologist specializing in biomolecular condensates and their role in plant physiology. He holds a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Green Biotechnology from the University of Crete and is currently a PhD candidate at IMBB-FORTH. With over five years of research experience, his work encompasses plant-microbe interactions, photosynthetic biofuel production, and the molecular mechanisms of phase-separated biomolecular assemblies. He has contributed to five peer-reviewed publications and holds a Greek patent. His research focuses on elucidating the functional significance of condensates in plant cellular processes.
Recent papers:
Concentrating and sequestering biomolecules in condensates: impact on plant biology
Agustian Agustian Chen
Agustian is currently a PhD student in Biology Science at the University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece, under the supervision of Prof. Panagiotis N. Moschou. The research focuses on the study of proteolysis on the formation of condensates with unique properties. Agustian holds an MEng in Biotechnology and Bioengineeringfrom the East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China, and has contributed to several sustainability projects in lignocellulosic-based biorefinery at the State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering – Biomass Laboratory, under the supervision of Prof. Jie Bao.
Recent papers:
Master Students
Zoumpoulia Vertoudou
Green Biology program
Argyris Kollias
Green Biology program
Christina Michailidou
Bioethics program
Bachelor students
Co-supervised Ph.D. students
Dimitrios Botskaris, Ioannis Talianidis, IMBB-FORTH
Technicians
Georgios Vlachakis
Team Leader – Technicians, MS
Georgios Vlachakis is a plant biotechnology specialist with over a decade of experience in molecular biology, plant pathology, and genetic research. He holds an MSc in Plant Biotechnology from Wageningen University, Netherlands, and a degree in Crop Science from the Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Greece. His research includes studies on SUMO modifications in Arabidopsis and the development of molecular tools for identifying and validating desirable traits in vegetables and ornamental plants. He currently serves as a Special Research Assistant on the ERC-funded PLANTEX project in Heraklion, Greece.
Maria Papadovasilaki
Maria Papadovasilaki is a Special Research Assistant at IMBB-FORTH. She obtained her BSc in Biology from the University of Patras. She has extensive experience in protein chemistry (overexpression, purification, CD spectroscopy, enzyme kinetics) and crystallizing biological molecules (proteins and protein-DNA complexes).
Athanasia Christopoulou
MS
Athanasia Christopoulou is a Chemist with an MSc in Analytical Chemistry. Her expertise includes mass spectrometry techniques and analytical method development and validation. As Special Research Assistant in the Moschou lab, she contributes to project management and employs cell biology and molecular techniques, with a focus on plant condensates.
Maria Kalitsounaki
MS
Maria Kalitsounaki is a Chemist with an MSc in Analytical Chemistry, specializing in olive oil quality, wine analysis, food safety, and analytical methodologies (NMR spectroscopy, chromatography, and mass spectrometry). She is a Special Research Assistant on the ERC-funded PLANTEX project at IMBB-FORTH, leveraging her expertise in plant chemistry within a pioneering research environment.
Alumni
2025
Eleni Manassaki, Bachelor
2024
Kyriakos Mavridis, Master
Petroula Leventaki, Master
Ariadne Siopi, Bachelor student
Chen Liu, Postdoc, now Asst Prof
Androniki Bibi, Postdoc
Epameinondas Tzagarakis, BS
Adriani Mentzelopoulou, PhD, now postdoc at SLU, Umea
Ioannis Chatzianestis, PhD, now postdoc
2023
Anna Törnkvist, PhD
Artemis Perraki, Postdoc
Dimitris Korovesis, Postdoc
Irene Dervisi, Postdoc
2022
Vassiliki Chatzimichail, BS
Vassiliki Katidou, MS
Dafni Paraskevopoulou, MS
Anna Wulgarakis, MS
Rafail Gritzas, BS
Stefanos Mastis, BS
2021
Eirini-Areti Karampidaki, BS
Leda Tympa, project student
Spyridoula Charova, postdoctoral researcher
Alexandra Deli, postdoctoral researcher
2020
Vassilis Scaltsogiannis, Technical Staff
Nikos Glampedakis, Master student
2019
Amna Muhammad, visiting Ph.D. student
Boyu Liu, visiting postdoctoral researcher/Assistant Professor
Mohamed Mounir Boucetta, Master student
2018
Peter Herfs, project student
Theodor Crispin, project student
2017
Zoltan Takacs, visiting student
Leda-Eleni Tympa, project student (rotation)
Alexander Tsoi, project student
Ana María Ribes Moya, visiting PhD student
Miguel Bracho, visiting PhD student
Interested in working with us?
Undergraduate Students
We are looking for enthusiastic and reliable undergraduate students who are interested in gaining experience in research. Prospective students will be trained in a variety of molecular and cellular biology techniques, including confocal microscopy and genome editing (CRISPR/Cas9). If you are interested in working with us, send your CV (including relevant skills and research experiences) and a short motivation statement (max. 1 page) to Dr Panagiotis Moschou.
Graduate Students
If you are interested in working with Dr Panagiotis Moschou as a graduate student, send your CV (including relevant skills, research experiences, and research interests) to Dr Panagiotis Moschou.
International Students and Collaborators
If you are thinking about visiting us, send your CV (including relevant skills, research experiences, and interests) to Dr Panagiotis Moschou.
MOSCHOU LAB 