Venetia Zachariou, PhD
Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics
Biography
Venetia Zachariou, PhD studies signal transduction and epigenetic mechanisms of neurological disorders and their treatment using genetic mouse models, genomic assays and brain biochemistry. Her projects have investigated transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of chronic pain with emphasis on the identification and validation of novel treatments for the management of peripheral neuropathy and other chronic pain conditions. Another line of research in her laboratory investigates the role of G protein signal transduction complexes in drug addiction, opioid analgesia and physical dependence. By understanding intracellular adaptations to peripheral nerve injury and/or prolonged opioid exposure she aims to develop novel therapeutics for chronic pain conditions and pain/addiction comorbidities. Her team has identified several intracellular pathways that control the perception and the maintenance of chronic pain states. They also have developed novel interventions in epigenetic pathways that allow transitioning to non-opioid analgesics while preventing the development of physical dependence.
Dr. Zachariou received her BSc in pharmacy from the University of Patras, Greece, and her PhD in pharmacology from the Medical College of Georgia, USA. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychiatry at Yale University and a junior faculty position at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, she established her laboratory at the University of Crete School of Medicine. In 2012, she joined the departments of neuroscience and pharmacological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York as an associate professor (with tenure since 2016), and as full professor (since 2018).
Dr. Zachariou is a member of the editorial boards of Biological Psychiatry, Science Signaling, Neurobiology of Pain, British Journal of Pharmacology and Molecular Pharmacology. She is a Fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and Chair of the ASPET Neuropharmacology Division.
Other Positions
- Chair, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Education
- Medical College of Georgia, PhD
- University of Patras, BSc
Publications
- Published on 7/9/2024
Serafini RA, Farzinpour Z, Patel V, Kelley AM, Estill M, Pryce KD, Sakloth F, Teague CD, Torres-Berrio A, Nestler EJ, Shen L, Akbarian S, Karkhanis AN, Blitzer RD, Zachariou V. Nucleus accumbens myocyte enhancer factor 2C mediates the maintenance of peripheral nerve injury-induced physiological and behavioral maladaptations. Pain. 2024 Dec 01; 165(12):2733-2748. PMID: 38985454.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/20/2024
Serafini RA, Ramakrishnan A, Shen L, Zachariou V. Desipramine induces anti-inflammatory dorsal root ganglion transcriptional signatures in the murine spared nerve injury model. Neurobiol Pain. 2024; 15:100153. PMID: 38549875.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/14/2024
Mitsi V, Ruiz A, Polizu C, Farzinpour Z, Ramakrishnan A, Serafini RA, Parise EM, Floodstrand M, Sial OK, Gaspari S, Tang CY, Nestler EJ, Schmidt EF, Shen L, Zachariou V. RGS4 Actions in Mouse Prefrontal Cortex Modulate Behavioral and Transcriptomic Responses to Chronic Stress and Ketamine. Mol Pharmacol. 2024 Mar 14; 105(4):272-285. PMID: 38351270.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/4/2024
Avila-Zozaya M, Zachariou V. Genetic mouse models in opioid research: current status and future directions. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2024 May; 131(5):491-494. PMID: 38436758.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/8/2024
Blaze J, Browne CJ, Futamura R, Javidfar B, Zachariou V, Nestler EJ, Akbarian S. tRNA epitranscriptomic alterations associated with opioid-induced reward-seeking and long-term opioid withdrawal in male mice. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Jul; 49(8):1276-1284. PMID: 38332016.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/1/2024
Lai A, Iliff D, Zaheer K, Gansau J, Laudier DM, Zachariou V, Iatridis JC. Annulus Fibrosus Injury Induces Acute Neuroinflammation and Chronic Glial Response in Dorsal Root Ganglion and Spinal Cord-An In Vivo Rat Discogenic Pain Model. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Feb 01; 25(3). PMID: 38339040.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/1/2024
Pryce KD, Serafini RA, Ramakrishnan A, Nicolais A, Giosan IM, Polizu C, Torres-Berrío A, Vuppala S, Kronman H, Ruiz A, Gaspari S, Peña CJ, Sakloth F, Mitsi V, van Duzer J, Mazitschek R, Jarpe M, Shen L, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V. Author Correction: Oxycodone withdrawal induces HDAC1/HDAC2-dependent transcriptional maladaptations in the reward pathway in a mouse model of peripheral nerve injury. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Feb; 27(2):384. PMID: 38253639.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/1/2023
Serafini RA, Zachariou V. The Dorsal Raphe as a Regulator of Emotion and Reward: Beyond Pain. Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Dec 01; 94(11):834-835. PMID: 37914503.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/20/2023
Serafini RA, Estill M, Pekarskaya EA, Sakloth F, Shen L, Javitch JA, Zachariou V. Tianeptine promotes lasting antiallodynic effects in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2023 Oct; 48(11):1680-1689. PMID: 37474762.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/28/2023
Serafini RA, Frere JJ, tenOever B, Zachariou V. SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus Induce Longitudinal Transcriptomic Changes in Hamster Spinal Cord Tissue. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2024 Mar 01; 49(5):364-367. PMID: 37389976.
Read at: PubMed
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