This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956146.

Adam Asteriadis

Adam Asteriadis

I am inspired by Wernher von Braun who said: "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."

ESR 5: Physicochemical characteristics of upper gastrointestinal contents of geriatric patients and their impact on oral drug absorption

Host institution: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Supervisors: C. Reppas (NKUA), M. Vertzoni (NKUA), D. Segregur (UCB; secondment)

Research project in AGePOP

This project has three specific objectives. Firstly, to physicochemically characterise the gastric and duodenal contents of fasted geriatric patients with Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Diabetes. Second is to assess potential differences in the composition of the upper gastrointestinal contents between those populations and healthy adults. The third objective is to define media compositions for evaluating the intraluminal performance of drugs and drug products administered in those populations.

Scientific background

Adam Asteriadis received his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Ioannina, Greece. His Bachelor’s thesis was in the field of organic chemistry. He then completed his Master of Science at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Lille, France, and at the Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, University of Leipzig, Germany as part of the Erasmus+ Mundus Master programme ASC. In addition, he performed an 8-months internship in the field of Material Chemistry at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, in Leipzig, Germany, focusing on “Quantum-mechanical calculations of heterocycles as building blocks of novel 2D-COFs with extended π-conjugation”.

About Adam Asteriadis

Adam Asteriadis was born and raised in Serres, a small town in Northern Greece. After his graduation from high school and state exams he was admitted to the Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina. His interest in research spawned from a combination of a naturally inquisitive mind to understand how and why things work, and in addition, encouragement from Prof. I. Elemes, who entrusted him with his first research project in Organic Chemistry.  AGePOP  and the specific ESR position intrigued him because it investigates the importance of basic physicochemical principles on drug product performance by focusing on populations that are poorly studied to date. Furthermore, as he comes from a rapidly ageing country, he is excited to even minimally assist in the provision of safer and more effective oral drug products to the geriatric population. During this program, Adam will be able to obtain a broader insight into pharmaceutical technology and, last but not least, this educational path provides an allure of learning, collaboration, and networking with international experts from universities and pharmaceutical companies around Europe, which is fascinating nowadays to observe.

Publications

  • Asteriadis, A. (2015) Production of Sulfur-Substituted Methyl, Butyl, Phenyl-Esters of Glycine. 1,3 Dipolar Cycloaddition of Sulfur-Substituted Esters of Glycine to Fullerene C60 to produce compounds with potential Biological Activities. [Bachelor’s thesis, University of Ioannina].