UNIC pharmacy student selected for prestigious meeting

Angelos Odyseakis will be joining a select cohort of 600 young scientists from across the globe

 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 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.

“I know I speak for the entire Department when I express how delighted we are about Angelos’s great success,” said Dr Yiannis Sarigiannis, assistant professor in the university’s Department of Life and Health Sciences.

“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,” said Angelos, thanking the university for this remarkable opportunity, which he rightly regards as a major highlight in his career.

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. 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).

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.