Personal Information
• Family name: Ikonomopoulos
• First names: Ioannis - John
• Date of birth: 2/12/1967
• Nationality: Greek


Education
• 1987: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Veterinary Medicine. Graduation in 1993 with Bachelor´s degree.
• 1992: University of London, Royal Veterinary College, Dep. Master’s in Veterinary Microbiology. Graduation 1993. Dissertation title: Cloning of overlapping peptide fragments of Brucella suis, Heat Shock Protein 62 and their use as antigens in ELISA tests.
• 1992-93: Five-month practical training in Molecular Biology in CVL, (Central Veterinary Laboratory), Surrey U.K.
• 1996-99: PhD study at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Veterinary Medicine. Experimental work performed in the Medical School of the Kapodestrian Univerity of Athens. PhD thesis title: Application of Molecular Biology techniques to the diagnosis and epidemiology study of tuberculosis. Graduated in 1999 (Grade: Excellent).
Professional experience
• 1993-5. Veterinary - Hygiene and Food Inspector Officer at the rank of Lieutenant in the Greek Military Health Service.
• 1996-2004: Private Veterinary Surgeon.
• 1997-2004: Scientific Associate of the Medical School of the Kapodestrian Univerity of Athens.
• 2000-2002: Instructor of Microbiology at the SBIE Public Institute of Professional Training.
• 2002 to this day, member of the Teaching and Research Staff of the Faculty of Animal Science and Aquaculture of the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece.

Description of expertise

• Development, assessment, validation of new generation analytical tools for the multi-analyte detection and identification of indicators associated with microbial infection, survivor and spread in biological samples (animal/human/food/environmental) using molecular biology and nanotechnology methodologies.
• Animal and human exposure to microbial hazards through food of animal origin. Safety of animal feeds and of food products of animal origin.
• Diagnosis of diseases of animals, human transmission, indicators of genetic predisposition.
• Scientific and administrative coordination of externally funded research projects.
• Quality assurance of veterinary diagnostics (ISO17025).

Overview of major achievements

• Rector of the School of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece.
• President of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology established within the European Board of Veterinary Specializations (EBVS).
• ESEVT (European System of Evaluation of Veterinary Training) Expert.
• Founding Member of the Hellenic Nanotechnology Society for Health Sciences.
• Registered inventor and owner of 6 approved European Patent Applications relating to molecular and nanotechnology diagnostics.
• Coordinator of International Research Projects the total budget of which exceeds 7 Meuro.
• Member of the EBVS Communication Committee
• Author of 68 publications in peer review journals, one book chapter, and one University textbook; total impact factor 158; heterocitations 1240