He graduated from the Agricultural University of Athens in January 1988. He completed his postgraduate studies at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom during the period 1990-1991, where he obtained a Master of Science degree in Postharvest Technology. In 2002, he was awarded a doctoral degree in Food Microbiology from the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Agricultural University of Athens. He worked at the National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF), initially at the Directorate of International Relations, Documentation and Informatics (1994-1998) and then at the Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products as research staff (1998-2007). In April 2007, he joined the Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Department of Food Science and Technology as a Lecturer. His research interests focus on (a) the implementation of rapid and non-invasive instrumental techniques (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, multispectral imaging, electronic nose) in food quality assessment during storage under different temperature regimes and packaging conditions in tandem with multivariate data analysis and machine learning techniques, (b) the use of mathematical models to quantify the effect of intrinsic (pH, a_w, redox potential, etc.) and extrinsic (temperature, modified atmospheres, etc.) factors on the behavior (growth, survival, death) of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms on food ecosystems, (c) the study of the population dynamics and microbial ecology of microorganisms implicated in the fermentation of plant-derived food products with main emphasis on table olive processing. Special focus is given on the isolation, characterization and use of selected microorganisms with probiotic potential as starter cultures in the fermentation process, and (d) the study of the ecophysiology of fungi on food ecosystems with main focus on mycotoxigenic fungi, especially black Aspergilli (Aspergillus section Nigri) in wine and vine products. He has been involved in 33 research projects funded by the EU, national authorities and the private sector. In the period 2002-2020, he has published 129 original research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals of the SCI with over 4200 citations (h­-index = 37) according to the Scopus database and 16 book chapters after invitation. He is co-inventor of the “Probiotic Olives” patent and he has been distinguished twice with his team in the national competition ECOTRPHELIA in the years 2012 and 2015 with the products “Probiotic green olives” (2^nd place) and “DIOS Valanoi” (award for best product presentation). He is member of the editorial board of Food Microbiology and Journal of Food Protection.

Representative scientific publications

1. Spyrelli, E., Nychas, G.-J.E., Panagou, E.Z. (2022) Assessment of chicken marinated souvlaki microbial spoilage and quality though spectroscopic and biomimetic sensors and data fusion. Microorganisms, 10, 2251.­
2. Bonatsou, S., Panagou, E.Z. (2022) Fermentation of cv. Kalamata natural black olives with potential multifunctional yeast starters. Foods, 11, 3106.
3. Govari, M., Tryfinopoulou, P., Panagou, E.Z., Nychas, G.-J.E. (2022) Application of Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, multispectral imaging (MSI) and electronic nose (E-nose) for the rapid evaluation of the microbiological quality of gilthead sea bream fillets. Foods 11, 2356.
4. Tsakanikas, P., Karnavas, P., Panagou, E.Z., Nychas, G.-J.E. (2020) A machine learning workflow for raw food spectroscopic classification in a future industry. Scientific Reports 10, 11212.
5. Manthou, E., Lago, S.L., Darges, E., Lianou, A., Tsakanikas, P., Panagou, E.Z., Anastasiadi, M., Mohareb, F., Nychas, G.-J.E. (2020) Application of spectroscopic and multispectral imaging technologies on the assessment of ready-to-eat pineapple quality: A performance evaluation study of machine learning models generated from two commercial data analytics tools. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 175, 105529.
6. Papadopoulou, O.S., Iliopoulos, V., Mallouchos, A., Panagou, E.Z., Chorianopoulos, N., Tassou, C.C., Nychas, G.-J.E. (2020) Spoilage potential of Pseudomonas (P. fragi, P. putida) and LAB (Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus sakei) strains and their volatilome profile during storage of sterile pork meat using GC/MS and data analytics. Foods 9, 633.
7. Kazou, M., Tzamourani, A., Panagou, E.Z., Tsakalidou, E. (2020) Unraveling the microbiota of natural black cv. Kalamata fermented olives through 16S and ITS metataxonomic analysis. Microorganisms 8, 672.
8. Spyrelli, E.D., Doulgeraki, A.I., Argyri, A.A., Tassou, C.C., Panagou, E.Z., Nychas, G.-J.E. (2020) Implementation of multispectral imaging (MSI) for microbiological quality assessment of poultry products. Microorganisms 8, 552.
9. Christofi, S., Malliaris, D., Katsaros, G., Panagou, E.Z., Kallithraka, S. (2020) Limit SO₂ content of wines by applying High Hydrostatic Pressure. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 62, 102342.
10. Lytou, A.E., Renieri, C.T., Doulgeraki, A., Nychas, G.-J.E., Panagou, E.Z. (2020) Assessment of the microbiological quality and safety of marinated chicken products from Greek retail outlets. International Journal of Food Microbiology 320, 108506.