NMI Summit 2026 Speaker
Professor Anna Nicolaou, PhD
Anna Nicolaou is Professor of Biological Chemistry at the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, The University of Manchester. Her research focuses on bioactive lipids and mass spectrometry-based lipidomics, with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that mediate the role of eicosanoids, endocannabinoids, ceramides and related mediators in inflammation, immunity, cellular communications and tissue responses. Prof Nicolaou has a long standing interest in skin inflammation and the role of lipids in acute and chronic cutaneous disorders. The involvement of fatty acids and their metabolites in cancer, neuroinflammation, reproductive tissues and the cardiovascular system are also of interest, and this work has been supported by research councils, charities and industry. Currently, she is President Elect of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) board, chair of the Lipidomics Division of the European Federation for the Science and Technology of Lipids (EuroFedLipids) and editorial board member of the journals BBA Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, and Progress in Lipid Research.
Professor Anna Nicolaou’s research focuses on Bioactive Lipids and Lipidomics with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that mediate the role of eicosanoids, endocannabinoids, ceramides and polyunsaturated fatty acids in inflammation, cellular communications and tissue responses. Her lab specialises in mass spectrometry-based lipidomics that, when coupled to functional, metabolic, signalling, protein and gene expression and regulation studies, can bring about a greater understanding of the biological role of lipid networks in health and disease. One of my main research questions is to understand the role of eicosanoids and other bioactive lipids in skin inflammation and related disorders. I have used UV-irradiated human skin to follow the formation of lipid mediators during the initiation, maintenance and resolution phase of cutaneous inflammation, and performed nutritional interventions with anti-inflammatory omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to assess the prevalence of novel anti-inflammatory and pro-resolution metabolites. There is also a strong interest in the mechanisms mediating the cross-talk between epidermal and dermal resident cells both in supporting skin homeostasis and in response to inflammation.
