Xirogianni Athanasia

Field of expertise: Public Health Microbiology-Molecular Microbiology

Athanasia Xirogianni studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology at University of Thessaly, School of Health Sciences, Larisa, Greece. She was awarded a PhD degree in the field of Molecular Microbiology by the University of Thessaly, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, in 2010.

She has been working on the development and application of molecular methods for identification and typing of microorganisms in clinical samples since 2005, starting as an undergraduate student, on the molecular detection and serotyping of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in clinical samples of sheep at the Institute of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Virus Laboratory, Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

Her collaboration with the National Meningitis Reference Laboratory (NMRL), School of Public Health, University of West Attica (former National School of Public Health, NSPH), started in 2005, as a PhD student, through the collaboration with the University of Thessaly. During her PhD studies, she developed and evaluated new molecular methods for the identification and typing (serogroup/serotype and antibiotics susceptibility genes) of bacteria causing meningitis (Streptococcus spp., H.influenzae, P.aeruginosa, S.aureus) and other infections (septicaemia, pneumonia, otitis) and their direct application on clinical samples.

She has been working at the NMRL as laboratory scientist at disposal of the Hellenic Center of Disease Control and Prevention, since 2009 and since 2020, as Laboratory Teaching Staff of the Dpt of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica.

She is the Quality Manager of NMRL’ s Quality Management System according to ISO 15189:2012, since 2019, whereas, since 2016 she is one of the external collaborators-evaluators of the Hellenic Accreditation System on the same ISO standard for clinical laboratories (ISO 15189).

Since 2011, she has been participating in teaching of MSc in Public Health program modules (Specialization Infectious Diseases-Public Health Laboratories).

Her field of expertise is on the molecular diagnosis of meningitis and other bacterial infections, as well as the further research in this field (bacteria molecular identification and typing -especially N.meningitidis, H.influenzae, S.pneumoniae and other Streptococcus spp., surveillance of meningococcal disease through molecular typing of meningococcal strains, study of vaccine antigens of N.meningitidis, study of S.pneumoniae serotypes.