Niovi Santama.

Niovi Santama is a Biologist and Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cyprus. She was trained at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK, as a postdoctoral researcher. She obtained a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular neuroscience and an M.Sc. in molecular biology and genetic manipulation at the University of Sussex and conducted her basic studies in Biology at the University of Athens, Greece. She was the recipient of long-term postdoctoral Fellowships from the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and the Marie Curie HCM Programme (EU). In 2016, Niovi was selected for a Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award to conduct experiments in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California Berkeley.

The research of Niovi’s group in molecular cell biology was published in scientific articles in international refereed journals (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Santama_N). She obtained competitive research funding from the European Commission, the US Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Telethon Foundation (Cyprus), the A.G. Leventis Foundation (France) and the Research & Innovation Foundation (Cyprus). Her research group established collaborations with laboratories in Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Singapore, Greece, Belgium, the UK, the US and Canada. She supervises the research work of postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Cyprus.

Niovi Santama represented Cyprus at the EMBC (executive council of EMBO) and served as the National Contact Point for the EMBO Young Investigator Award. Niovi served for seven years as an invited reviewer in Life Sciences grants (Panels LS1, LS3) at the European Research Council (ERC; Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants) (2007-2014), and as an invited reviewer of European Commission-funded programs, the Wellcome Trust, UK (Neuroscience and Mental Health Projects), the Israeli Science Foundation and grants by the Greek Secretariat of Research. She regularly serves as reviewer in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Niovi Santama was a member of the international Committee which authored the Blueprint Report for the establishment of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cyprus. She was appointed as the Chair of the Board of Directors overviewing the national authority which administers the EU Program Erasmus+ in Cyprus (2014-2018). At the University of Cyprus, she was elected as Chair and Vice Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, Member of the Senate, Member of the Council of the School of Pure and Applied Sciences and Member of the Council of the Graduate School.

Niovi was one of the founding members of βιος-SBSCy, served as the Chair of its first interim Board (2020-21), and as the Chair of its first elected Board (2021-2024).