Journal of HIV & Retro Virus Open Access

Leondios G. Kostrikis

Biography

Professor Leondios Kostrikis is a tenured Professor of Biotechnology and Virology at University of Cyprus, Head of Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology and 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 six international journals, and has served on study sections and committees for European and international grant agencies and charities. Dr. Kostrikis is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of HIV/AIDS, who has made important indepentent contributions to the study of human genetics in the transmission of HIV-1 and disease progression, global molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 infection, and HIV-1 drug resistance. His laboratory continues to work on HIV-1 transmission and pathogenesis and how host and viral factors may influence the progression of the disease; studying the mechanisms of drug resistance development during HIV antiretroviral therapy; understanding the implications of natural genetic diversity in efficacy of antiretroviral drugs; studying the molecular phylogeography of HIV-1 and HCV infection in Europe; and developing novel HIV-1 immonogens and vaccination strategies for mucosal and systemic immunity. Dr. Kostrikis has now turned his attention to novel concepts in HIV vaccine development and prevention of HIV-1 transmission.