Skip to Main Content
Nikolaos “Nikos” Louros, Ph.D.

Nikolaos “Nikos” Louros, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Endowed Title
Thomas O. Hicks Scholar in Medical Research
School
Medical School
Department
Ctr-alzheimers&neurodeg Dis. | Biophysics
Graduate Programs
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

    Star Featured Publications

    Featured Featured Featured Featured Featured Featured Featured Featured
    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
  • Books

    Featured 

    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 Award
      Hellenic Society for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Award (2015)
    • HSCBB16 Award
      Hellenic Society for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Award (2016)
    • International Society of Amyloidosis (ISA) Presidential Award
      2024
    • Stichting Alzheimer's Onderzoek (SAO) Young investigator award
      (2021-2023)
    • Stichting Alzheimer's Onderzoek (SAO) Young investigator award
      (2023-2024)