Dr Orestis Katsamenis

Dr Katsamenis is a materials scientist (BSc, MSc) with a PhD in bioengineering and has >10 years of experience in biomedical imaging research. He currently holds a Senior Research Fellow post and works as beamline scientist at the μ-VIS X-ray Imaging Centre; the University’s dedicated centre for micro-computed tomography (μCT) leading the centre’s biomedical imaging projects.

Dr Katsamenis has a particular interest in μCT imaging for histology applications and has worked in this field since 2015 in close collaboration with colleagues from the Biomedical Imaging Unit. He is the centre’s lead for Biomedical Imaging and runs the X-ray Histology laboratory, which is located at the General Hospital Southampton (see how to get there). 

Career history

Dr Katsamenis obtained his BSc degree in Materials Science from the University of Patras, (Materials Science Department, University of Patras, Hellas) in 2007 focusing on the preparation and characterisation of calcium phosphate bone cements. Following this, he was awarded the University of Patras’ “Karatheodori Basic Research Program” scholarship to conduct his MSc, which was conducted in the same department. His MSc research project focused on the mechanical and physicochemical characterization of degenerated human menisci by means of mechanical testing, spectroscopy and imaging.

In October 2009 he moved to the UK and joined the Bioengineering Sciences research group at the University of Southampton where he completed his PhD. He obtained his PhD degree in 2012, studying the nano- and micro-mechanical behaviour, the structure, and the composition of cortical bone tissue. In 2012 he was awarded the EPSRC’s Doctoral Prize Award for a research project entitled "Osteopontin Adhesion Properties on Biomedical Relevant Surfaces - Towards Biomimetic Glues with Molecular Self-Healing Properties for Application in the Life Sciences".

Since August 2013 he works as beam scientist at the µ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre where he takes a leading role in the centre's collaborations with biologists and bioengineers.

In 2015 -2017 as part of a Wellcome Trust Pathfinder Award he developed novel μCT imaging protocols for lung-tissue biopsies using the world’s first μCT scanner for clinical histology (Nikon Med-X prototype), which was developed in the University of Southamtpon in collaboration with Nikon X-Tek Systems Ltd. In 2019 he started working on the second phase of development (2019-2022; £1.14M; WellcomeTrust), focusing on hardware optimisation and clinical integration of 3D X-ray Histology. In Jan. 2020 he commissioned the new custom-designed μCT scanner optimised for 3D X-ray Histology and he is coordinating the centre’s 3D X-ray Histology operations since.

Prizes

• Most outstanding JDDST research article in 2017 (2018)
• Best Lightning Talk Award (2018)