Dimitrios Ioannidis

Dimitrios Ioannidis

PhD Student

Thesis Title: Visualizing adhesion complexes in intestinal organoids via super-resolution STED

Primary Theme: Next Generation Chemistry

Secondary Theme: Correlated Imaging

Franklin Supervisor(s): Dr. Karina Pombo-Garcia, Prof. Marco Fritzsche

University: University of Oxford

University Supervisor: Prof. Alison Simmons

Epithelial cells are conserved among species and are responsible for creating protective barriers that separate the external and internal environment of different organs. To achieve this, they are linked to each other using different protein adhesion complexes. One of these complexes is the tight junction and it is important for the stability and permeability of the barrier. In patients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), tight junctions are disturbed and the epithelial barrier is affected, causing multiple symptoms. With his research Dimitrios will try to uncover the nanoscale organisation and dynamics of the tight junctions in the gut in the context of inflammation using patient derived organoids. To achieve these goals, he is using super resolution STED microscopy and other advanced fluorescent microscopy techniques.

Dimitrios graduated with a MRes in Medical and Molecular Biosciences from Newcastle University where he also obtained his BSc in Biochemistry. During his undergraduate studies Dimitrios focused on the evolution of a novel family of bacterial copper storage proteins. As a postgraduate, he tried to expand the understanding of this novel protein family by conducting mutagenesis and structural characterisation studies. As his interest in protein research was developed over the years, he decided to embark on his PhD journey at the Rosalind Franklin Institute.