Alexandros Strikoudis, PhD
Associate Principal Scientist at Rocket Pharmaceuticals
2018 NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow Alumnus
PhD, New York University
Postdoctoral Training, Columbia University
Bio
Dr. Strikoudis’ research focused on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a fatal lung disease characterized by the obliteration of alveoli—tiny air sacs in the lungs. It is difficult to study the disease because the cells affected in IPF cannot easily be obtained from patients. To combat this, Dr. Strikoudis aimed to use stem cells to create small models of lungs, called lung organoids, to explore the mechanisms that lead to dysfunctional lung cells and cause IPF. His preliminary results identified a specific protein that may serve as a potential key factor in the initiation of fibrosis and that may inform the development of targeted therapeutics.