Speakers

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  Panagiotis Bamidis Professor of Medical Physics and Informatics in Medical Education in the Medical Physics Lab of the School of Medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)
  

  Panagiotis Bamidis

  Professor of Medical Physics and Informatics in Medical Education in the Medical Physics Lab of the School of Medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)

  Panagiotis Bamidis is a Professor of Medical Physics and Informatics in Medical Education in the Medical Physics Lab of the School of Medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece. He designs, implements and evaluates IT and Assistive Technologies systems that improve everyday activities of elderly or other vulnerable groups and improves their health or life quality or improves the education and training of health professionals. He conducts research that attempts to understand how the brain reacts to different stimuli, technological or educational interventions, as well as, the development and evolution of human emotions and sleep transitions. He is the co-ordinator of large European projects, and the principal investigator for many national and international funded projects. He is the President of the Hellenic Biomedical Technology Society (ELEBIT), the HL7 Hellas organisation, the international Society of Applied Neuroscience (SAN), a member of the Administration Boards of other societies and patient associations. He is/has been the Chairman/Organiser of more than 19 international conferences and several national Biomedical Technology conferences. Since 2012 he has established LLM Care ecosystem (www.llmcare.gr), the business exploitation of the LLM project, which is a 2-star reference site of the EIP-on-AHA. In 2013 he established the Active and Healthy Ageing Living Lab in Thessaloniki (ThessAHALL; http://www.aha-livinglabs.com/) which in 2016 became an adherent and in 2018 an effective member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). In 2017, he became a visiting Professor of Medical Education Technology, Innovation and Change for the Leeds Institute of Medical Education (LIME) of the University of Leeds, UK. He received Prizes for the Best Track Record in funded research projects (AUTH Research Committee 2009; AUTH Dean of Health Sciences 2016) and the Best overall high/extra-ordinary academic performance (AUTH Dean of Health Sciences 2018, 2019, 2020). In 2020, as a result of the H2020 funded project named CAPTAIN, he founded CAPTAIN-COACH, one of the first 10 spin-offs of AUTH.
  His research interests are within technology enhanced learning in Medical Education (web2.0, semantic web and open linked data, serious games, virtual patients, PBL and scenario based learning, learning analytics), Affective and Applied Neuroscience, Affective and Physiological Computing, multimodal interaction and HCI, Health Information Management, Bio-medical Informatics with emphasis on neurophysiological sensing, signal analysis, and imaging of human emotions. He is also actively researching Assistive Technologies for Active and Healthy Ageing, as well as, special education/developmental disorders, and silvergaming/exergaming/silver-science and the associated use of semantic technologies and IoT.

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  Eleni Manakidou Professor of Classical Archaeology in the School of History and Archaeology at Aristotle University
  

  Eleni Manakidou

  Professor of Classical Archaeology in the School of History and Archaeology at Aristotle University

  Eleni Manakidou is a professor of Classical Archaeology in the School of History and Archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She directs the Cast Museum at the Faculty of Philosophy and the university excavation at Karabournaki. She has taught as a visiting professor at the Free University of Berlin, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and the International University of Greece. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Tellogleion Foundation of Arts and a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute. She has published three monographs, a museum catalogue, two handbooks (in collaboration), more than 100 articles, and has translated four books on archaeology.
  Her research focuses on ancient Greek pottery, religion, public and private life, iconography, topography and settlement organization, as well as the history and reception of archaeological research.

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  Evdokimos Konstantinidis Assistant Professor in Digital, Technological and Open Innovation in Health at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation in the Aristotle University
  

  Evdokimos Konstantinidis

  Assistant Professor in Digital, Technological and Open Innovation in Health at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation in the Aristotle University

  Evdokimos Konstantinidis is an Assistant Professor in Digital, Technological and Open Innovation in Health at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is a Vice-Chair of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) and served as Chair from 2021 to 2024. He is currently the coordinator of Horizon Europe projects on services for the European Open Science Cloud and has successfully coordinated the Research Infrastructure H2020 project, VITALISE – aiming to harmonize the procedures and ICT tools of the Health and Wellbeing Living Labs.

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  Eva Kehayia Associate Professor and Director of Research at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University
  

  Eva Kehayia

  Associate Professor and Director of Research at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University

  Eva Kehayia is Associate Professor and Director of Research at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University, Adjunct Professor at the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at McGill University and Scientific Co-Director of Feil Oberfeld research site of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of greater Montréal (CRIR).
  Her research program spans two main streams of local, national and international activities and funding. The first stream, in the area of psycholinguistics/neurolinguistics, focuses on the study of the architecture of the Mental Lexicon in unilingual, bilingual and multilingual adults, healthy aging and individuals with language limitations due to acquired neurological conditions. The second stream of research addresses health and well-being, accessibility, inclusion and participation of persons living with physical disabilities. Using a Living Lab approach for the past 15 years, she has been conducting and fostering interdisciplinary and intersectoral projects in the community, in everyday lived spaces, leisure environments, including museums. Her recently published, co-edited book Musée pour tous-Aude Porcedda-Editions Hermann, provides a collection of views on accessibility and inclusion in museum environments in Europe and Canada.

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  Stavroula Stavrakaki Professor of Linguistics, specializing in Neurolinguistics, at the Aristotle University
  

  Stavroula Stavrakaki

  Professor of Linguistics, specializing in Neurolinguistics, at the Aristotle University

  Stavroula Stavrakaki is a Professor of Linguistics, specializing in Neurolinguistics, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), School of Philosophy, Department of Italian Language and Literature. She has held research or teaching positions at universities in Greece and abroad, including University College London and the University of Crete, and has been a faculty member at AUTh since 2004. She has also taught in several undergraduate and postgraduate programs internationally, including in Amsterdam, Groningen, Ferrara, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Milano-Bicocca, Essex, Potsdam, and UCL. She was a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, funded by the European Commission, at UCL, and has participated in funded research projects, including COST Actions focusing on child language. Prof. Stavrakaki has an extensive publication record in international journals, including Brain and Language, Journal of Child Language, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and Aphasiology. Her research addresses language and other cognitive functions in individuals with acquired and developmental disorders of neurological or genetic origin, as well as their rehabilitation

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  Despoina Petsani Research Associate in the fields of digital health, assistive technologies, and Living Labs
  

  Despoina Petsani

  Research Associate in the fields of digital health, assistive technologies, and Living Labs

  Despoina Petsani is Research Associate in the fields of digital health, assistive technologies, and Living Labs. With an academic background in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Medical Informatics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, she is currently a PhD candidate in Medical Informatics, focusing on digital tools and the application of machine learning in transitional care. She also serves as Chief Innovation Officer at the French startup XEETI.

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  Despina Kanaki Primary education teacher specializing in Special Education
  

  Despina Kanaki

  Primary education teacher specializing in Special Education

  Despina Kanaki is a primary education teacher specializing in Special Education. She is a graduate of the Department of Preschool Education at ATEI Thessaloniki and the Department of Educational and Social Policy, specializing in Special Education, at the University of Macedonia. She holds a Master’s degree in Special Education and is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Italian Language and Literature of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, under the supervision of Professors Stavrakaki, Kehayia and Manakidou. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on the role of museums for individuals with disorders/disabilities. She has participated as a speaker in Psychology Conferences and has published papers in Conference Proceedings.

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  Antonis Billis Postdoctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at the School of Medicine, Aristotle University
  

  Antonis Billis

  Postdoctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at the School of Medicine, Aristotle University

  Dr. Antonis Billis is an Electrical and Computer Engineer with a Ph.D. focused on digital biomarkers for the remote monitoring of chronically ill patients and older adults. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Laboratory of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at the School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research focuses on areas such as e-health and m-health, digital biomarkers, AI-driven clinical decision support systems, computational cancer research, and smart healthcare technologies for vulnerable populations. With 19 years of research experience, he has authored more than 90 scientific publications and has coordinated major European digital health initiatives, including the Horizon 2020 LifeChamps project supporting older cancer patients through AI and big data technologies. He has also secured more than €2 million in European research funding as principal investigator and serves in editorial roles for international scientific journals in healthcare informatics and technology.

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  Despoina Mantziari Ph.D. candidate at the AUTH School of Journalism and Mass Communication
  

  Despoina Mantziari

  Ph.D. candidate at the AUTH School of Journalism and Mass Communication

  Despoina Mantziari is a Ph.D. candidate at the AUTH School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In collaboration with the AUTH Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, she is pursuing her doctoral research on patient empowerment, mHealth technologies and telemedicine. Since 2018, she has been a Research Associate at the AUTH Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation and the Thessaloniki Action for Health & Wellbeing Living Lab (Thess-AHALL). Since 2019, she has been assistant coordinator of the “Thessaloniki: Mental Health & Wellbeing” Working Group of the EC JRC City Science Initiative and of the “Thessaloniki AHA Ecosystem” Reference Site of the EIPonAHA/RSCN network. Her research interests focus on citizen science, participatory research and Living Labs.

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  Annita Varella Research Assistant at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University
  

  Annita Varella

  Research Assistant at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University

  Annita Varella holds a BSc in Psychology from University of Greenwich, London, UK, and is currently pursuing a Research Master (MRes) in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, specializing in Neuropsychology, at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Since 2020, she has worked as a Research Assistant at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, contributing to European research projects on active and healthy ageing through the development of assistive technologies that support independent living and improve quality of life for older adults and vulnerable populations

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  Nikos Kyriakidis Biologist, educator and coordinator of children's and adult groups on the popularization of science and experiential education
  

  Nikos Kyriakidis

  Biologist, educator and coordinator of children's and adult groups on the popularization of science and experiential education

  Nikos Kyriakidis is a biologist, educator and coordinator of children’s and adult groups on the popularization of science and experiential education. Field researcher, on issues of managing social research groups in living labs, nutrition and the environment.

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  Christina Plomariti PhD canditate in the Medical Physics Laboratory
  

  Christina Plomariti

  PhD canditate in the Medical Physics Laboratory

  Plomariti Christina is a PhD canditate in the Medical Physics Laboratory. She graduated from the Physics department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2015. She has a master’s in medical informatics. Since January 2018 she is a research associate in the Medical Physics Laboratory in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in many EU funded projects centered around medical informatics and environmental health. Christina has many scientific publications and conferences presentations. Christina’s expertise involve brain functional connectivity analysis, environmental health research, stakeholder involvement and HCP training.