Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Clearing Study Experience Research Collaborate About us

Dr Elena Polycarpou

Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
Department of Biomolecular Sciences
School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry
Penrhyn Road

Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

[email protected]

About

I obtained my BSc and MSc degrees in Medical Biochemistry and Cancer Biology respectively before completing my PhD at Kingston University London in 2013, where I investigated the effects and potential targets of the natural product, resveratrol and its metabolites on colorectal cancer growth.

My postdoctoral work, conducted in the Edith Sim laboratory, involved identifying novel targets for antimicrobial therapeutics in M. tuberculosis (aiming to develop inhibitors of the protein, HsaD involved in the cholesterol metabolism pathway) and the development of novel strategies to overcome the bacterial infection caused by P. aeruginosa (focusing on the azoreductase family of enzymes found ubiquitously in bacteria).

I joined the teaching team at Kingston in 2014, where I am currently a senior lecturer in biochemistry & molecular biology and hold a fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

In my role as an academic, I was deputy course leader for Biochemistry (2018–2021) and module leader of LS4003 Scientific and Laboratory Skills (core module for the majority of the courses in the Department of Biomolecular Sciences and Applied & Human Sciences). I became module leader of LS5002 Proteins and Metabolism in the academic year 2020–21.

I have been a member and working group lead of the School's Athena Swan self-assessment team since 2016, with ongoing roles, responsibilities and duties to the present. We received Bronze recognition in 2017. In addition to learning, teaching and research, I am interested in being involved in public engagement and outreach/widening participation; I have co-organised and run the pilot National Science and Engineering Saturday Club (led by Professor Edith Sim) in association with the Sorrel Foundation and was co-organiser of Cafe Scientifique Kingston.

Qualifications

2016: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2009–2013: PhD Cancer Biology, Kingston University London
2008–2009: MSc Cancer Biology
2005–2008: BSc (Hons) Medical Biochemistry

Domains

Publications

Advances in chitosan-based CRISPR/Cas9 delivery systems

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2022, Pharmaceutics (14), 9, Published

View this article

Metabolites of cannabis induce cardiac toxicity and morphological alterations in cardiac myocytes

Merve, Ayse Orme, Sobiecka, Pola, Remeškevičius, Vytautas, Taylor, Luke, Saskoy, Lili, Lawton, Scott, Jones, Ben P., Elwakeel, Ahmed, Mackenzie, Francesca E., Polycarpou, Elena, Bennett, Jason and Rooney, Brian, 2022, International Journal of Molecular Sciences (23), 3, Published

View this article

Quercetin loaded cosm-nutraceutical electrospun composite nanofibers for acne alleviation: preparation, characterization and experimental clinical appraisal

Amer, Sandra Sherif, Mamdouh, Wael, Nasr, Maha, ElShaer, Amr, Polycarpou, Elena, Abdel-Aziz, Rasha T.A. and Sammour, Omaima A., 2022, International Journal of Pharmaceutics (612), Published

View this article

Overcoming the protein corona in chitosan-based nanoparticles

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2021, Drug Discovery Today (26), 8 pp 1825-1840, Published

View this article

Efficacy of cannabinoids against glioblastoma multiforme: a systematic review

Kyriakou, Ismini, Yarandi, Niousha and Polycarpou, Elena, 2021, Phytomedicine (88), Published

View this article

Cocaine induces cytoskeletal changes in cardiac myocytes: implications for cardiac morphology

Verma, Avnish, Merve, Ayse Orme, Remeškevičius, Vytautas, Sobiecka, Pola, Taylor, Luke, Lawton, Scott, Jones, Ben P., Polycarpou, Elena, Bennett, Jason and Rooney, Brian, 2021, International Journal of Molecular Sciences (22), 5, Published

View this article

Biomedical and pharmacological uses of fluorescein isothiocyanate chitosan-based nanocarriers

Caprifico, Anna E., Polycarpou, Elena, Foot, Peter J.S. and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2021, Macromolecular Bioscience (21), 1, Published

View this article

Overcoming the blood-brain barrier: functionalised chitosan nanocarriers

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2020, Pharmaceutics (12), 11, Published

View this article

Fluorescein isothiocyanate chitosan nanoparticles in oral drug delivery studies

Caprifico, Anna E., Polycarpou, Elena, Foot, Peter J.S. and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2020, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (41), 10 pp 686-689, Published

View this article

Cosm-nutraceutical nanovesicles for acne treatment: physicochemical characterization and exploratory clinical experimentation

Amer, Sandra Sherif, Nasr, Maha, Abdel-Aziz, Rasha T.A., Moftah, Noha H., El Shaer, Amr, Polycarpou, Elena, Mamdouh, Wael and Sammour, Omaima, 2020, International Journal of Pharmaceutics (577), Published

View this article

Cocaine addicted to cytoskeletal change and a fibrosis high

Verma, Avnish, Bennett, Jason, Örme, Ayşe Merve, Polycarpou, Elena and Rooney, Brian, 2019, Cytoskeleton (76), 2 pp 177-185, Published

View this article

Stainless steel with tailored porosity using canister-free hot isostatic pressing for improved osseointegration implants

Hassanin, Hany, Al-Kinani, Ali A., Elshaer, Amr, Polycarpou, Elena, El-Sayed, Mahmoud Ahmed and Essa, Khamis, 2017, Journal of Materials Chemistry B (5), 47 pp 9384-9394, Published

View this article

Investigation of the mycobacterial enzyme HsaD as a potential novel target for anti-tubercular agents using a fragment-based drug design approach

Ryan, Ali, Polycarpou, Elena, Lack, Nathan A., Evangelopoulos, Dimitrios, Sieg, Christian, Halman, Alice, Bhakta, Sanjib, Eleftheriadou, Olga, McHugh, Timothy D., Keany, Sebastian, Lowe, Edward D., Ballet, Romain, Abuhammad, Areej, Jacobs, William R., Ciulli, Alessio and Sim, Edith, 2017, British Journal of Pharmacology (174), 14 pp 2209-2224, Published

View this article

Identification of novel members of the bacterial azoreductase family in 'Pseudomonas aeruginosa'

Crescente, Vincenzo, Holland, Sinead M., Kashyap, Sapna, Polycarpou, Elena, Sim, Edith and Ryan, Ali, 2016, Biochemical Journal (473), 5 pp 549-558, Published

View this article

Identification of NAD(P)H Quinone Oxidoreductase Activity in Azoreductases from P. aeruginosa: Azoreductases and NAD(P)H Quinone Oxidoreductases Belong to the Same FMN-Dependent Superfamily of Enzymes

Ryan, Ali, Kaplan, Elise, Nebel, Jean Christophe, Polycarpou, Elena, Crescente, Vincenzo, Lowe, Edward, Preston, Gail M. and Sim, Edith, 2014, PLoS ONE (9), 6, Published

View this article

Resveratrol 3-O-d-glucuronide and resveratrol 4'-O-d-glucuronide inhibit colon cancer cell growth: Evidence for a role of A3 adenosine receptors, cyclin D1 depletion, and G1 cell cycle arrest

Polycarpou, Elena, Meira, Lisiane B., Carrington, Simon, Tyrrell, Elizabeth, Modjtahedi, Helmout and Carew, Mark A., 2013, Molecular Nutrition and Food Research (57), 10 pp 1708-1717, Published

View this article