Aglaia (Aigli) Vakrakou, M.D., Ph.D., is a neurologist and postdoctoral researcher at the First Department of Neurology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aiginiteio Hospital, where she conducts clinical and translational research in neuroimmunology, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune neurological diseases, and autoimmune encephalitis. Her work focuses on immune and myeloid cell biology, biomarkers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and the development of precision approaches for immune-mediated neurological disorders. Dr. Vakrakou has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including Brain, Frontiers in Immunology, Neuroradiology, and the Journal of Autoimmunity. She has received several competitive distinctions, including the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Research Fellowship and a Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) grant as Principal Investigator for the project MitoS: Modeling Monocyte-to-Microglial Transition to Unravel Multiple Sclerosis Subtype Heterogeneity.

As a 2026 Fulbright Visiting Scholar, she will be hosted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under the mentorship of Professor Noah Zaitlen. Her project, Cell-Free DNA and Methylation Signatures in Autoimmune Encephalitis and Neuroinflammatory Disorders, aims to develop novel liquid-biopsy biomarkers using cell-free DNA and methylation profiling to improve the diagnosis, monitoring, and biological characterization of immune-mediated neurological diseases.