About
Dr. Nikolas Fokialakis is an Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. With over two decades of academic and research experience, he specializes in the discovery, isolation, and development of bioactive natural products from plants, marine organisms, and microorganisms. His research aims to harness global biodiversity for the development of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and biopesticides.
Dr. Fokialakis has led and contributed to numerous national and international research projects, many under the EU Horizon 2020 framework, focusing on the sustainable exploitation of natural sources for the development of high-value bioactive compounds. His scientific portfolio spans extensive experience in phytochemical analysis, biological evaluation of small molecules, and application of metabolomics tools including LC-MS and NMR for the development of new products.
His academic work includes mentoring over 10 PhD candidates and supervising numerous MSc and undergraduate theses. He has a strong publication record with over 100 peer-reviewed articles and more than 3000 citations (h-index = 32), and holds two patents related to bioactive natural products and two book chapters. His collaborations span global institutions and organizations in the fields of pharmacy, biotechnology, and plant sciences.
Dr. Fokialakis has served on scientific and organizing committees for international conferences on natural products, and is currently Vice President of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA). His global perspective is further reflected in multiple visiting research positions in the USA, France, Spain and Switzerland focusing on microbial biotechnology and secondary metabolite production.
He earned his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Pharmacy from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and has held research posts in the USA (USDA/ARS, University of Illinois at Chicago), Spain (Fondacion Medina), and France (CNRS-ICSN).
Dr. Fokialakis continues to bridge traditional knowledge and modern scientific approaches to explore nature’s chemical diversity, applying it to human health and well-being.