NMI Summit 2026 Speaker

Professor Anna Nicolaou, PhD

Anna Nicolaou is Professor of Biological Chemistry in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester. Her research focuses on bioactive lipids and mass spectrometry-based lipidomics, with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms through which eicosanoids, oxylipins, endocannabinoids and ceramides regulate inflammation, immunity, cellular communication and tissue responses. She has a long-standing interest in understanding the roles of skin lipids in maintaining barrier function, shaping host-microbiota interactions, and mediating acute and chronic inflammatory disorders, wound healing, and healthy ageing. Her work also explores systemic and topical interventions to improve skin health, and investigates the roles of fatty acids and their metabolites in cancer, neuroinflammation, reproductive biology and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Nicolaou has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, and her research has been supported by UK research councils, charities and industry partners. She currently serves as President-Elect of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL), Associate Editor of Frontiers in Physiology: Skin Physiology, and Editorial Board Member of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids and Progress in Lipid Research.