Alexia Victoria Polissidis

BSc, Pharmacology, The University of Alberta, Canada; PhD, Psychopharmacology, The Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Alexia is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Director of Research Grants at ACG, a collaborating researcher at the Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens (BRFAA), and Co-founder and CEO of Anacalypsis Therapeutics. She received her BSc Honours in Pharmacology at the University of Alberta, Canada, and her PhD in Psychopharmacology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She continued postdoctoral research with a focus on neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease, at BRFAA, where she also established and directed the Neurobehavior Phenotyping Facility (2011-2021). Her research interests include: 1) gene-environment interactions in neurodegenerative disease (NDDs) pathogenesis, 2) identification of phenotypes or biomarkers to permit early intervention with neuroprotective therapies for NDDs, and 3) mechanisms underlying the psychotropic and therapeutic effects of cannabinoids and other psychotropic drugs. As a fellow of the CoES at ACG, she will lead the new Women Leaders in STEM initiative: ΦSTEM.

Selected Publications

• C. Brakatselos, A. Polissidis, G. Ntoulas, M.Z. Asprogerakas, O., Tsarna, A., Vamvaka-Iakovou, G., Nakas, A., Delis, P., Tzimas, L., Skaltsounis, J., Silva, F., Delis, J., F. Oliveira, I. Sotiropoulos, K. Antoniou. (2024). Multi-level therapeutic actions of cannabidiol in ketamine-induced schizophrenia psychopathology in male rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Sep 6. doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01977-1.
• M. Nakos Bimpos, K. Karali K, C. Antoniou, D. Palermos, M. Fouka, A. Delis, I. Tzieras, G.P. Chrousos, Y. Koutmani, L. Stefanis, A. Polissidis. (2024). Alpha-synuclein-induced stress sensitivity renders the Parkinson’s disease brain susceptible to neurodegeneration. Acta Neuropathol Commun, 12(1):100, doi: 10.1186/s40478-024-01797-w
• G. Ntoulas, C. Brakatselos, G. Nakas, M.Z. Asprogerakas, F. Delis, L.J. Leontiadis, G. Trompoukis, C. Papatheodoropoulos, D. Gkikas, D. Valakos, G. Vatsellas, P.K. Politis, A. Polissidis, K. Antoniou. Multi-level profiling of the Fmr1 KO rat unveils altered behavioral traits along with aberrant glutamatergic function. Transl Psychiatry. (2024) Feb 20;14(1):104. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02815-0.
• A. Polissidis, E. Koronaiou, G. Nikolopoulou, C. Viel, M. Nikatou, M. Bogiongko, S.P. Sardi, M. Xilouri, K. Vekrellis, L. Stefanis. A double-hit in vivo model of GBA viral microRNA-mediated downregulation and human α-synuclein overexpression demonstrates nigrostriatal degeneration. Neurobiology of Disease. (2022) Jan 4;163:105612. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105612.
• A. Polissidis, V. Kollia, Maria Koronaiou, M. Boyongo, S. Vrettou, M. Nakos-Mpimpos, N. Casadei, O. Riess, P. Sardi, M. Xilouri, L. Stefanis. Psychosis-like behavior and hyperdopaminergic dysregulation in human alpha-synuclein BAC transgenic rats (2020). Movement Disorders. doi: 10.1002/mds.28383.