Director of Infectious Diseases
Nikolaos Spernovasilis
Dr. Nikolaos Spernovasilis comes from Mani and Crete. His interest in Health Sciences began in his teenage years, and he settled on his desire to work in Infectious Diseases during his medical studies and later residency, when he worked alongside excellent Infectious Diseases specialists. His main scientific interests are infection prevention, infections in vulnerable populations such as immunocompromised, pregnant women, the elderly and refugees, and the rationalization of the use of the antimicrobials medicines. The multidimensional problem of infections has always been a societal problem over time, being essentially the top public health issue. Empires have disappeared, wars have been decided one way or the other, and stock markets have collapsed due to infections such as plague, cholera, typhoid, Spanish flu and others, while we have long been experiencing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge and simple common sense are the tools that will help us to live as harmoniously as possible with the micro-organisms that either surround us or, even more so, are naturally present in our bodies.
Microorganisms, and infectious agents in general, have been with Mankind throughout its existence. The relationship between them is either cooperative, with mutual benefits for humans and microorganisms, or antagonistic, resulting in infection and disease. It is this latter form of interaction that we are often called upon to deal with in the first stand-alone Infectious Diseases Department in Cyprus.
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Education / Academic Experience
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Professional Experience
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Memberships
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Awards
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Academic experience
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Research activity
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Pubmed publications
1992- 1998: Middle School - Lyceum of Neapolis, Lassithi, Crete, Greece
1999- 2004: Department of Physiotherapy, “Alexander” University of Thessaloniki, Greece
2004 - 2010: School of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
2007: Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Boston University, USA.
2010: Department of Mental Health, “Ospedale Maggiore”, Bologna, Italy
2017 – 2019: Master of Public Health, EUC, Cyprus
2019 – 2023: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
- 2010: Medical license
- 2011 - 2012: Rural doctor, Chandras, Crete, Greece
- 2012 - 2017: Resident in Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Heraklion, Greece
- 2016: Fellowship at the 1st Department of Internal Medicine, “Konstantopouleio” General Hospital of Nea Ionia, Greece
- 2016: Fellowship at the Infectious Diseases Unit, “Attikon” General Hospital, Greece
- 2017: Specialty degree in Internal Medicine
- 2017. Fellowship at the Infectious Diseases Unit, University Hospital of Heraklion, Greece
- 2017 - 2018. Attending physician, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Heraklion, Greece
- 2018 - 2020: Specialization in Infectious Diseases, University Hospital of Heraklion and “Attiko” University Hospital of Athens, Greece
- 2020 - 2021: Research Associate, Infectious Diseases Unit, University Hospital of Heraklion, Greece
- 2021: Specialist degree in Infectious Diseases
- Hellenic Society of Infectious Diseases
- Cypriot Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
- European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
- Faculty member of the European Committee on Infection Control (EUCIC)
- Faculty member of the ESCMID Study Group for Antimicrobial Stewardship (ESGAP)
- Board member of the Greek Medical Society for Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Country Manager of Cyprus of the International Society for Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ISIDOG)
- Pancretan Association of the U.S.A. scholarship, 2007: training in Molecular Genetics, Boston University, USA.
- Hellenic AIDS Study scholarship for specialization in Infectious Diseases, 2018 - 2019, Greece
- 2018 – 2024: Representative of Greece as Infectious Disease Specialist in the Trainee Association of ESCMID (TAA) of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
2016-2019: Internal Medicine A, 3rd year of undergraduate studies at School of Medicine of Crete, Greece
2017-2021: Internal Medicine B, 4th year of undergraduate studies at School of Medicine of Crete, Greece
2018-2022: MSc Programme "Public Health & Healthcare Facilities Administration", School of Medicine of Crete, Greece
2021: MSc Programme “Emergency and Intensive Care”, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
2022-2024: MSc Programme “Public Health”, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Greece
2022-2024: MSc Programme “Prevention and Control of clinically severe infections in the Healthcare setting”, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Greece
- 2007. Use of adenoviruses as gene therapy vectors, laboratory researcher, Boston, USA.
- 2018: "Overcome" clinical trial, study co-coordinator, Heraklion, Greece.
- 2019: "REDS" clinical trial, study coordinator, Heraklion, Greece.
- 2019: "Entasis" clinical trial, study coordinator, Heraklion, Greece
2019 - 2020: "Rationalizing the use of antibiotics in patients hospitalized at a University Hospital”, principal investigator, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Greece
