Vaccines and Immunization

Biography

Professor Leondios Kostrikis is a Professor of Biotechnology and Virology at University of Cyprus, Head of Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology and former Vice-Chairperson of the Department of Biological Sciences. He received his B.Sc. (1987), M.Sc. (1989), M.Ph. (1990) and Ph.D. (1993) degrees from New York University, United States. This was followed by post-doctoral research at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center of Rockefeller University (New York) on the molecular virology of human immunodeficiency virus. He joined the faculty of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center as a staff investigator in 1998 and the Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor in 1999. He moved to Cyprus in 2003, joining the University of Cyprus. He was a Fulbright Scholar (US Fulbright Commission) and has held fellowship awards from the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Aaron Diamond Foundation, United States. He has directed over twenty research grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the European Commission, the Cyprus Research Foundation (CRF) and international charitable foundations. He is an Editorial Board member for twelve international journals, and has served on study sections and committees for European and international grant agencies and charities. He is a founder and a former member of the Board of Directors of the European Society for Antiviral Research (ESAR). For the last 20 years his laboratory has made important contributions to the study of human genetics in the transmission of HIV-1 and disease progression, the worldwide molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 infection, and the transmission of HIV-1 drug resistance. Dr. Kostrikis has now turned his attention to novel concepts in HIV vaccine development and prevention of HIV-1 transmission.

Research Interest

Vaccines and Immunization