Adamantia Fragkopoulou

I am an Assistant Professor and Team Leader at the Department of Women's and Children's Health, at the Division of Pediatric Oncology and Pediatric Surgery.

I am a Neuroscientist specializing in Brain Injury, Radiation Biology, and Behavioural Neuroscience. My research spans the impact of both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation on the developing brain, with a translational focus on mitigating cognitive and behavioural deficits following early-life brain insults.

During my PhD, I investigated how non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation affects the mouse brain and behaviour. In 2015, I joined the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet to pursue postdoctoral research on neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy. Since my appointment as Assistant Professor in 2019 at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health (KBH) at Karolinska Institutet, my research has focused on understanding how ionizing radiation—used in paediatric brain tumour treatment—impacts the young brain. 

My team is developing predictive models that integrate single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) time-series data with machine learning and deep learning techniques to map biological responses in healthy, injured, or diseased brains. These models allow us to infer causal relationships and pinpoint key molecular drivers through in silico gene expression modulation. This approach informs the development of targeted therapies tailored to factors such as sex, age, cell type, brain region, and injury profile. One of our therapeutic strategies involves using antisense oligonucleotides to alleviate long-term complications of radiotherapy, including cognitive decline in childhood cancer survivors.
Concurrently, I investigate chronic inflammation following hypoxic-ischemic injury in murine models, focusing on lymphocyte activation. I am also developing innovative therapeutic approaches—such as intranasal mechanical stimulation (INMEST)—to limit brain tissue damage and improve behavioural outcomes.

In addition to my research, I provide expert user support at the X-ray Irradiation Core Facility at Karolinska Institutet.

Brain tumours
Radiotherapy
Hypoxia-ischemia
Neuroinflammation
Anstisense oligonucleotides
Lithium

Single-cell RNA sequencing

Machine Learning
Microglia
Behavior
Sex differences
Stereotaxic surgeries

• Main supervisor of the PhD student Efthalia Preka (2021-2025).
• Co-supervisor of the PhD student Eleni Stergiou (2023-2027).
• 20 years of teaching experience at pre- and postgraduate courses, and supervision of Bachelor's, Master's, Erasmus, and Erasmus+ students.
• Coordinator, teacher and examiner at the FoTO doctoral course "Applications of ionizing radiation in therapy and biomedical research".