Emmanouil Zacharioudakis

Research in the Zacharioudakis Group focuses on the discovery of small molecules that modulate mitochondrial adaptation mechanisms involved in cell death, with the ultimate goal of overcoming therapeutic resistance in cancer. We are particularly interested in how mitochondrial adaptations regulate apoptosis and how this regulation becomes altered in cancer cells to promote survival and evade cell death. Our lab integrates traditional drug discovery with modern chemical biology strategies, including the design of hetero-bifunctional small molecules, to develop innovative chemical probes and prototype therapeutics aimed at restoring apoptotic sensitivity in cancer cells.

We also investigate the molecular mechanisms that govern mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), a key step in the induction of apoptosis. Our goal is to identify novel proteins and regulatory pathways that control this process and understand how they contribute to cancer cell survival.

The Zacharioudakis Group brings together approaches from chemical biology, cancer biology, mitochondrial biology, and medicinal chemistry. We welcome motivated graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are excited to work at the intersection of these disciplines to advance our understanding of cell death and develop new therapeutic strategies.

Education

• Bachelor’s in Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2011
• MRes, Imperial College London, 2012
• Ph.D., Institut Curie and Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, 2016
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2025

Awards

• Dennis Shields award for outstanding postdoctoral research, 2022

Publications

List of publications