Dr. Venetia Zachariou

Biography

Venetia Zachariou studies signal transduction and epigenetic mechanisms in neurological disorders treatment using genetic mouse models and genomic assays focused on brain biochemistry. Her projects investigate transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of chronic pain with an emphasis on identifying and validating novel treatments for managing peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain conditions. Zachariou's research laboratory explores the role of G-protein signal transduction complexes in drug addiction, opioid analgesia, and physical dependence. She aims to understand intracellular adaptations related to peripheral nerve injury and/or prolonged opioid exposure, aspiring to develop novel therapeutics for chronic pain conditions with pain/addiction comorbidities. Her team has identified crucial intracellular pathways controlling the perception and maintenance of chronic pain states and has developed innovative interventions targeting epigenetic pathways to allow the transition to non-opioid analgesics, potentially preventing the development of physical dependence. Holding a BSc in Pharmacy from the University of Patras, Greece, and a PhD in Pharmacology from the Medical College of Georgia, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University and held a junior faculty position at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, prior to establishing her laboratory at the University of Crete School of Medicine. In 2012, she joined the Departments of Neuroscience and Pharmacological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, first as an associate professor (with tenure since 2016) and then as a full professor (since 2018).

Research Interests