Magdalena Koziol | Biochemistry | Research Excellence Award

Assist. Prof. Dr. Magdalena Koziol | Biochemistry | Research Excellence Award

Chinese Instistute for Brain Research | China

Dr. Magdalena Koziol is an Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator at the Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR), China, where she leads an innovative research program at the intersection of developmental biology, epigenetics, and neuroscience. She completed her PhD in Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by a prestigious Wellcome Trust Studentship, with laboratory rotations under globally recognized leaders including Sir John B. Gurdon, Sarah Bray, and Azim Surani. Prior to this, she earned a BSc in Medical Genetics from the University of Leicester, UK, where she received two academic excellence awards, and previously undertook Physics studies at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Koziol’s postdoctoral career includes highly competitive appointments with Sir John B. Gurdon at the Gurdon Institute, Antonio Giraldez at Yale University, and John Rinn at Harvard University and the Broad Institute. Her interdisciplinary background has helped shape a research portfolio focused on uncovering previously unknown chemical modifications of DNA and RNA and understanding their functional relevance in the vertebrate brain. Her groundbreaking discovery of methylated deoxyadenosine (m6dA) in vertebrate genomes, published in 2015, established a new field of study in epigenetic regulation and earned recognition from AAAS Science for excellence in scientific achievement. Her research has secured major competitive funding, including support from the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, the Koziol Laboratory core funding at CIBR, the BBSRC (UK), the Isaac Newton Trust, and the Human Frontiers Long-Term Fellowship program. She has also been recognized with distinguished honors, including an invitation to Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II. Through high-impact publications, international collaboration, and translational scientific vision, Dr. Koziol’s work contributes to advancing molecular neuroscience, with growing implications for understanding brain disorders and developing therapeutic strategies.

Profiles: ORCID

Featured Publications

Li, S., Zhang, S., Li, H., Yin, N., Yang, R., Zhang, Y., Koziol, M. J., & Faiola, F. (2025). Environmental UV filters threaten human neurodevelopment: Disruption of central and peripheral nervous system lineage commitment via WNT signaling dysregulation.

Feng, S., & Koziol, M. J. (2025). Unraveling brain complexity: From single-cell to spatial m6A technologies.

Feng, S., Tellaetxe-Abete, M., Zhang, Y., Peng, Y., Zhou, H., Dong, M., Larrea, E., Xue, L., Zhang, L., & Koziol, M. J. (2024). Single-cell discovery of m6A RNA modifications in the hippocampus.

Feng, S., Tellaetxe-Abete, M., Zhang, Y., Peng, Y., Zhou, H., Dong, M., Larrea, E., Xue, L., Zhang, L., & Koziol, M. J. (2023, December 13). Single-cell discovery of m6A RNA modifications in the hippocampus.

Wen, M.-H., Triana, H. B., Butler, R., Hu, H.-W., Dai, Y.-H., Lawrence, N., Hong, J.-J., Garrett, N., Jones-Green, R., Rawlins, E. L., & others. (2023). Deterministic nuclear reprogramming of mammalian nuclei to a totipotency-like state by amphibian meiotic oocytes for stem cell therapy in humans.

Georgia Zahariou | Biochemistry | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Georgia Zahariou | Biochemistry | Research Excellence Award

Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece

Dr. Georgia Zahariou is an accomplished physicist specializing in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, photosynthetic water oxidation mechanisms, and bioinorganic magnetic materials. She is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the National Center for Scientific Research (NCSR) Demokritos in Athens, Greece, where she contributes to cutting-edge research on photosystem II and the molecular mechanisms underlying oxygen evolution. Dr. Zahariou earned her Ph.D. in Physics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with NCSR Demokritos, graduating with Excellence. Her doctoral research focused on spin-spin interactions in metalloradical systems and the mechanistic study of natural photosynthetic water splitting, forming the foundation of her long-term scientific trajectory. She also holds a Master’s degree in Solid-State Physics and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the same institution. With extensive research experience across leading laboratories in Greece and internationally—including the University of Padova and the University of Crete—Dr. Zahariou has contributed to multiple national and European research programs such as HELIOS, THALIS, and KRIPIS. She has presented her work at numerous international conferences, delivered invited talks, and earned important distinctions including the Young Talent Award (2015) and the 4th Poster Prize (2007) from the International Society of Photosynthesis Research. Her scientific output includes over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings, with contributions published in high-impact venues like Angewandte Chemie, FEBS Letters, and Biochemistry. Her research features both experimental and theoretical studies, reflecting strong interdisciplinary expertise in spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, molecular bioenergetics, and computational modeling. Dr. Zahariou’s work continues to advance global understanding of catalytic mechanisms in natural and artificial photosynthesis, positioning her as a recognized expert in magnetic resonance applications to biological energy conversion.

Profiles: Scopus | ORCID

Featured Publications

  1. (2021). Di-2-pyridyl ketone-based ligands as evergreen “trees” in the “forest” of manganese chemistry: Mononuclear Mn(III) complexes from the use of MnF₃. Polyhedron, 207, Article 115350.

  2. (2021). Arrested substrate binding resolves catalytic intermediates in higher-plant water oxidation. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60, 3156–3162.

  3. (2021). Electronic properties of the S = 5/2 Mn(II) complexes [MnPhC(O)NP(O)PPh₂(N,N)(NO₃)], (N,N) = phenanthroline, neocuproine, 2,2′-bipyridine. Polyhedron, 207, Article 115374.

  4. (2021). Electronic structure of tyrosyl D radical of photosystem II, as revealed by 2D-hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy. Magnetochemistry, 7, Article 131.

  5. (2021). Orientational Jahn–Teller isomerism in the dark-stable state of nature’s water oxidase. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60, 13493–13499.