Mr. Angelos Odyseakis, a University of Nicosia fourth-year Pharmacy student, has been selected to participate in the upcoming 71st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to Chemistry, joining a select cohort of 600 young scientists from around the world that will engage with more than 30 Nobel Laureates.
Every year, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings connect Nobel Laureates with the next generation of leading scientists, in a once-in-a-lifetime, high-level meeting, characterised by cross-generational and interdisciplinary exchange. The scientific review panel of the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings selected Angelos as one of the most qualified young scientists globally, to represent Cyprus in the prestigious annual gathering, which is set to take place in person between 26 June and 1 July 2022.
The University of Nicosia is honoured to be among the 200 Nominating Institutions worldwide, putting forward deserving candidates for Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings dedicated to Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine or the Economic Sciences, as part of the University’s Nobel Scholars Programme. This is the second consecutive time that a UNIC nominee is inducted into the worldwide talent initiative.
Commenting on this recognition, Dr. Yiannis Sarigiannis, Assistant Professor in the University’s Department of Life and Health Sciences, said: ''I know I speak for the entire Department when I express how delighted we are about Angelos’s great success. Indeed, we are doubly happy because it is the second consecutive time that a student from our University’s Pharmacy programme represents Cyprus in this leading scientific gathering. Last time, it was Mr. Stelios Mavrogiannis, who is today a professional pharmacist in Limassol. Our goal is to continue this tradition in the coming years, promoting strong candidates as the next UNIC Nobel Scholar''.
For his part, Angelos thanked the University for this remarkable opportunity, which he rightly regards as a major highlight in his career: ''I would like to extend a big thank you to the University of Nicosia and to the Department of Life and Health Sciences, in particular, for supporting and facilitating such efforts, always with the aim of broadening their students’ intellectual and professional horizons. I'm truly grateful to have the opportunity to meet some of the most renowned scientists in the world in the field of chemistry. I am ready to learn from them as well as from the other young scientists participating in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. I am confident that the knowledge and ideas I will glean through this unique and important event will prove invaluable and will, no doubt, accompany me for many years to come''.
Angelos has been passionate about science since he was a boy, participating in events organised by the Greek Chemists Association in his hometown, Heraklio, Crete, in Greece. He also has a strong track record in engaging with European projects, including CREATIONS (funded by the EU and aimed at improving the skills of young people in STEM, to pool talent to scientific careers), and CanSat (a pan-Hellenic space competition co-organised by the European Space Agency, through which he helped design and construct an educational satellite as a member of team CURIEosity). His other recent distinction came in Spring 2021, when he won the first prize as part of team GreenPHARMA in the “Pitch for the Future of the EU” competition. The European Commission pilot competition recognised his team for their views and ideas on the improvement and creation of a ''greener'' pharmaceutical industry.
Angelos is currently on track to complete his research diploma project on ''Novel Drug Delivery Nanosystems for the encapsulation of natural plant extracts'', under the supervision of Dr Elena Mourelatou, the results of which he will present within the next months. In the meantime, he is readying himself for the once-in-a-lifetime, high-level meeting in Germany come June.
