Anastasios (Tassos) Lymperopoulos, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Anastasios (Tassos) Lymperopoulos, B.Pharm., M.Sc., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, joined Nova Southeastern University in August 2009. Lymperopoulos`s career as a biomedical researcher started by earning his M.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry followed by his Ph.D. in Pharmacology, after graduating from the School of Pharmacy of the University of Patras, in his home country, Greece. During his pre-doctoral career, Lymperopoulos focused his research on molecular pharmacology of drug receptors, and, more specifically, on signal transduction of certain types of adrenergic receptors, the molecules responsible for mediating the actions of adrenaline in the body.
The major turning point in his career came in the year 2004, when he joined the lab of Dr. Walter Koch, a former postdoctoral fellow of world-renowned Professor Robert Lefkowitz`s lab at Duke University. During his 5-year postdoctoral tenure in Koch`s lab at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Lymperopoulos shifted his research focus on cardiovascular biology/pharmacology, in combination with cutting-edge biomedical translational research. Ever since, his scientific research aims have been to study the biology and regulation of some very important cell surface receptors, called G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as adrenergic receptors and receptors for angiotensin II, in the pathophysiology of heart failure and, more broadly, in the neurohormonal control of the circulation. The main goal of Lymperopoulos`s studies is discovery of new and innovative drugs for countering the cardio-toxic actions of catecholamines and of angiotensin II (and also of other hormones) in heart failure. Particular focus is given on the role of these receptors in adrenal gland function in relation with the cardiovascular system, thus providing clues for new treatments for cardiovascular disease. His research has been utilizing cutting-edge in vivo gene therapy techniques for achieving these goals. The emphasis in his research is on two major protein families that regulate GPCRs and have been implicated in heart failure pathophysiology, thus posing as attractive therapeutic targets: GPCR kinases (GRKs) and beta-arrestins, which are molecules that normally desensitize receptors (among other functions).
Lymperopoulos`s research has already culminated in several successes, awards and honors, the most prominent among which being his lead-author publication in the prestigious journal "Nature Medicine" in 2007, the highest-rated journal in biomedical research in the world, and a 4-year Scientist Development Grant award by the American Heart Association (AHA) he recently received (2009). In addition, he has been a post-doctoral research fellow of the AHA for a total of three years in the past, a finalist for the AHA-sponsored Melvin L. Marcus Young Investigator Award in Basic Cardiovascular Sciences in 2006, holds one (provisional) research patent from his previous institution (Thomas Jefferson University) and has already applied for a second one here at NSU, and, finally, has numerous publications in various prestigious scientific journals, such as: Circulation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, Molecular Therapy, Trends in Molecular Medicine, Pharmacogenomics, American Journal of Physiology, etc. (for an extensive list of his peer-reviewed publications, see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez: Lymperopoulos, A.), in addition to numerous research abstracts and presentations at several big scientific meetings/conferences. Coming to Nova Southeastern University in August 2009, In addition to his research activities, Lymperopoulos teaches in the Pharm.D. and Ph.D. programs, as well as mentoring graduate and undergraduate students.