Dr Ourania Trohatou Dr. Trohatou has received her BSc in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Thessaly in 2007 and continued her studies as a post-graduate student of the Molecular Medicine MSc. Program (2008-2010, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), granted by honored Molecular Medicine scholarship for exceptional academic skills. Subsequently, Dr. Trohatou received a PhD scholarship which was provided from EU and General Secretariat and Technology funds (Program: Hrakleitos II, 2009-2013). Her PhD studies led to the identification and systematic characterization of a specific miRNA (miR21) in Mesenchymal Stem Cells derived from human amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs) and established that miR21 regulates the expression of pivotal AF-MSCs proteins such as Sox2 (Trohatou et al., Stem Cells Transl Med, 2014). Dr. Trohatou continued her research activities as a Research Associate at the Laboratory of Cell & Matrix Pathobiology (National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”). Her studies focused on the investigation of the protective role of active vitamin D3 and its receptor VDR in an animal model of Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) (Trohatou et al., JCMM, 2017). Her main research interests lie on the extrapolation of cell therapy approaches for the treatment and/or prevention of DN. In this respect Dr. Trohatou received in 2017 an Industrial Postdoc Research Fellowship by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in collaboration with Novo-Nordisk Hellas, in order to study the role of liraglutide in promoting glomerular podocyte and pancreatic β-cell survival in Diabetes mellitus.