Venetia (Vanna) Zachariou, PhD
Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics

PhD, Medical College of Georgia
BSc, University of Patras

Pronouns: she/her/hers



Venetia Zachariou, PhD studies signal transduction and epigenetic mechanisms of neurological disorders and their treatment using genetic mouse models, genomic assays and brain biochemistry. Her projects have investigated transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of chronic pain with emphasis on the identification and validation of novel treatments for the management of peripheral neuropathy and other chronic pain conditions. Another line of research in her laboratory investigates the role of G protein signal transduction complexes in drug addiction, opioid analgesia and physical dependence. By understanding intracellular adaptations to peripheral nerve injury and/or prolonged opioid exposure she aims to develop novel therapeutics for chronic pain conditions and pain/addiction comorbidities. Her team has identified several intracellular pathways that control the perception and the maintenance of chronic pain states. They also have developed novel interventions in epigenetic pathways that allow transitioning to non-opioid analgesics while preventing the development of physical dependence.

Dr. Zachariou received her BSc in pharmacy from the University of Patras, Greece, and her PhD in pharmacology from the Medical College of Georgia, USA. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychiatry at Yale University and a junior faculty position at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, she established her laboratory at the University of Crete School of Medicine. In 2012, she joined the departments of neuroscience and pharmacological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York as an associate professor (with tenure since 2016), and as full professor (since 2018).

Dr. Zachariou is a member of the editorial boards of Biological Psychiatry, Science Signaling, Neurobiology of Pain, British Journal of Pharmacology and Molecular Pharmacology. She is a Fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and Chair of the ASPET Neuropharmacology Division.

Chair
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics


Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Serafini RA, Farzinpour Z, Patel V, Kelley AM, Estill M, Pryce KD, Sakloth F, Teague CD, Torres-Berrio A, Nestler EJ, Shen L, Akbarian S, Karkhanis AN, Blitzer RD, Zachariou V. Nucleus accumbens myocyte enhancer factor 2C mediates the maintenance of peripheral nerve injury-induced physiological and behavioral maladaptations. Pain. 2024 Jul 09.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38985454
     
  2. Serafini RA, Ramakrishnan A, Shen L, Zachariou V. Desipramine induces anti-inflammatory dorsal root ganglion transcriptional signatures in the murine spared nerve injury model. Neurobiol Pain. 2024; 15:100153.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38549875; PMCID: PMC10973649; DOI: 10.1016/j.ynpai.2024.100153;
     
  3. Mitsi V, Ruiz A, Polizu C, Farzinpour Z, Ramakrishnan A, Serafini RA, Parise EM, Floodstrand M, Sial OK, Gaspari S, Tang CY, Nestler EJ, Schmidt EF, Shen L, Zachariou V. RGS4 Actions in Mouse Prefrontal Cortex Modulate Behavioral and Transcriptomic Responses to Chronic Stress and Ketamine. Mol Pharmacol. 2024 Mar 14; 105(4):272-285.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38351270; PMCID: PMC10949159; DOI: 10.1124/molpharm.123.000753;
     
  4. Avila-Zozaya M, Zachariou V. Genetic mouse models in opioid research: current status and future directions. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2024 May; 131(5):491-494. PMID: 38436758
     
  5. Blaze J, Browne CJ, Futamura R, Javidfar B, Zachariou V, Nestler EJ, Akbarian S. tRNA epitranscriptomic alterations associated with opioid-induced reward-seeking and long-term opioid withdrawal in male mice. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Jul; 49(8):1276-1284. PMID: 38332016; PMCID: PMC11224224; DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01813-6;
     
  6. Lai A, Iliff D, Zaheer K, Gansau J, Laudier DM, Zachariou V, Iatridis JC. Annulus Fibrosus Injury Induces Acute Neuroinflammation and Chronic Glial Response in Dorsal Root Ganglion and Spinal Cord-An In Vivo Rat Discogenic Pain Model. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Feb 01; 25(3). PMID: 38339040; PMCID: PMC10855200; DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031762;
     
  7. Pryce KD, Serafini RA, Ramakrishnan A, Nicolais A, Giosan IM, Polizu C, Torres-Berrío A, Vuppala S, Kronman H, Ruiz A, Gaspari S, Peña CJ, Sakloth F, Mitsi V, van Duzer J, Mazitschek R, Jarpe M, Shen L, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V. Author Correction: Oxycodone withdrawal induces HDAC1/HDAC2-dependent transcriptional maladaptations in the reward pathway in a mouse model of peripheral nerve injury. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Feb; 27(2):384.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38253639
     
  8. Serafini RA, Zachariou V. The Dorsal Raphe as a Regulator of Emotion and Reward: Beyond Pain. Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Dec 01; 94(11):834-835.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37914503
     
  9. Serafini RA, Estill M, Pekarskaya EA, Sakloth F, Shen L, Javitch JA, Zachariou V. Tianeptine promotes lasting antiallodynic effects in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2023 Oct; 48(11):1680-1689.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37474762; PMCID: PMC10517169; DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01645-w;
     
  10. Serafini RA, Frere JJ, tenOever B, Zachariou V. SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus Induce Longitudinal Transcriptomic Changes in Hamster Spinal Cord Tissue. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2024 Mar 01; 49(5):364-367.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37389976; PMCID: PMC10753030; DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000004765;
     
Showing 10 of 92 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 92 publications over 28 distinct years, with a maximum of 7 publications in 2011 and 2024

YearPublications
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20204
20211
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20247
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Boston MA 02118
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