EDUCATION
PhD (Magna cum Laude)
10/2019, PhD in evolutionary biology, University of Potsdam,
Master
2/2013, MSc Hydrobiology & Aquaculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Bachelor
03/2009, School of Biology, Aristotle university of Thessaloniki, Greece
RESEARCH EXPERIENE
1/09/2022 – today, Lund University, Sweden
Postdoctoral Researcher, Stairs Lab, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology,
Project 1: Introducing SPLiT-P: a high-throughput method for single-cell transcriptomic sequencing of protozoa.
Project 2: Lateral gene transfer and spatial gene expression in hypoxia-tolerant freshwater sponges
1/11/2020 – 30/08/2022, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University
Project: Within- and trans-generational immune priming as evolutionary adaptive mechanisms to increase resistance to parasites
11/2019 – 10/2020, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University
Project: Driving forces of temperature and salt tolerance in rotifers as a model for climate change adaptation
04/2015 – 10/2019, University of Potsdam, Germany
PhD candidate in evolutionary biology
Project: Adaptive genetic variation and responses to thermal stress in brachionid rotifers (supervised by Prof. Ralph Tiedemann & Dr. Guntram Weithoff).
09/2009 – 09/2010, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Lab assistant – participation in the construction of an internet database which is a scientifically documented list of all species of fauna and flora of Greece and all relevant information available for these species in the literature (supervised by Prof. Dr. Athanasios Koukouras – currently in pension)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
05/2025, International Hellenic University
Invited lecturer in MSc in Bioeconomy, Biotechnology & Law “More than just fish: aquatic organisms fueling innovation“
05/2025, Lund University
EXTA02: Lab course in Terrestrial Ecology designed for 1st year Bachelor Students in Environmental Engineering.
05/2023, Lund University
Outreach: Teaching the aquatic world in a droplet in Graduate High School students of the International School of Lund.
09/2017, University of Potsdam
Zoological Field Course,
04/2016 – 07/2016, University of Potsdam
Teaching a seminal entitled “Sexual Selection” in the master program “Ökologie, Evolution und Naturschutz”
ACHIEVEMENTS – AWARDS
2021: Musher Foundation Fellowship Award, Tel Aviv, Israel
2018: Reward as the best student presentation in the 15th International Rotifer Symposium, University of Texas El Paso
2015: International Teaching Professionals School Fellowship to develop pedagogical skills, University of Potsdam, PoGS
2015: Volkswagen Foundation Scholar, Germany to participate in the summer School on collecting, processing and presenting information in bio-geo-sciences in Ethiopia & Kenya
FUNDING – PROJECTS
2025: The Role of Lateral Gene Transfer in the Marine-to-Freshwater Transition of Early Metazoans – CRAFOORD FOUNDATION
2024: Lateral gene transfer and spatial gene expression in hypoxia-tolerant freshwater sponges – CARL TRYGGERS STIFTELSE
2024: Unlocking oxygen dynamics: integrating oxygen microprofiling, respiration measurements, and visual documentation – THE ROYAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC SOCIETY IN LUND
2023: Survival Riddles: Unveiling Low Oxygen Adaptation in Multicellular Organisms – THE ROYAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC SOCIETY IN LUND
2020: Within- and trans-generational immune priming as evolutionary adaptive mechanisms to increase resistance to parasites – GEORGE S WISE POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
2020: Rotifers of Israel: Taxonomy, Phylogeography and Genetic Adaptation under Extreme Environmental conditions – THE STEINHARD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
2019: The rotifer biodiversity in Middle-East and their adaptive potentials to drought and salinization – JOINT POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS BY THE TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF POTSDAM
PUBLICATIONS
Bereza E, Rotter I, Paraskevopoulou S, Ben-Ami F (2025). Light pollution affects the behavior and life-history traits of aquatic invertebrates. BioRxiv, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.09.679630 (under review since October 2025, Ecology).
Gattis S, Paraskevopoulou S, Ben-Ami F (2024). Decoding host responses: A freshwater invertebrate battles against a parasitic bacterium. BioRxiv, DOI: 10.1101/2025.03.28.645445 (under review since August 2025, Molecular Ecology).
Paraskevopoulou S, Gattis S, Ben-Ami F. (2025). Transcriptomic landscape reveals immunity related trade-offs in an invertebrate-fungal host-parasite system. BioRxiv, DOI: 10.1101/2025.03.28.645961 (in major revision, Molecular Ecology).
Hirshberg O, Paraskevopoulou S, Kiemel k, Ben-Ami F (2023). The gems of the Middle-East: Unravelling the biodiversity of Monogonont rotifers in temporary waterbodies of Israel. BioRxiv, DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.25.563682 (under review since January 2025, Freshwater Biology).
Walczyńska A, Fontaneto D, Kordbacheh A, Hamil S, Jimenez-Santos M-A, Paraskevopoulou S, Pociecha A, Zhang W (2024). Niche differentiation in rotifer cryptic species complexes: a review of environmental effects. Hydrobiologia, 851, 1-18.
Kiemel K, Gurke M, Paraskevopoulou S, Weithoff G, Tiedemann R (2022). Variation in heat shock protein 40 kDa relates to divergence in thermotolerance among cryptic rotifer species. Scientific Reports, 12, 22626
Paraskevopoulou S, Gattis S, Ben-Ami F. (2022). Parasite resistance and parasite tolerance: insights on transgenerational immune priming in an invertebrate host. Biology Letters, 18, 20220018.
Kiemel K, De Cahsan B, Paraskevopoulou S, Weithoff G, Tiedemann R. (2022). Mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater monogonont rotifer Brachionus fernandoi and of two additional B. calyciflorus s.s. lineages from Germany and the USA (Rotifera, Brachionidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources, 14, 646-648.
De Cahsan B, Westbury MV, Paraskevopoulou S, Drews H, Ott M, Gollmann G, Tiedemann R (2021). Genomic consequences of human-mediated translocations in margin populations of an endangered amphibian. Evolutionary Applications, 14, 1623-1634.
Romero-Mujalli D, Rochow M, Kahl S, Paraskevopoulou S, Folkertsma R, Jeltsch F, Tiedemann R. (2021). Adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity in changing environments: implications for sexual species with different life history strategies. Ecology and Evolution, doi:0.22541/au.160985635.55255427/v1
Paraskevopoulou S, Dennis AB, Weithoff G, Tiedemann R (2020). Temperature-dependent life history and transcriptomic responses in heat-tolerant versus heat-sensitive Brachionus. Scientific Reports, 10: 13281.
Paraskevopoulou S, Dennis AB, Weithoff G, Hartmann S, Tiedemann R (2019). Within species expressed genetic variability and genes associated with sustained thermal stress in the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus sensu PLoS ONE, 14(9): e0223134.
Paraskevopoulou S., Tiedemann R. & Weithoff G (2018). Differential response to heat-stress among evolutionary lineages of an aquatic invertebrate species complex. Biology Letters, 14, 20180498.
Paraskevopoulou S., Monokrousos N, Kappas I & Abatzopoulos J. Th. (2014). Spatio-temporal variability of benthic macrofauna in a coastal lagoon assessed by ecological interaction networks. Community Ecology, 16, 10-22.
Magdalini Christodoulou, Sofia Paraskevopoulou, Evi Syranidou and Athnasios Koukouras (2013). The amphipod fauna of the Aegean Sea and comparison with those of the neighbouring areas. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 93, 1303–1327.
SUPERVISION
| 2019– 2024 | Sabrina Gattis (PhD, co-supervising, Tel Aviv University) |
| 2019– 2024 | Ofir Hirshberg (PhD, co-supervising, Tel Aviv University) |
| 2021– 2022 | Ida Rotter (MSc, co-supervising, Tel Aviv University) |
| 6 BSc students (Tel Aviv University, Lund University), 1 Erasmus +intern, Turkey (Lund University) | |
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Technical skills: DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, RFLPs, Sanger sequencing, NGS library preparation, NGS, Microscope & Stereoscope use, confocal microscopy, culture maintenance.
Computer skills:
Molecular biology: Mega, Geneious, DNAsp, MrBayes, BEAST, RXML, PopART
Genomics: Trinity, BLAST, Transdecoder, Trimmomatic, BLAST2GO, GATK, Linux terminal use
Statistics: Python, R, SPSS, Statistica, Microsoft Office
Field skills:
Zooplankton/Phytoplankton sampling, benthic invertebrate sampling, sediment sampling, drilling, electro-fishing
Participation in SEWRVE 2025 expedition with SVEA in the Swedish fjords of the West Swedish Coast.
OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS
| 2024, 2025 | Serving as a member in the SORTEE (Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) conference committee for organizing the yearly SORTEE virtual conference |
| 2025 | Serving as a member in the DEI committee of SORTEE (Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) |
| 2024 | Opponent for two MSc Thesis (Lund University) |
| 2023 | Organizing the Protistology Nordics conference (PIN), 2-3 May, Lund |
| 2023 | Organizing outreach activity for high school students “Life in a droplet” |
| 2020 | Developing a rotifer sample collection for the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| 2020 | Co-development of the PanModel33 (https://github.com/danielrm84/PanModel33) |
| Since 2018 | Peer-review experience for: Ecology and Evolution, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Limnology, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Insect Science, Scientific Data |