My main field of interest is acute stroke therapy and management. I am particularly interested in imaging markers for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, such as early ischemic changes, small vessel disease, blood-brain-barrier disruption, predictors of hemorrhage expansion. Expanding knowledge about all these markers should help design of clinical trials for acute stroke therapy, eventually optimizing clinical outcomes of patients.

It is stimulating to be part of a great world platform such as ESO. It is a major opportunity to share ideas, get involved in research projects, discuss about management of stroke patients. In ESO I found enthusiastic colleagues and enjoyable friends to work with.

ESO is a main reference for all stroke professionals all over the world. I would expect from ESO to keep on this tremendous effort, possibly involving more countries, and to maintain the usual excellent quality of conferences and meetings. I would expect an open, diffuse, high-level science community as already is. ESO gives many opportunities for those interested to be part of it.

I had the fortune to have mentors of highest profile, and this has been a great opportunity to gain experience and learn a lot, of course. They were supportive, gave me the chance to expand the ideas to a wider context, to seek for collaborations and funding. They highlighted the importance of building an international network of collaborators. A mentee should expect availability to discuss ideas and willingness to instill passion. The mentor is a model for the mentee, and learning from someone you consider a model is fundamental in this beautiful work.

Use of imaging to guide clinical trial design; acute treatments, particularly improving reperfusion; CADASIL.

The ESO Conference is a major opportunity to interact with collaborators and to disseminate research updates and findings.

Promoting and supporting inter-institutional secondments and interactions for the purpose of research collaboration. Continue to have a strong research-led agenda for meetings such as the ESO Stroke Science Workshop, summer school and the main ESO conference.

Try to guide by encouraging new ideas, identifying funders and collaborators, and giving a wider context to the project . Seek opportunities to work with and learn from other services and research groups.

Availability, encouragement, and honesty.

My clinical work is mainly focused on the field of acute stroke treatment and monitoring, including the implementation of new evidence into clinical practice. I largely enjoy the tight collaboration with specialists from all medical fields related to neurovascular medicine at our hospital, in order to continuously improve routines and standard procedures. The last months we have been working a lot on the adaptation of our acute stroke pathways and stroke investigation procedures in light of the additional challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neurosonology is a subject of special interest to me. I am truly amazed by the various opportunities the available methods deliver both regarding acute phase monitoring options, causal and preventive investigation options, and the possibility to visualize and understand complex hemodynamic contexts impacting further decision making.

As member of the Bergen Stroke Research Group, the research I am involved in is diverse, combining the fields of acute stroke treatment and prehospital alert, Neurosonology, secondary prevention and the wide field of young stroke.

ESO has gained worldwide recognition as one of the leading stroke societies, with a profile of responsibility, trustworthiness and passion for the field. I understand ESO as a great platform for exchange and collaboration between researchers and clinical practitioners. The work on and continuous renewal of guidelines and expert opinions based on newly gathered knowledge is especially important to me, providing a valuable foundation to follow, re-think or improve own research questions.

I expect ESO to keep its open and including profile, as the ESO society makes multicenter and international cooperation and networking easy, pushing the stroke field further in many directions. Possibly ESO may function as an umbrella society for large scale international research proposals, utilizing the enormous professional variety among its members, and being able to involve a large number of research institutions worldwide.

A mentor should be open to new ideas of the mentee, help to adjust and support them, guide professional development, encourage self-reflection, suggest alternative directions and, if possible, provide a network to follow those.

A mentee may benefit from several mentors covering the mentee`s need for guidance in different areas of their development. The mentee may bring along curiosity and passion, and should be encouraged to ask for guidance and mentorship whenever needed.

During my undergraduate studies I had developed a special interest in brain sciences. However, after graduating from medical school I decided to specialize in Internal Medicine so that my approach as a physician would be more holistic. The Department of Clinical Therapeutics, where I carried out my specialty training has a longstanding tradition in cardiovascular medicine. Early in my research career I decided that my research would be based on the link between the cardiovascular system and the brain. Thus, my PhD thesis was focused on the heart and brain connection at the early stages of essential hypertension. Later on, during my specialty training I decided to pursue more practical skills in heart and brain interaction and my mentor, Dr. Kostas Vemmos, inspired me to do my post-doctoral fellowship in stroke medicine. Stroke medicine represents an exceptional model on heart and brain connection considering that most causes of stroke are related to the cardiovascular system; on the other hand effective cardiovascular prevention may reduce stroke risk. Upon moving to the UK for further training in stroke medicine and stroke research I had plenty of opportunities to incorporate and translate all my knowledge and experience in cardiovascular medicine and stroke in high quality clinical research on heart and brain connection working together with Prof. Roland Veltkamp.

Acute stroke management in Greece still has room for improvement. A comprehensive national strategy for stroke management over the cycle of care and for mitigating the social consequences is lacking. Despite the presence of national guidelines, endovascular thrombectomy in Greece is not the standard of care. Limited resources, lack of systems of implementation and lack of a comprehensive national strategy are amongst the factors responsible for the gap between evidence based medicine and clinical practice.

Stroke patients are admitted in Internal Medicine and Neurology departments, since the existing specialized stroke units are very few. Moreover, those few stroke units are short-staffed. In addition, there is shortage of interventionists who can perform endovascular thrombectomy. Furthermore, there are serious obstacles in terms of access to rehabilitation services for these patients, since there is a limited number of public centres, located mainly in urban areas. Consequently, after the acute phase of stroke, patients are either transferred to private rehabilitation centres, where the cost is partly covered by Social Security Funds, or are discharged to their homes without participating in a rehabilitation program. According to the Greek tradition, provision of home care for chronically ill, disabled and elderly people is mainly provided either by relatives or by private carers, causing significant financial burden on families.

Consequently, the biggest challenge currently in Greece is to organise stroke units and rehabilitation centres, in accordance with the ESO standards within NHS, staffed by a multidisciplinary team with specialized knowledge in stroke care.

Women are under-represented in stroke medicine, especially in the fields of leadership and mentoring. Therefore, the participation of young women in these areas should be highly encouraged. As a member of WISE (Women Initiative for Stroke in Europe) I strongly believe that there should be mutual support amongst women, so that they successfully plan their career development as well as their personal life aspects.

Women who work as stroke care physicians can be at the same time spouses and mothers and in many occasions they need to step-down during their careers (e.g. for maternity leave). This usually happens at the time they are transitioning to a more senior role in their working environment. Taking into account my personal experience I would like to encourage young women who are considering a career in stroke medicine that it a feasible choice, despite the fact that it seems challenging. Stroke medicine offers a lot of opportunities depending on the personal circumstances. For example, soon after having my baby I stepped-down on my clinical career and I did post-doctoral research in the UK, which did not involve out-of-hours work. When my circumstances allowed, I returned to full-time clinical work and I also undertook a more senior post in stroke research, having gained a lot of experience during my post-doctoral fellowship. As a woman, I am keen on supporting other female colleagues and most of my mentees are women. It is very encouraging that in ESO there are women who have emerged as role models and they are exceptional examples. These colleagues have demonstrated significant achievements in all aspects of stroke care and research and, therefore, more and more women should be encouraged to take up such roles!

The relationship between mentors and mentees is dynamic, interactive and usually lifelong. Like any other relationship, a mentor-mentee relationship takes work from both sides. The mentor’s role is to provide guidance, encouragement, inspiration and support, while the mentee’s role is to be motivated, committed and proactive. It is very important to regularly evaluate and assess whether the goals and expectations from both sides are met.  Clear, open, honest communication will help both sides to determine whether the relationship has run its course and if it should be terminated.  Respect is a key point from both sides and one of the most important factors in determining the success of a good professional relationship. Honesty and trust are essential in a successful partnership. Commitment is key to making the partnership work. The mentee should be respectful to the mentor, for their achievements and their commitment to mentoring, since the mentor is spending valuable time for mentoring, often voluntarily. Mutual respect sets clearer boundaries that keep the relationship professional and on the right track. It is also important to have a clear idea of respective roles, as well as be aware of any explicit or hidden biases that could potentially affect the relationship. Although many mentor-mentee relationships usually progress into friendship, they should be initiated as professional collaboration.