Education

12/2016-present

Ph.D. in Biotechnology

National Technical University of Athens

School of Chemical Engineering

Biotechnology Laboratory

Ph.D. Thesis: Utilization of biowaste and lignocellulosic biomass for the production of high added-value products from microalgae

11/2011-09/2016

Diploma in Chemical Engineering

National Technical University of Athens

School of Chemical Engineering

Degree of Excellence (9.52/10)

Diploma Thesis: Protein engineering of a PPO from the fungus Myceliophthora thermophila towards the enhancement of its monophenolase activity

Languages

Greek (Native speaker)

English (Level C2)

German (Level C1)

Spanish (Intermediate level)

Awards

Limmat Stiftung award for the third higher diploma grade of the School of Chemical Engineering NTUA during the year 2016
Best diploma thesis of the sector IV of the School of Chemical Engineering NTUA for the year 2016

Conferences/Training schools

8th OxiZymes Meeting (03-06/07/2016,Wagenigen, The Netherlands) “Protein engineering of a catechol oxidase and its potential application in the bioconversion of POPs
5th International Conference on Novel Enzymes (11-14/10/2016, Groningen, The Netherlands) “Protein engineering of a PPO from the fungus Myceliophthora thermophila towards the enhancement of its monophenolase activity”
2nd EUALGAE training school (13-15/09/2017, Almeria, Spain) “Utilization of Chlorella zofingiensis for the production of astaxanthin using lignocellulose derived sugars and VFAs as carbon source”
6th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management (9-13/06/2018, Naxos Island, Greece) “Utilization of Crypthecodinium cohnii for the production of PUFA using biowaste derived VFA as main carbon sources in a pH-auxostat”
3rd EUALGAE training school (24-25/09/2018, Florence, Italy) “Utilization of biowaste derived VFA as main carbon sources for the production of PUFA by Crypthecdinium cohnii in a pH-auxostat”
12ο Πανελλήνιο Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο Χημικής Μηχανικής (29-31/05/2019, Αθήνα) «Αξιοποίηση βιοαποβλήτων για την παραγωγή εικοσιδιεξανοϊκου οξέος από το μικροφύκος Crypthecodinium cohnii μέσω μιας διεργασίας καλλιέργειας ημιδιαλείποντος έργου»
7th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management, (26-29/06/2019, Herakleion, Creta Island, Greece) “Optimization of DHA production by the heterotrophic microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii utilizing a dark fermentation effluent”

Publications

5. Chalima A., Taxeidis G., Topakas E. Optimization of the production of docosahexaenoic fatty acid by the heterotrophic microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii utilizing a dark fermentation effluent. Renew. Energy. 2020

4. Karnaouri A., Chalima A., Kalogiannis K. G., Varamogianni-Mamatsi D., Lappas A., Topakas E. Utilization of lignocellulosic biomass towards the production of omega-3 fatty acids by the heterotrophic marine microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii. Bior. Technology. 2020

3. Chalima A.; Hatzidaki A.; Karnaouri A.; Evangelos T. Integration of a dark fermentation effluent in a microalgal-based biorefinery for the production of high-added value omega-3 fatty acids. Appl. Energy. 2019

2. Nikolaivits, E.; Dimarogona, M.; Karagiannaki I.; Chalima A.; Fishman A.; Topakas E. Characterization and protein engineering of a novel versatile fungal polyphenol oxidase with chlorophenol bioremediation potential. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2018

1. Chalima A.; Oliver L.; Fernandez de Castro L.; Karnaouri A.; Dietrich T.; Topakas E. Utilization of Volatile Fatty Acids from Microalgae for the Production of High Added Value Compounds. Fermentation. 2018

Work experience

09/2015-11/2015

Intern

National Organization for Medicines

Analysis of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical products

Other skills

Use of the following computer programs:

Matlab, Microsoft Office, AspenPlus Software, PyMOL, Comsol Multiphysics, Gepasi

Member of the international Scout Movement

Volunteer, experience in organizing large groups of people and cooperating with strangers and children between the ages of 11-15

Musical skills: Piano player

Practical Skills

Analytical techniques

HPLC analysis, agarose and SDS-PAGE electrophoreses, spectrophotometric protein quantification, PCR mutagenesis

Cell growth

Bacterial, microalgae and yeast cell maintenance and cultivation, culture media preparation, work under aseptic conditions

Enzyme Technology

Heterologous enzyme production and purification, enzyme characterization (substrate specificity, optimal activity conditions), analysis of kinetic data, molecular modelling

Recombinant DNA techniques

DNA extraction, PCR, gene cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, heat-shock transformation (bacteria), electroporation (yeasts)

Bioreactor operation

Operation of bioreactors of different scale (150 mL, 2 L, 20 L) for fed-batch cultures