Dimitrios received his Diploma in Chemistry at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which was followed by his Master of Science in Macromolecular Chemistry, Polymer Science and its applications. Subsequently, he gained his Ph.D. in Chemistry in the field of polymers and biomaterials. The core of his research interest during his Ph.D. was the synthesis of polymers, specifically polypeptides and also the characterization using numerous techniques. His research efforts orientated in the synthesis and examination of polypeptides forming hydrogels as drug delivery systems against pancreatic cancer and also the employment of a gamut of techniques and methods for the investigation of the structure and properties of the synthesized polymers.
Dimitrios joined the Heise group at RCSI initially on a CURAM project. In 2020, he was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions individual fellowship (MSCA-IF) for the development of 3D printable biomaterials.
Publications
​Marcromolecular Architecture and Encapsulation of the Anticancer Drug Everolimus Control the Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Polypeptide-Containing Hybrids, A Karatzas, JS Haataja, D Skoulas, P Bilalis, S Varlas, P Apostolidi, S Sofianopoulou, E Stratikos, N Houbenov, O Ikkala, H Iatrou, Biomacromolecules, 12, 4546-4562, 2019.
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Self-Healing pH- and Enzyme Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels for Targeted Delivery of Gemcitabine To Treat Pancreatic Cancer, P Bilalis, D Skoulas, A Karatzas, J Marakis, A Stamogiannos, C Tsimblouli, E Sereti, E Stratikos,K Dimas, D Vlassopoulos, H Iatrou, Biomacromolecules, 9, 3840-3852, 2018.
Smart polymersomes and hydrogels from polypeptide-based polymer systems through α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydride ring-opening polymerization. From chemistry to biomedical applications, E Liarou, S Varlas, D Skoulas, C Tsimblouli, E Sereti, K Dimas, H Iatrou, Progress in Polymer Science, 83, 28-78, 2018.
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Synthesis of Hybrid-Polypeptides m-PEO-b-poly(His-co-Gly) and m-PEO-b-poly(His-co-Ala) and Study of Their Structure and Aggregation. Influence of Hydrophobic Copolypeptides on the Properties of Poly(L-histidine), D Skoulas, D Stavroulaki, K Santorinaios, H Iatrou, Polymers, 9, 564, 2017.