Nikolaos “Nikos” Louros, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Endowed Title Thomas O. Hicks Scholar in Medical Research School Medical School Department Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases | Biophysics Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biophysics Biography Nikolaos Louros received his B.S. in Biology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece, in 2011. He completed his MSc in Bioinformatics in 2014. He earned his Ph.D. in 2016, working in the Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics at the NKUA, where he studied the self-assembly mechanism of various proteins associated with the formation of pathological and functional amyloids. He joined the Switch lab at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research in Belgium as a post-doctoral scientist, where he developed several computational tools to define the energetic and structural principles behind protein aggregation and amyloid formation. He completed his post-doctoral work studying determinants that govern amyloid structural plasticity (polymorphism) and heterotypic amyloid interactions with other biomolecules. He has contributed to the development of independent therapeutic strategies for currently "undruggable" diseases. As the scientific operator of the Molecular Biophysics expertise unit at VIB-KU Leuven, he also developed innovative methods supporting the biophysical and structural investigation of biomolecular processes. He joined UT Southwestern Medical Center as an Assistant Professor in 2023. With an affiliation to the Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CAND), and the Department of Biophysics, Dr. Louros' lab employs a hybrid approach combining computational, biophysical, structural and biochemical methods to investigate protein misfolding and aggregation, with emphasis on neurodegenerative diseases. His group is interested in integrating protein engineering, using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) models, with high-throughput experimental techniques to study protein aggregation diseases and to develop novel therapeutic/diagnostic agents. The Louros lab adopts an inquiry-driven approach to science and seeks team members who are equally passionate about the pursuit of science with a translational impact. For more information, explore their lab website: https://labs.utsouthwestern.edu/louros-lab Research Interest AI-based protein engineering Amyloid polymorphism Functional amyloids Heterotypic amyloid interactions Molecular Biophysics / Computational biology / Structural biology Neurodegenerative diseases Protein aggregation Publications Featured Publications Pharmacological modulation of septins restores calcium homeostasis and is neuroprotective in models of Alzheimer's disease. Princen K, Van Dooren T, van Gorsel M, Louros N, Yang X, Dumbacher M, Bastiaens I, Coupet K, Dupont S, Cuveliers E, Lauwers A, Laghmouchi M, Vanwelden T, Carmans S, Van Damme N, Duhamel H, Vansteenkiste S, Prerad J, Pipeleers K, Rodiers O, De Ridder L, Claes S, Busschots Y, Pringels L, Verhelst V, Debroux E, Brouwer M, Lievens S, Tavernier J, Farinelli M, Hughes-Asceri S, Voets M, Winderickx J, Wera S, de Wit J, Schymkowitz J, Rousseau F, Zetterberg H, Cummings JL, Annaert W, Cornelissen T, De Winter H, De Witte K, Fivaz M, Griffioen G, Science 2024 May 384 6699 eadd6260 Local structural preferences in shaping tau amyloid polymorphism. Louros N, Wilkinson M, Tsaka G, Ramakers M, Morelli C, Garcia T, Gallardo R, D'Haeyer S, Goossens V, Audenaert D, Thal DR, Mackenzie IR, Rademakers R, Ranson NA, Radford SE, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Nat Commun 2024 Feb 15 1 1028 Mechanisms and pathology of protein misfolding and aggregation. Louros N, Schymkowitz J, Rousseau F, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2023 Dec 24 12 912-933 LRRC37B is a human modifier of voltage-gated sodium channels and axon excitability in cortical neurons. Libé-Philippot B, Lejeune A, Wierda K, Louros N, Erkol E, Vlaeminck I, Beckers S, Gaspariunaite V, Bilheu A, Konstantoulea K, Nyitrai H, De Vleeschouwer M, Vennekens KM, Vidal N, Bird TW, Soto DC, Jaspers T, Dewilde M, Dennis MY, Rousseau F, Comoletti D, Schymkowitz J, Theys T, de Wit J, Vanderhaeghen P, Cell 2023 Dec 186 26 5766-5783.e25 Heterotypic Amyloid β interactions facilitate amyloid assembly and modify amyloid structure. Konstantoulea K, Guerreiro P, Ramakers M, Louros N, Aubrey LD, Houben B, Michiels E, De Vleeschouwer M, Lampi Y, Ribeiro LF, de Wit J, Xue WF, Schymkowitz J, Rousseau F, EMBO J 2022 Dec 41 2 e108591 Medin co-aggregates with vascular amyloid-β in Alzheimer's disease. Wagner J, Degenhardt K, Veit M, Louros N, Konstantoulea K, Skodras A, Wild K, Liu P, Obermüller U, Bansal V, Dalmia A, Häsler LM, Lambert M, De Vleeschouwer M, Davies HA, Madine J, Kronenberg-Versteeg D, Feederle R, Del Turco D, Nilsson KPR, Lashley T, Deller T, Gearing M, Walker LC, Heutink P, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Jucker M, Neher JJ, Nature 2022 Dec 612 7938 123-131 Mapping the sequence specificity of heterotypic amyloid interactions enables the identification of aggregation modifiers. Louros N, Ramakers M, Michiels E, Konstantoulea K, Morelli C, Garcia T, Moonen N, D'Haeyer S, Goossens V, Thal DR, Audenaert D, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Nat Commun 2022 Mar 13 1 1351 Structure-based machine-guided mapping of amyloid sequence space reveals uncharted sequence clusters with higher solubilities. Louros N, Orlando G, De Vleeschouwer M, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Nat Commun 2020 Jul 11 1 3314 An end-to-end approach for single-cell infrared absorption spectroscopy of bacterial inclusion bodies: from AFM-IR measurement to data interpretation of large sample sets. Duverger W, Tsaka G, Khodaparast L, Khodaparast L, Louros N, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, J Nanobiotechnology 2024 Jul 22 1 406 CORDAX web server: An online platform for the prediction and 3D visualization of aggregation motifs in protein sequences. Louros N, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Bioinformatics 2024 Apr Results 1-10 of 51 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Books Featured Books Exploring amyloidogenicity of clusterin: a structural and bioinformatics analysis. In Adv. Exp. Med. and Biol. Paraskevi L Tsiolaki, Katerina C Nastou, Nikolaos Louros, Stavros J Hamodrakas, Vassiliki A Iconomidou (2017). Springer International Publishing Honors & Awards "Nikos Oikonomakos" Award(2014) Endowed Scholar Award(2024-2029) HSCBB15 AwardHellenic Society for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Award (2015) HSCBB16 AwardHellenic Society for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Award (2016) International Society of Amyloidosis (ISA) Presidential Award2024 Stichting Alzheimer's Onderzoek (SAO) Young investigator award(2021-2023) Stichting Alzheimer's Onderzoek (SAO) Young investigator award(2023-2024)
