Dr Smaragda Sotiraki is a Research Director and leads a research group on Parasitology and Parasitic diseases at the Veterinary Research Institute of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization (HAO-DEMETER) which is the only National Body conducting Research in the field of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Greece.
She is Researcher in the field of Parasitology focusing her R&D activities on epidemiology of parasitic infections, integrated disease management (including antiparasitic treatments and alternatives solutions) and spread of parasitic zoonoses. Those activities involve production animals companion animals and often humans fully serving the one-health principle.
She completed most of her studies in Greece at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, getting a Degree in Veterinary Medicine (1991) followed by her Doctorate in Veterinary Parasitology (1999).
Later on, succeeding in getting a Marie Curie Scholarship, she moved to Denmark where she conducted her post-doctoral research at the Royal Agricultural & Veterinary University in Copenhagen (2002 – 2004).
She is also a de facto member of the European College for Veterinary Parasitology currently (since May 2018) serving as Secretary of the EVPC Board.
Since 2019 she is also serving as a Chair of the Scientific Council of VRI.
Dr Sotiraki has over 20 years R&D and teaching experience in parasitology and health management and he has produced over seventy peer-reviewed scientific publications in well recognized journals with a noteworthy number of citations (h index 20).
She had also active participation in a significant number of national/international scientific conferences and is member at European level in scientific teams producing research policy.
She is also a KOL for several international pharmaceutical companies on antiparasitic drugs and vaccines. One of her key activities is giving seminars on parasitic infections and control to fellows’ veterinarians and farmers. Most of her research activities are realized through funded research projects (on a National and International basis).
Overall, she has participated in more than 30 (coordinating most of them) major R&D programmes from which she gained significant managerial experience. Moreover, she has important teaching experience at graduate (by teaching in Veterinary and Agricultural Universities) and post-graduate level (by supervising several Phd and MSc students).