Haralabia Boleti (Greece)
| Hi, my name is Haralabia. I started my career as a chemist but the chemistry of life and biology won me. I am now pursuing a career as a researcher in biomedical research at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Greece. |  |
I have studied and worked in four countries, three European (Greece, Germany and France) and one North American (Canada). I have degrees in Chemistry (BSc, University of Athens), Biochemistry (MSc, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) and Cell Biology (PhD, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany). I did my post-doctoral training at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, and I finally returned to my home country seven years ago.
During my studies and work in Canada, Germany and France, I was not only exposed to three different cultures but as well to three different educational and work systems and to three different languages. This was an extremely enriching experience. Great fun but at times very difficult. I learned to adapt to new environments and work systems and to accept differences of people from other cultures. I thus became a citizen of the world and realised how international the conscience of a scientist becomes. I did however decide to grow my roots and establish my career in my home country because nowhere else did I find the same fragrance of the spring orange blossom!!!
For the last ten years I have studied how pathogens (microbes that cause disease) interact with their hosts. For those of you who don't know it, a host organism for a pathogen is the organism susceptible to the attack of this pathogen and within which the pathogen survives and multiplies. This often leads to serious diseases being called infectious diseases. In my studies, I have worked with bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites, always asking the questions how they enter their host cells, how they escape the host's defense mechanisms, and how they manage to highjack and use important physiological mechanisms of their host cells for their survival and multiplication. This is a very important field of biomedical research because it helps scientists understand how infectious diseases are caused and gives them the information and the tools to develop new drugs and vaccines against the pathogens.
In my research, I use molecular biology and biochemical techniques to manipulate DNA and proteins and cell biology techniques to culture cells and study changes in their morphology and physiology when I infect them with microbes. I also use modern microscopes to observe cells, live or preserved after treatment with certain chemicals. These cells are stained with bright dyes of different colours. I am fascinated by the beauty that I discover in the interior of the cells while exploring the secrets of the microcosm.
My institute (Hellenic Pasteur Institute) specialises in biomedical research, primarily in infectious diseases and public health. About 80 scientists and 60 administration employees work in this institute. Our research team consists of eight people, researchers, technicians, and graduate students. In it, I lead an independent research project and supervise graduate students in their work.
In my free time, I sing and dance. These are two of my favourite hobbies. I love Latin American and Cuban dances, I take lessons and go dancing as often as possible with a group of friends. As for singing, I adore folk songs from all cultures; for the time being I sing Greek songs with a small choir in the museum of folk art instruments in Athens. Going to the movies and to classical music concerts are two other loves of mine, and I indulge in them as often as possible even after a long day of work in the laboratory. On long weekends or during holidays, I drive to the Greek mountains for hiking with friends.
As hard as the life of a researcher might be at times, I have never regretted the path I took because I find nothing more fascinating than exploring the secrets and the beauty of life!