Dr Vasileios FOTOPOULOS

Education: Vasileios Fotopoulos is currently an Associate Professor in Structural and Functional Plant Biology at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). He obtained his BSc (Hons.) in Horticulture from Wye College, University of London, and his MSc in Pest Management (Plant Disease) from Imperial College London with Distinction. He holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Southampton, U.K.

Professional background: Vasileios was originally elected Lecturer (tenure track) at CUT in 2008. He subsequently got promoted to the Rank of Assistant Professor in 2012 and became Associate Professor (with tenure) early 2018. His post-doctoral research prior to his employment at CUT was carried out in the Laboratory of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as in the Institute of Agrobiotechnology, CE.R.T.H., in Thessaloniki.

Participation in funded projects:

• ‘Sustainable yield security through seed priming with chemical agents’. RPF/Cyprus Research Award (2021-2023)
• Sustainable yield security through seed priming with non‐toxic chemical agents coupled with advanced naturally-derived, biodegradable hydrogel coatings’. Cyprus Seeds (2021-2022)
• ‘ReAlising DynamIc vAlue chaiNs for underuTilised crops’. H2020-SFS-2018-2020 (2021-2025)
• ‘OPTIMal USage of natural product and biological PRIMing agents to improve rEsilience of agrosystems to climate change’. RPF/PRIMA 2020 (2021-2024)
• ‘Valorization of the reference indigenous grape cultivar ‘Xynisteri’ under variable vineyard conditions through sensorial analyses and aromatic characterization’. RPF RESTART 2016-2020/DIDAKTOR (2019-2021)
• ‘Conservation and sustainable capitalization of biodiversity in forested areas’. INTERREG Balkan-Med 2014-2020 (2017-2020)

Research interests: The main research interests of the PSP Group include the study of plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress factors, the evaluation of chemical, biological and nanomaterial priming agents towards growth promotion and the amelioration of climate change-related abiotic stressors (such as drought, heat and salinity), as well as the potential employment and biological validation of GIS technologies in agriculture. Vasileios has so far published 78 journal articles (3807 citations, h-index: 35), 128 abstracts in Conference proceedings, 7 book chapters, as well as 1 patent (USPTO Patent Nr. 10,071,981).

Selected publications (Five latest):

1. Gohari et al (2020). Interaction between hydrogen peroxide and sodium nitroprusside following chemical priming of Ocimum basilicum against salt stress. Physiologia Plantarum 168, 361-373 (IF: 4.148).
2. Gohari G, et al (2020). Modified multiwall carbon nanotubes display either phytotoxic or growth promoting and stress protecting activity in Ocimum basilicum L. in a concentration-dependent manner. Chemosphere 12, 126171 (IF: 5.778).
3. Langensiepen et al (2020). Linking integrative plant physiology with agronomy to sustain future plant production. Environmental and Experimental Botany 178, 104125 (IF: 4.027).
4. Christou et al (2020). Hexavalent chromium leads to differential hormetic or damaging effects in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants in a concentration-dependent manner by regulating nitro-oxidative and proline metabolism. Environmental Pollution 267, 115379 (IF: 6.792).
5. Singh et al (2021). Regulation of ascorbate-glutathione cycle by exogenous nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide in soybean roots under arsenate stress. Journal of Hazardous Materials (in press; IF: 9.038).