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Nikolaos Nikitakis

Professor, Head of the Dept. of Oral Pathology & Hospital Dentistry


Phone: (+30) 210-746-1002
Email: nnikitakis[at]dent.uoa[dot]gr

Mailing Address:
2 Thivon Str, 115 27, Goudi, Athens, Greece

 Ελληνική Έκδοση English Version

Education / Qualifications

  • DDS, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 1996
  • Certificate in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA, 2001
  • Fellowship Certificate, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, 2001
  • PhD in Oral and Experimental Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA, 2002
  • Diploma, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, 2003
  • Fellowship Certificate, American Academy of Oral Medicine, 2004
  • MD, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 2012
  • Sabbatical, Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and Department of Diagnostic & Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Department of Pathology, Head and Neck Section, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2016

Academic Positions

  • 1999-2002: Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
  • 2002-2006: Assistant Professor (Full Time, Tenure Track), Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
  • 2004-2006: Director, Postgraduate Residency Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and PhD Program in Oral and Experimental Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
  • 2006-2008: Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Pathology, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
  • 2006-2014: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Section of Oral Pathology and Surgery, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (tenured in 2010)
  • 2014-2018: Associate Professor, Dept. of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Section of Oral Pathology and Surgery, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
  • 2016: Visiting Scientist, Department of Diagnostic & Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA
  • 2018-2021: Professor and Head, Dept. of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Section of Oral Pathology and Surgery, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
  • 2021-:Professor and Head, Dept. of Oral Pathology & Hospital Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Awards and Honours

  • NATO assistantship for postgraduate studies in Medical Sciences in USA, 1998-1999
  • Graduate Merit Award, Univeristy of Maryland, Baltimore, USA, 1999
  • Member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi in recognition of academic excellence, 2002
  • Trainee award (PhD dissertation), Sixth Research Workshop on the Biology, Prevention and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer, McLean, Virginia, October 9-13, 2002
  • Trainee award (Postgraduate student Hessam Siavash), Sixth Research Workshop on the Biology, Prevention and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer, McLean, Virginia, October 9-13, 2002
  • Single Primary Investigator Designated Research Initiative Funds (DRIF) Award, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 2003
  • Basic Science Award (Postgraduate student Hessam Siavash), Student Poster-Table Clinic Program, Student/Faculty Scholarship Day, Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, April 24, 2003
  • New Investigator Award, The University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center Pilot Grant Program, 2004
  • Best Resident Basic Science Paper (Postgraduate student Hessam Siavash), 6th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer, August 7-11, 2004, Washington, DC
  • Gorlin Award (Postgraduate student Mark Scheper), American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, 60th Annual Meeting and Continuing Education Program, San Antonio, TX, April 22–26, 2006
  • Award in Memory of Assoc. Prof. E. Angelopoulos (Postgraduate student Prokopis Argyris), 12th Scientific Student Meeting, Dental School, University of Athens, Greece, May 9-10, 2008
  • Hamilton B.G. Robinson Prize, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Oral Radiology and Endodontics, 2009
  • First Prize for Best Poster Presentation (Postgraduate student Konstantinos Katoumas), 1st Panhellenic Meeting of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Athens, Greece, April 2-4, 2009
  • First Prize for Best Poster Presentation at postgraduate level (Postgraduate student Polyxeni Boziari), 29th Panhellenic Dental Congress, Ioannina, November 13-15, 2009
  • Young Scientist/Clinician Awards (Postgraduate student Konstantinos Katoumas), 10th Biennial Conference of European Association of Oral Medicine, London, September 21-25, 2010
  • Waldron Award, 65th Annual Meeting and Continuing Education Program of American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 28–May 3, 2011
  • First Prize, Case Study Category (Postgraduate student Nikolaos Katsoulas), “Frontiers in Oral Medicine”, Orlando, Florida, USA, April 9-12, 2014
  • First Prize, Poster Category (Postgraduate student Ioannis Gkouveris), 12th Biennial Congress of European Association of Oral Medicine, Antalya, Turkey, 11-14 September 2014
  • Dental Student Travel Award (Postgraduate student Jason Tasoulas), Collaboration in Diagnostic Sciences, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, San Diego, CA, April 18-24, 2015
  • First Poster Award (Undergraduate students Andreas Tsolkas, Ioanna Tsouri, Basilis Notaras; Postgraduate student Argyrios Daskalopoulos), 14th Scientific Student Congress, Dental School of Athens, June 5-6, 2015
  • First Prize, Poster Presentation (Postgraduate student Argyrios Daskalopoulos),13th Biennial Congress of European Association of Oral Medicine, Turin, Italy, September 15-17, 2016
  • Second Prize, Oral Research Presentation, 13th Biennial Congress of European Association of Oral Medicine, Turin, Italy, 15-17 September 2016

Membership in Scientific Societies

  • International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and Oral Medicine & Pathology Group, IADR (2000-2006, 2017-date)
  • American Association for Dental Research (AADR) (2002-2006)
  • American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (AAOMP) (Member: 2000-date, Fellow: 2001-date)
  • American Academy of Oral Medicine (AAOM) (Member: 2002-2010, Fellow: 2004-date)
  • European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) (Member: 2002-date, Member of the Executive Council: 2014-date, Secretary General: 2014-2018, President: 2018-)
  • North American Society for Head and Neck Pathology (NASHNP) (2002-2010)
  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (2003-2006)
  • American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (ABOMP) (2003-date)
  • American Dental Education Association (ADEA) (2004-2006)
  • Hellenic Association of Supportive Care of the Oral Cavity in Cancer (HASCOCC) (Founding Member: 2005)
  • Hellenic Society of Oral Medicine and Pathology (HSOMP) (Member: 2007-date, Member of the Executive Council: 2007-date, Treasurer: 2009-2015, President: 2015-date)
  • Hellenic Society of Odontostomatological Research (2008-date)
  • Hellenic Association for Molecular Cancer Research (HAMCR) (Founding Member: 2008-, Secretary General: 2008-2015, Vice President: 2015-date)
  • Hellenic Society of Head and Neck Oncology (2016-date).

Member of Editorial Board of Scientific Journals

  • International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (2005-2010)
  • Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology (2006-date)
  • Oral Diseases (2008-2011, 2015-date)
  • Archives of Hellenic Medicine (2008-date)
  • Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Research (2011-date)
  • Stomatological Disease and Science (Editor-in-chief, 2016-date)

Administrative Experience

Dental School, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA

  • Member, Infection Control and Biohazard Committee (2002-2003)
  • Member, Quality Assurance/Biosafety Committee (2003-2006)
  • Member, The Faculty Assembly, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (2002-2006)
  • Member, The Faculty Council, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (2003-2006)
  • Program Director, Postgraduate Residency Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (2004-2006)
  • Director, Self Study Report, Accreditation for Advanced Specialty Education Programs, University of Maryland, Baltimore (2004)
  • Program Director, PhD Program in Oral and Experimental Pathology (2004-2006)
  • Director, Self-Study, Graduate  Program Review, Graduate PhD Program in Oral and Experimental Pathology, University of Maryland, Baltimore (2005)
  • Μember, Committee on Advanced Dental and Graduate Education (2004-2006)
  • Faculty Senator, Representative of the Dental School on the Faculty Senate, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA (2005-2006)
  • Proxy Member, Scientific Review Committee, Office of Research and Development, University of Maryland, Baltimore (2006)

Dental School, University of Athens, Greece

  • Administration of postgraduate program of clinical specialization in Oral Medicine and Pathology (2007-2010)
  • Member of the evaluation committee of candidates for the postgraduate program of clinical specialization in Oral Medicine and Pathology (2007-)
  • Administration of research protocols, Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology (2007-date)
  • Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2018-)
  • Member, Evaluation Committee of the Biomedical Courses of the Undergraduate Curriculum (2008-2009)
  • Member, General Assembly (2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2018-date)
  • Member, Research Committee (IRB) (2011-2015)
  • Member, Internal Evaluation Committee (2015-date)
  • Member, Library Committee (2015-2018)
  • Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Revision Task Force (2016-date)
  • Coordinator, Biomedical Courses of the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force (2016-date)
  • Representative of the Dental School (Regular Member), Research and Management Committee, Special Account for Research Grants, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2017-date)
  • Member of the Finances Committee (2018-date)
  • Member, Research Committee (2018-date)
  • Chair, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (2018-date)
  • Coordinator, Undergraduate Curriculum Revision Task Force (2018-date)
  • Head, Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology (2018-date)

Scientific Societies

  • Member of the Executive Council (2007-date), Treasurer (2009-2015) and President (2015-date), Hellenic Society of Oral Medicine and Pathology
  • Member, Scientific Committee, Dental Association of Athens (2008-date)
  • Member of the Executive Council (2008-date), Secretary General (2008-2015) and Vice President (2015-date), Hellenic Association for Molecular Cancer Research
  • Member of the Executive Committee (2014-), Secretary General (2014-2018) and President (2018-), European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM)
  • Coordinator, Website Steering Committee, European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) (2015-date)

Scientific Conferences

  • Member of the Scientific Committee, 12th Scientific Student Meeting, Dental School, University of Athens, Greece, May 9-10 2008
  • Member of the Organizing Committee, 1st Panhellenic Meeting of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Athens, April 2-4, 2009
  • Member of the Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee, 1st International Conference on Molecular Cancer Research, Athens, November 27-29, 2009
  • Member of the Scientific Committee and Member of the Award Panel, 10th Biennial European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Conference, September 21-25, 2010
  • Member of the Organizing Committee and Scientific Committee, 2nd  Panhellenic Meeting of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Athens, September 13-14, 2012
  • Member of the Organizing Committee and Coordinator of the Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) Session, 11th Biennial European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Congress, September 13-15, 2012
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, 13th Scientific Student Meeting, Dental School, University of Athens, Greece, May 31-June 1, 2013
  • Coordinator, 6th Scientific Session of Dental Association of Athens (OSA), "Clinical manifestations in oral and maxillofacial region hiding neoplastic or systemic diseases", Athens, November 2, 2013
  • Coordinator of the Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) Session, 12th Biennial European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Congress, Antalya, Turkey, September 11-14, 2014
  • Member of the Organizing Committee, 3rd Panhellenic Meeting of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Athens, March 20-21, 2015
  • Coordinator, Science Day, Stomatological Society of Greece - Hellenic Association of Oral Pathology and Medicine: "Dental Management of Patient with Oral Diseases: Answers to Clinical Questions". Athens, April 17, 2016
  • Member of the Scientific Committee and Coordinator of the Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) Session, 13th Biennial European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Congress, Turin, Italy, September 15-17, 2016
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, 1st Hellenic Multidisciplinary Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. Athens, October 21-22, 2016
  • Coordinator, Science Day, Hellenic Society of Oral Medicine and Pathology "Osteonecrosis of the jaws: From understanding to management". Athens, December 10, 2016
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, 2nd Hellenic Multidisciplinary Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. Athens, September 16-17, 2017
  • Coordinator, Science Day, Stomatological Society of Greece - Hellenic Association of Oral Pathology and Medicine "Open Discussion in Osteonecrosis of the Jaws". Athens, December 9, 2017
  • Co-chair of the International Scientific Committee and Coordinator of the Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) Session, 14th Biennial European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Congress, Gothenburg, Sweden, September 27-29, 2018
  • Member of the Scientific Committee, 3nd Hellenic Multidisciplinary Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. Athens, October 5-6, 2018
  • Member of the Organizing and Scientific Committee - President HSOMP and EAOM, 4th Panhellenic Meeting of Oral Medicine and Pathology and 1st European Association of Oral Medicine (EAOM) Region 5 Meeting, Thessaloniki, March 1-2, 2019

Research Experience

  • Application of immunohistochemical and molecular techniques for investigation of the molecular pathogenesis and assessment of prognostic and diagnostic markers in oral potentially malignant disorders and oral malignant neoplasms (such as analysis of markers associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and cell signaling pathways)
  • Investigation of the efficacy and the molecular mechanisms of action of novel antineoplastic strategies (such as NSAIDs and COX inhibitors)
  • Clinicopathologic characterization, diagnosis and management of neoplasms (such as epithelial malignancies, salivary gland tumors, soft tissue tumors, melanomas, odontogenic tumors) and non-neoplastic diseases (such as immunologically-mediated diseases, infections, oral manifestations of systemic diseases, burning mouth syndrome) of the oral and maxillofacial region
  • Principal Investigator or Co-investigator in funded research protocols (National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute (ΝΙΗ/NCI); Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore; Special Account for Research Grants, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Herakleitus II; Hellenic Association of Molecular Cancer Research)

Research Theses

  • Antineoplastic effect of NSAID sulindac on human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells: the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg), and signal transduser and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3). PhD Dissertation, Baltimore, USA 2002
  • Assessment of the activation of DNA repair mechanisms in oral potentially malignant lesions. Research Monograph, Athens, 2012

Special Issues of Scientific Journals (as Guest Editor)

  • Special focus issue on “Potentially Premalignant Oral Epithelial Lesions”. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology. 2018;125:574-681.
  • Special issue "Alveolar bone in health and disease". Odontostomatological Progress. 2018;72:169-354.                                                                  

Selected Publications in Scientific Journals

  1. Nikitakis NG, Hamburger AW, Sauk JJ. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac causes downregulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) in human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Cancer Res. 2002;62:1004-7.
  2. Nikitakis NG, Siavash H, Hebert C, Reynolds MA, Hamburger AW, Sauk JJ. 15-PGJ2, but not thiazolidinediones, inhibits cell growth, induces apoptosis, and causes downregulation of Stat3 in human oral SCCa cells. Br J Cancer. 2002; 87:1396-403.
  3. Nikitakis NG, Sauk JJ, Papanicolaou SI. The role of apoptosis in oral disease: Mechanisms, aberrations in neoplastic, autoimmune, infectious, hematologic, and developmental diseases, and therapeutic opportunities  Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2004;97;476-90.
  4. Hebert C, Norris K, Scheper MA, Nikitakis N, Sauk JJ. High mobility group A2 is a target for miRNA-98 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Mol Cancer. 2007;6:5.
  5. Warburton G,  Nikitakis NG, Roberson P, Marinos NJ, Wu T, Sauk JJ, Ord RA, Wahl SM. Histopathological and lymphangiogenic parameters in relation to lymph node metastasis in early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma . J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2007;65:475-84.
  6. Cullen KJ, Schumaker L, Nikitakis N, Sarlis NJ, Tan M, Goloubeva O, Haddad RI, Posner MR. beta-Tubulin-II expression strongly predicts outcome in patients receiving induction chemotherapy for locally advanced squamous carcinoma of the head and neck: a companion analysis of the TAX 324 Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2009;27:6222-8.
  7. Wen J, Nikitakis NG, Chaisuparat R, Greenwell-Wild T, Gliozzi M, Jin W, Adli A, Moutsopoulos N, Wu T, Warburton G, Wahl SM. Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor (SLPI) Expression and Tumor Invasion in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Am J Pathol. 2011;178:2866-78.
  8. Wu Y, Posner MR, Schumaker LM, Nikitakis N, Goloubeva O, Tan M, Lu C, Iqbal S, Lorch J, Sarlis NJ, Haddad RI, Cullen KJ. Novel biomarker panel predicts prognosis in human papillomavirus-negative oropharyngeal cancer: An analysis of the TAX 324 trial. Cancer. 2012;118:1811-7.
  9. Pappa E, Nikitakis N, Vlachodimitropoulos D, Avgoustidis D, Oktseloglou V, Papadogeorgakis N. Phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 immunohistochemical expression is associated with improved survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2014;72:211-21.
  10. Nikitakis NG, Sarlani E, Kolokythas A, Scheper MA, Kamperos G, Ord RA, Sklavounou-Andrikopoulou A. Frequency of pain and correlation with clinical and histologic parameters in T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: a retrospective pilot study. J Oral Facial Pain Headache. 2014;28:46-51.
  11. Gkouveris I, Nikitakis N, Karanikou M, Rassidakis G, Sklavounou A. Erk1/2 activation and modulation of STAT3 signaling in oral cancer. Oncol Rep. 2014;32:2175-82.
  12. Katoumas K, Nikitakis N, Perrea D, Dontas I, Sklavounou A. In vivo antineoplastic effects of the NSAID sulindac in an oral carcinogenesis model. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2015;8:642-9.
  13. Scully C, Miller CS, Aguirre Urizar JM, Alajbeg I, Almeida OP, Bagan JV, Birek C, Chen Q, Farah CS, Figueirido JP, Hasséus B, Jontell M, Kerr AR, Laskaris G, Lo Muzio L, Mosqueda-Taylor A, Nagesh KS, Nikitakis NG, Peterson D, Sciubba J, Thongprasom K, Tovaru Ş, Zadik Y. Oral medicine (stomatology) across the globe: birth, growth, and future. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2016;121:149-57.
  14. Diamanti S, Nikitakis N, Rassidakis G, Doulis I, Sklavounou A. Immunohistochemical evaluation of the mTOR pathway in intraoral minor salivary gland neoplasms. Oral Dis. 2016;22:620-9.
  15. Nikitakis N, Papaioannou W, Sakkas L, Kousvelari E. The autoimmunity-oral microbiome connection. Oral Dis. 2017;23:828-39.
  16. Soundia A, Hadaya D, Esfandi N, Gkouveris I, Christensen R, Dry SM, Bezouglaia O, Pirih F, Nikitakis N, Aghaloo T, Tetradis S. Zolendronate impairs socket healing after extraction of teeth with experimental periodontitis. J Dent Res. 2018;97:312-20.
  17. Nikitakis NG, Gkouveris I, Papadopoulou E, Daskalopoulos A, Sklavounou A. A preliminary immunohistochemical study of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins in primary oral malignant melanoma. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2018;125:164-71.
  18. Nikitakis NG, Rassidakis GZ, Tasoulas J, Gkouveris I, Kamperos G, Daskalopoulos A, Sklavounou A. Alterations in the expression of DNA damage response-related molecules in potentially preneoplastic oral epithelial lesions. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2018;125:637-649.
  19. Nikitakis NG, Pentenero M, Georgaki M, Poh CF, Peterson DE, Edwards P, Lingen M, Sauk JJ. Molecular markers associated with development and progression of potentially premalignant oral epithelial lesions: Current knowledge and future implications. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2018;125:650-669.
  20. Nikitakis NG, Gkouveris I, Aseervatham J, Barahona K, Ogbureke KUE. DSPP-MMP20 gene silencing downregulates cancer stem cell markers in human oral cancer cells. Cell Mol Biol Lett. 2018;23:30.

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