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Dr Christos Pliotas

Dr Christos Pliotas

Profile

I am currently a Reader at the Univeristy of Manchester (as of June 2023) and a visiting Lecturer at the University of Leeds. I joined the University of Leeds as an Assistant Professor in Integrative Membrane Biology in September 2018. I graduated from the University of Athens with a BSc (Hons) in Physics. I then obtained an MSc in Medical Physics and PhD in Biochemistry from the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, before undertaking a postdoc at the University of St Andrews in James H. Naismith FRS (currently Rosalind Franklin Institute Director & University of Oxford) laboratory.

Following my postdoctoral work I was awarded an independent 5-year research fellowship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh and started my own group as Principal Investigator at the Biomedical Sciences Research Complex at the University of St Andrews, in 2016. I have received a BBSRC New Investigator award in 2019 and was the recipient of the Sir Robin MacLellan Prize in 2021, for the most outstanding reseach of the year, funded by Tenovus.

Responsibilities

  • New Investigator Award (BBSRC, 2019)
  • Sir Robin MacLellan Prize (Tenovus, 2021)

Research interests

The research of my group is focused on elucidating mechanical sensing and response mechanisms in ion channels. We investigate how ion channels sense forces within membranes and open their pores in response to mechanical stimuli. The main method we employ is Pulsed ELectron-ELectron DOuble Resonance (PELDOR) spectroscopy, (also known as DEER), complemented by Cryo Electron Micrsocopy (cryoEM) and electrophysiology to characterise these systems.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://biologicalsciences.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • PhD, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen
  • MSc, Medical Physics, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen
  • BSc (Hons), Physics, University of Athens

Professional memberships

  • Royal Society Newton Fellowships Committee (Biological Sciences)
  • Royal Society of Chemistry ESR Group Committee
  • Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
  • Member of the Royal Society of Biology (MRSB)
  • Member of the Biochemical Society

Student education

Advance HE fellow (FHEA)