Aris Tagalakis

Dr Tagalakis joined Edge Hill University in February 2018 as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Human Biology. He studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Royal Holloway University of London. During his final year as an Undergraduate he worked in the lab of Professor George Dickson (then President of the British Society of Gene Therapy and later President of the European Society of Gene Therapy). It is here that he caught the bug for Gene Therapy. He then had the privilege during his PhD at UCL Royal Free Medical School (funded by a prestigious British Heart Foundation studentship where he worked on gene therapy for atherosclerosis) to be supervised by Professor Jim Owen and Professor George Dickson. He then spent over 14 years at UCL, initially as a Research Fellow (Sir Henry Wellcome fellowship), and later as a Senior Research Fellow at UCL Royal Free Medical School and at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. His research interests include the development of gene and RNA delivery/therapy strategies and gene editing using nanoparticles for a range of diseases including cancer, respiratory, ocular, cardiovascular, brain disorders and rare diseases. He is a reviewer of grants from different funding bodies, a regular reviewer of many leading scientific journals, serves in editorial boards and is a consultant advising pharmaceutical and small biotech companies. He currently serves as a Scientific Committee member of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy until May 2020. He is also an Honorary Lecturer at UCL. Research -Combinatorial gene and drug therapies for neuroblastoma -Novel mucus penetrating nanoparticles: towards cystic fibrosis therapy -Novel nanotherapeutics to target ocular fibrosis -Cancer-derived exosomes as novel biomarkers/therapeutics -Gene editing strategies for monogenic disorders including dyslipidaemias. -Delivery to the skin The aim of my research is to develop and implement innovative treatments for solid tumours, cystic fibrosis and other respiratory, ocular and cardiovascular conditions through nanomedicine and to understand basic biological processes in relevant cells and in mucus in order to design effective treatments. Delivery is a major hurdle for all gene therapy applications, therefore there is a need for novel improved nanoparticles for targeted delivery of nucleic acids (gene, RNA therapeutics, oligonucleotides) to specific cells and tissues (e.g. tumour, lung, eye, liver, brain). Drug and protein delivery are also areas of interest. Teaching Pharmacology Current Issues in Biology Responsibilities STEM steering group (Lead for Biology) Qualifications BSc (Hons): Royal Holloway University of London PhD: UCL Royal Free Medical School and Royal Holloway University of London (funded by the British Heart Foundation) Contact details Aristides Tagalakis Office Bio101 Biosciences building Department of Biology Edge Hill University Ormskirk L39 4QP 01695 650923 Aristides.Tagalakis@edgehill.ac.uk International recognition Elected member of the ‘Physical Delivery, Therapeutics and Vector Development Scientific Committee’ of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (May 2014-May 2017 1st term; May 2017-May 2020 2nd term). Journal Reviewer Regular reviewer since 2006 of many leading scientific journals: Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Angewandte Chemie, Biomaterials, Journal of Controlled Release, Molecular Therapy, Gene Therapy, Acta Biomaterialia, Nanoscale, Macromolecules, Biomacromolecules, Scientific Reports, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Journal of Materials Chemistry B, Oncotarget, Advanced Healthcare Materials, PLOS ONE, Nanomedicine-UK, NANO, International Journal of Nanomedicine, Molecular Pharmaceutics, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Research, Drug Delivery, JoVE, Macromolecular Bioscience, Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, American Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Molecules, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, Chemical Communications, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering and Journal of Gene Medicine. Grant Reviewer Reviewer of project and programme grant proposals from different funding bodies: e.g. Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Action Duchenne, Action Medical Research, the French National Research Agency (ANR) etc. Professional memberships -American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (Full Member) -Biochemical Society (Full member) -British Society for Nanomedicine (Elected Scientific Member) -Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (Full member) -Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) PhD External Examiner University of Manchester King’s College London (KCL)