Experience in article writing about academic research and social issues
Expert introduction
Dimitrios Moris (Figure 1) is a research fellow from Ohio State University, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Dr. Dimitrios Moris was born in Amfissa (Greece) in 1985. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class, from School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece in 2010 and undergone his training in Surgery at Laikon General Hospital until 2015, when he was appointed at Lerner Research Institute, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic as a research fellow, focusing on liver transplant mechanisms (Mentor John J. Fung). He currently serves as Research Fellow at Ohio State University, Comprehensive Cancer Center focusing on HPB/Surgical Oncology (Mentor Timothy M. Pawlik).
As regards the scientific activity, he has published more than 180 articles in peer-reviewed journals and his total Impact Factor is over 480. Since 2016, he is an Affiliate Member of American College of Surgeons. Moreover, he serves as an ad hoc reviewer in numerous peer-review journals such as the Lancet, Surgery, Surgical Innovation, International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, British Medical Journal of Case Reports, American Journal of case reports, Saudi Medical Journal, World Journal of Gastroenterology and Case Reports in Surgery, Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int, Int J Surg and J Vis Exp.
The main areas of research include HPB oncology, liver regeneration, transplantation, liver tolerance, biomarkers, aortic disease, carotid disease, surgical education and public health.
Interview
ATM: You have contributed the article entitled “The role of reactive oxygen species in myocardial redox signaling and regulation” to ATM. Could you talk about the network connecting ROS to molecular pathways?
Dr. Moris: Thank you for this question. The ‘’dialogue’’ between ROS and molecular pathways is extensive and partially dependent on the system, condition and disease we analyze. As far as the myocardium is concerned, many mechanisms have been described. ROS are involved in cellular signaling pathways by mediating the activation of signaling molecules such as nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB) and activating protein-1 (AP-1), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) such as ERK1/2, JNKs and p38 MAPKs. Also, ROS per se have the ability to directly affect the molecular structure and function of important intracellular molecules such as influencing the integrity of genomic DNA, leading to crucial mutations, while also they could cause structural modifications to key proteins, leading to enzymatic malfunction or inactivation. Furthermore, ROS affect the intracellular lipids leading to lipid peroxidation, threatening the molecular stability of cellular membrane and cellular organelles.
ATM: You also mentioned in your article that “Heart failure and many of the conditions that lead to heart failure are associated with OS. This is considered to be significant in the pathophysiology of the condition, but clinical trials of antioxidant approaches to prevent cardiovascular mortality and morbidity have been unsuccessful.” What’s the reason for this?
Dr. Moris: Thank you so much for your comment. You are right. There is a significant body of literature with contradictory results on the role of antioxidants in cardiovascular diseases. The main reason for these equivocal results is the disease complexity. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases is still somewhat uncharted. More specifically, the cellular redox balance is regulated by multiple complex mechanisms. Better understanding of these mechanisms can lead to better designing of studies focusing on developing new antioxidants aiming at specific cellular targets.
ATM: You have co-authored more than 20 articles in 2018. Would you like to share with us your recent research, e.g., scope, purpose?
Dr. Moris: Of course. I am currently focusing on the new directions on the field of Transplantation and its osmosis with Surgical Oncology. The era of ‘’Transplant Oncology’’ has begun and seems to be really interesting.
ATM: You have written a few articles to discuss the relation between financial crisis and surgery, and the relation between music and surgery. Could you please tell us your source of inspiration in these studies?
Dr. Moris: Thank you for asking that. My main inspiration was my country, Greece. The financial crisis that Greece is currently facing has affected all aspects of daily life including Academia and healthcare services. As far as the “Music and Surgery’’ project, it was a concept I would like to analyze since I am both a Surgeon and Guitarist.
ATM: Do you foresee any broader social implications or impact for your research?
Dr. Moris: Thank you for your question. My priority is to participate into research projects that are sound scientifically. The impact of research cannot be always predicted, but the idea is to feel personally satisfied with the quality of each research project. And I leave it up to the scientific community and the readers to define the impact of my research.
Acknowledgements
None.
Footnote
Conflicts of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
(Science Editor: Elva S. Zheng, ATM, editor@atmjournal.org)
