Vasileios (Basilis) Zikopoulos is an associate professor of neuroanatomy at the Department of Health Sciences, Boston University (BU) and the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, BU School of Medicine. He received his B.S. (1996) and M.S. (1998) in biology and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology (2004) from the University of Crete, Greece, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Boston University. He joined the research faculty at Boston University in 2008, the tenure-track faculty in 2015 and received tenure in 2021. He is the director of the Ph.D. Program in Human Physiology at Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences and a member of the Programs for Neuroscience and the Center for Systems Neuroscience at BU.
Zikopoulos established the Human Systems Neuroscience Laboratory at BU and has been awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01), Autism Speaks and the Simons Foundation to lead major experimental and theoretical studies on brain network interactions and mental conditions. His research focuses on the study of the structural organization, molecular features and connections of brain circuits in humans and animal models and their disruption in disease.
Zikopoulos uses cutting-edge, high-resolution microscopy and imaging approaches complemented by advanced computational modeling to understand complex relationships between brain structure and function. The overarching aim is to identify fundamental mechanisms underlying the development of neuropathology in attention, mood and anxiety disorders, including autism, depression and schizophrenia. His work has led to the discovery of novel brain pathways, circuit interactions and neuropathological mechanisms and is published in original research articles that are widely cited and featured in the fields of neuroanatomy, systems neuroscience and neuropathology.
Zikopoulos is also a dedicated teacher and mentor of undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty across health and life science disciplines.
