Faculty

Dr. Katerina Kourentzi
Research Associate Professor
Office Location S185A, Engineering Building 1
Phone 832-842-6301
Fax 713-743-4323
Email edkourentzi [at] uh.edu
Education
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston (2002)
Diploma Chemical Engineering, National Technical University, Athens, Greece (1996)
Courses
Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics II_CHEE 3333 (Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2009)
Engineering Computing_ CHEE 1331 (Spring 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016)
Research Interests
Development of novel diagnostic technologies (esp. lateral-flow tests) for the early detection of disease.
Awards & Honors
2007: Roche Younger Investigator Award, Affinity 2007 Conference, International Society for Molecular Recognition
2000: Student Research Poster Award, Sigma Xi, University of Houston Chapter
1999: Hellenic Professional Society of Texas Scholarship for Excellence in Academic Achievement
Professional Activities
2011 - Present: Editorial Board, PLOS ONE
1999 - Present: Member, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE)
1998 - Present: Member, American Chemical Society (ACS); Division of Biochemical Technology Peterson Award committee co-chair (2003-2005)
Selected Publications
- Chavan D, Chen H, Crum M, Vu B, Safari M, Smith M , Vekilov P, Conrad JC, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Neutral DNA-avidin nanoparticles as ultrasensitive reporters in immuno-PCR. Analyst, 145(14):4942-4949, 2020
- Danthanarayana AN, Finley E, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Brgoch J, A multicolor multiplex lateral flow assay for high-sensitivity analyte detection using persistent luminescent nanophosphors. Analytical Methods, 12, 272-280, 2020
- Kourentzi K, Crum M, Patil U, Prebisch A, Chavan D, Vu B, Zeng Z, Litvinov D, Zu Y, Willson RC, Recombinant expression, characterization, and quantification in human cancer cell lines of the Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma-characteristic NPM-ALK fusion protein. Scientific Reports, 10(1): 5078, 2020
- Goux HJ, Raja B, Kourentzi K, Trabuco JRC, Vu BV, Paterson AS, Kirkpatrick A, Townsend B, Lee M, Truong VTT, Pedroza C, Willson RC, Evaluation of a nanophosphor lateral-flow assay for self-testing for herpes simplex virus type 2 seropositivity. PLoS One, 14(12): e0225365, 2019
- Khodadadi M, Chang L, Trabuco JRC, Vu BV, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Litvinov D, PCB-Based Magnetometer as a Platform for Quantification of Lateral-Flow Assays. Sensors (Basel). 19(24) pii: E5433, 2019
- Chen H, Crum M, Chavan D, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Nanoparticle-Based Proximity Ligation Assay for Ultrasensitive, Quantitative Detection of Protein Biomarkers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 10(38): 31845-31849, 2018
- Goux HJ, Chavan D, Crum M, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Akkermansia muciniphila as a Model Case for the Development of an Improved Quantitative RPA Microbiome Assay. Frontiers in Cellular & Infection Microbiology, 8: 237, 2018
- Goux HJ, Raja B, Kourentzi K, Trabuco JRC, Vu BV, Paterson AS, Kirkpatrick A, Townsend B, Lee M, Truong VTT, Pedroza C, Willson RC, Nanoparticle-Based Proximity Ligation Assay for Ultrasensitive, Quantitative Detection of Protein Biomarkers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 10(38): 31845-31849, 2018
- Jacinto MJ, Trabuco JRC, Vu BV, Garvey G, Khodadady M, Azevedo AM, Aires-Barros MR, Chang L, Kourentzi K, Litvinov D, Willson RC, Enhancement of lateral flow assay performance by electromagnetic relocation of reporter particles. PLOS One, 13:e0186782, 2018
- Kim J, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Conrad JC, Increasing Binding Efficiency via Reporter Shape and Flux in a Viral Nanoparticle Lateral-Flow Assay. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 9: 6878-84, 2017
- Kisley L, Patil U, Dhamane S, Kourentzi K, Tauzin LJ, Willson RC, Landes CF, Competitive multicomponent anion exchange adsorption of proteins at the single molecule level. Analyst, 142 3127-3131, 2017
- Liang Y, Chang L, Qiu W, Kolhatkar AG, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Lee TR, Zu Y, Willson R, Litvinov D., Ultrasensitive Magnetic Nanoparticle Detector for Biosensor Applications. Sensors, 17, pii: E1296, 2017
- Qiu W, Chang L, Linag YC, Litvinoc J, Guo J, Chen YT, Vu B, Kourentzi K, Xu S, Lee RT, Zu Y, Willson RC, Litvinov D., Spin-Valve based magnetoresistive nanoparticle detector for applications in biosensing. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 265: 174-80, 2017
- Raja B, Goux HJ, Marapadaga A, Rajagopalan S, Kourentzi K, Willson RC., Development of a panel of recombinase polymerase amplification assays for detection of common bacterial urinary tract infection pathogens. J Appl Microbiol, 123: 544-555, 2017
- Chen H, Hagström AE, Kim J, Garvey G, Paterson A, Ruiz-Ruiz F, Raja B, Strych U, Rito-Palomares M, Kourentzi K, Conrad JC, Atmar RL, Willson RC, Flotation Immunoassay: Masking the Signal from Free Reporters in Sandwich Immunoassays. Scientific Reports, 6: 2497, 2016
- Kim J, Poling-Skutvik R, Trabuco JR, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Conrad JC, Orientational binding modes of reporters in a viral-nanoparticle lateral flow assay. Analyst, 142: 55-64, 2016
- Kisley L, Poongavanam MV, Kourentzi K, Willson RC, Landes CF, pH-dependence of single-protein adsorption and diffusion at a liquid chromatographic interface. J Sep Sci, 39: 682-8, 2016
- Kolhatkar AG, Jamison AC, Nekrashevich I, Kourentzi K, Litvinov D, Brazdeikis A, Willson RC, Lee RT, Enzymatic conversion of magnetic nanoparticles to a non-magnetic precipitate: a new approach to magnetic sensing. Analyst, 141: 5246-5251, 2016
- Poongavanam MV, Kisley L, Kourentzi K, Landes C, Willson RC, Ensemble and Single-Molecule Biophysical Characterization of D17.4 DNA Aptamer-IgE Interactions. Biochim Biophys Acta, 864: 154-64, 2016
- Raja B, Pascente C, Knoop J, Shakarisaz D, Sherlock T, Kemper S, Kourentzi K, Renzi R F, Hatch AV, Olano J, Peng BH, Ruchhoeft P, Willson RC, An embedded microretroreflector-based microfluidic immunoassay platform. Lab on a chip, 6: 1625-35, 2016
- Xie M, Wang S, Singh A, Cooksey TJ, Marquez MD, Bhattarai A, Kourentzi K, Robertson ML, Fluorophore exchange kinetics in block copolymer micelles with varying solvent-fluorophore and solvent-polymer interactions. Soft Matter, 12: 6196-205, 2016
- Adhikari M, Strych U, Kim J, Goux H, Dhamane S, Poongavanam MV, Hagstrom AEV, Kourentzi K, Conrad JC, and RC Willson, Aptamer-phage reporters for ultrasensitive lateral flow assays. Anal Chem. 87(23): 11660–11665, 2015
- Hagström AE, Garvey G, Paterson AS, Dhamane S, Adhikari M, Estes MK, Strych U, Kourentzi K, Atmar RL, Willson RC, Sensitive detection of norovirus using phage nanoparticle reporters in lateral-flow assay. PLoS One. 10(5): e0126571, 2015
- Kolhatkar AG, Dannongoda C, Kourentzi K, Jamison AC, Nekrashevich I, Kar A, Cacao E, Strych U, Rusakova I, Martirosyan KS, Litvinov D, Lee TR, Willson RC, Enzymatic synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles. Int J Mol Sci, 16:7535-50, 2015
- Dhamane, S, F Ruiz-Ruiz, WH Chen, K Kourentzi, J Benavides, M Rito-Palomares, and RC Willson, Spermine Sepharose as a clustered-charge anion exchange adsorbent. Journal of Chromatography A, 1324: p. 135-140, 2014
- Garvey G, Shakarisaz D, Ruiz-Ruiz F, Hagström AE, Raja B, Pascente C, Kar A, Kourentzi K, Rito-Palomares M, Ruchhoeft P, Willson RC., Microretroreflector-sedimentation immunoassays for pathogen detection. Anal Chem, 86: 9029-35, 2014
- Kisley, L, JX Chen, AP Mansur, B Shuang, K Kourentzi, MV Poongavanam, WH Chen, S Dhamane, RC Willson, and CF Landes, Unified superresolution experiments and stochastic theory provide mechanistic insight into protein ion-exchange adsorptive separations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(6): p. 2075-2080, 2014
- Kisley, L, JX Chen, AP Mansur, S Dominguez-Medina, E Kulla, MK Kang, B Shuang, K Kourentzi, MV Poongavanam, S Dhamane, RC Willson, and CF Landes, High ionic strength narrows the population of sites participating in protein ion-exchange adsorption: A single-molecule study. Journal of Chromatography A, 1343: p. 135-142, 2014
- Kourentzi, K and RC Willson, Nanobiotechnology for Medical Diagnostics. Revista Mexicana De Ingenieria Quimica, 13(1): p. 9-18, 2014
- Litvinov, J, AE Hagstrom, Y Lopez, M Adhikari, K Kourentzi, U Strych, FA Monzon, W Foster, PT Cagle, and RC Willson, Ultrasensitive immuno-detection using viral nanoparticles with modular assembly using genetically-directed biotinylation. Biotechnol Lett, 36(9): p. 1863-8, 2014
- Paterson AS, Raja B, Garvey G, Kolhatkar A, Hagstrom AE, Kourentzi K, Lee TR, Willson RC, Persistent Luminescence Strontium Aluminate Nanoparticles as Reporters in Lateral Flow Assays. Anal Chem. p.9481-9499, 2014
- Wang, YA, A Kar, A Paterson, K Kourentzi, H Le, P Ruchhoeft, R Willson, and JM Bao, Transmissive Nanohole Arrays for Massively-Parallel Optical Biosensing. Acs Photonics, 1(3): p. 241-245, 2014
- Adhikari, M, S Dhamane, AEV Hagstrom, G Garvey, WH Chen, K Kourentzi, U Strych, and RC Willson, Functionalized viral nanoparticles as ultrasensitive reporters in lateral-flow assays. Analyst, 138(19): p. 5584-5587, 2013
- Cacao, E, T Sherlock, A Nasrullah, S Kemper, J Knoop, K Kourentzi, P Ruchhoeft, GE Stein, RL Atmar, and RC Willson, Helium beam shadowing for high spatial resolution patterning of antibodies on microstructured diagnostic surfaces. Biointerphases, 8, 2013
- Cacao, EE, A Nasrullah, T Sherlock, S Kemper, K Kourentzi, P Ruchhoeft, GE Stein, and RC Willson, High-Resolution, High-Throughput, Positive-Tone Patterning of Poly(ethylene glycol) by Helium Beam Exposure through Stencil Masks. Plos One, 8(5), 2013
- Jaeger, IS, I Kretzschmar, J Korner, AA Weiser, CC Mahrenholz, A Potty, K Kourentzi, RC Willson, R Volkmer, and R Preissner, Mapping discontinuous protein-binding sites via structure-based peptide libraries: combining in silico and in vitro approaches. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 26(1): p. 23-31, 2013
- Kanakaraj, I, WH Chen, M Poongavanam, S Dhamane, LJ Stagg, JE Ladbury, K Kourentzi, U Strych, and RC Willson, Biophysical characterization of VEGF-aHt DNA aptamer interactions. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 57: p. 69-75, 2013
- Wang, S, T Sherlock, B Salazar, N Sudheendran, RK Manapuram, K Kourentzi, P Ruchhoeft, RC Willson, and KV Larin, Detection and Monitoring of Microparticles Under Skin by Optical Coherence Tomography as an Approach to Continuous Glucose Sensing Using Implanted Retroreflectors. Ieee Sensors Journal, 13(11): p. 4534-4541, 2013
- Daniels, CR, L Kisley, H Kim, WH Chen, MV Poongavanam, C Reznik, K Kourentzi, RC Willson, and CF Landes, Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy study of protein transport and dynamic interactions with clustered-charge peptide adsorbents. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 25(8): p. 435-442, 2012
- Chen, WH, JY Fu, K Kourentzi, and RC Willson, Nucleic acid affinity of clustered-charge anion exchange adsorbents: Effects of ionic strength and ligand density. Journal of Chromatography A, 1218(2): p. 258-262, 2011
- Daniels, CR, C Reznik, R Kilmer, MJ Felipe, MCR Tria, K Kourentzi, WH Chen, RC Advincula, RC Willson, and CF Landes, Permeability of anti-fouling PEGylated surfaces probed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Colloids and Surfaces B-Biointerfaces, 88(1): p. 31-38, 2011
- Potty, ASR, K Kourentzi, H Fang, P Schuck, and RC Willson, Biophysical characterization of DNA and RNA aptamer interactions with hen egg lysozyme. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 48(3): p. 392-397, 2011
- Sherlock, T, A Nasrullah, J Litvinov, E Cacao, J Knoop, S Kemper, K Kourentzi, A Kar, P Ruchhoeft, and R Willson, Suspended, micron-scale corner cube retroreflectors as ultra-bright optical labels. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, 29(6), 2011
- Ivers, SN, SA Baranov, T Sherlock, K Kourentzi, P Ruchhoeft, R Willson, and KV Larin, Depth-resolved imaging and detection of micro-retroreflectors within biological tissue using Optical Coherence Tomography. Biomedical Optics Express, 1(2): p. 367-377, 2010
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Mohan, S, K Kourentzi, KA Schick, C Uehara, CA Lipschultz, M Acchione, ME DeSantis, SJ Smith-Gill, and RC Willson, Association Energetics of Cross-Reactive and Specific Antibodies. Biochemistry, 48(6): p. 1390-1398, 2009
- Potty, ASR, K Kourentzi, H Fang, GW Jackson, X Zhang, GB Legge, and RC Willson, Biophysical Characterization of DNA Aptamer Interactions with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor. Biopolymers, 91(2): p. 145-156, 2009
- Zhang, X, ASR Potty, GW Jackson, V Stepanov, A Tang, Y Liu, K Kourentzi, U Strych, GE Fox, and RCW Willson, Engineered 5S Ribosomal RNAs Displaying Aptamers Recognizing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Malachite Green. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 22(2): p. 154-161, 2009
- Kourentzi, K, M Srinivasan, SJ Smith-Gill, and RC Willson, Conformational flexibility and kinetic complexity in antibody-antigen interaction. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 21(2): p. 114-121, 2008
- Peterson, KJ, JD Sadowsky, EA Scheef, S Pal, KD Kourentzi, RC Willson, EH Bresnick, N Sheibani, and SH Gellman, A fluorescence polarization assay for identifying ligands that bind to vascular endothelial growth factor. Analytical Biochemistry, 378(1): p. 8-14, 2008
- Taylor, JN, Q Darugar, K Kourentzi, RC Willson, and CF Landes, Dynamics of an anti-VEGF DNA aptamer: A single-molecule study. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 373(2): p. 213-218, 2008
- Larios-Sanz, M, KD Kourentzi, D Warmflash, J Jones, DL Pierson, RC Willson, and GE Fox, 16S rRNA beacons for bacterial monitoring during human space missions. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 78(4): p. A43-A47, 2007
- Kourentzi, KD, GE Fox, and RC Willson, Hybridization-responsive fluorescent DNA probes containing the adenine analog 2-aminopurine. Analytical Biochemistry, 322(1): p. 124-126, 2003
- Kourentzi, KD, GE Fox, and RC Willson, Microbial identification by immunohybridization assay of artificial RNA labels. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 49(3): p. 301-306, 2002
- Kourentzi, KD, GE Fox, and RC Willson, Microbial detection with low molecular weight RNA. Current Microbiology, 43(6): p. 444-447, 2001
- Hatzinikolaou, DG, E Kourentzi, H Stamatis, P Christakopoulos, FN Kolisis, D Kekos, and BJ Macris, A novel lipolytic activity of Rhodotorula glutinis cells: Production, partial characterization and application in the synthesis of esters. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 88(1): p. 53-56, 1999
- Christakopoulos, P, E Kourentzi, DG Hatzinikolaou, M Claeyssens, D Kekos, and BJ Macris, Enhancement of pH-stability of a low molecular mass endoglucanase from Fusarium oxysporum by protein pegylation. Carbohydrate Research, 314(1-2): p. 95-99, 1998
- Macris, JB, E Kourentzi, and DG Hatzinikolaou, Studies on localization and regulation of lipase production by Aspergillus niger. Process Biochemistry, 31(8): p. 807-812, 1996