Dr Photini Mylona is Research Director at the Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization - ELGO-DIMITRA. She earned her degree in Biology, specializing in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece, before pursuing doctoral studies at North Carolina State University (USA), where her research focused on the genetic engineering of nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. She was awarded scholarships from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) in recognition of her academic excellence, including a scholarship for achieving the second-highest national entrance ranking in Biology and continued merit-based support throughout her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the USA. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Genetics at North Carolina State University, she specialized in maize genetics and the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to abiotic stress before returning to Greece through a competitive national repatriation programme of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI).

She has participated as principal investigator or partner in numerous national and international research projects. Her research interests focus on plant molecular biology, plant physiology and genomics, plant genetic resources, plant-microorganism interactions, and the application of modern genomic and multi-omics approaches to crop improvement. She is an active member of scientific societies and European COST Actions, represents Greece in the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR), serves as Editorial Board Member of BMC Plant Biology, Review Editor for Frontiers in Plant Science, and Guest Editor of Special Issues in international scientific journals. She also serves as a reviewer for international scientific journals and as an evaluator of national and international research programmes. In addition, she co-teaches postgraduate courses at the School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, has coordinated international conferences and scientific workshops, has delivered invited lectures at national and international scientific meetings, and is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

• Conservation, characterization and utilization of plant genetic resources using molecular and genomic technologies.
• Molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses.
• Gene regulation, metabolic networks and functional genomics in plants.
• Plant-rhizosphere microbiome interactions and their role in crop adaptation, productivity and resilience.
• Application of genomic and multi-omics approaches for the utilization of plant genetic resources and crop genetic improvement.

Topole M, Marinko J, Podpečan V, Mylona P, Debeljak M. (2025). Barriers and prospects for soil biodiversity research in the Balkans. Applied Soil Ecology; 206,105804, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105804

Gleridou A, Giannopoulos G, Polidoros AN, Mylona PV. Lentil Landrace Seed Origin and Genotype Affects Rhizosphere Microbiome. Agronomy. 2023; 13(12):2910. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122910

Pegiou S, Raptis P, Zafeiriou I, Polidoros AN, Mylona PV. (2023). Genetic diversity and structure of Capparis spinosa L. natural populations using morphological and molecular markers. Journal Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 34, 100487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2023.100487

Zafeiriou I., Ntoanidou S., Baira E., Kasiotis K., Barmpouni T., Machera K., Mylona P.V. (2022). Ingenious characterization and assessment of lentil germplasm collection to aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum stress unveils distinct responses. Frontiers Plant Science, 13, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1011026

Sakellariou M, Psiloglou BE, Giannakopoulos C, Mylona PV. Integration of Abandoned Lands in Sustainable Agriculture: The Case of Terraced Landscape Re-Cultivation in Mediterranean Island Conditions. Land. 2021; 10(5):457. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10050457

Zafeiriou I, Polidoros AN, Baira E, Kasiotis KM, Machera K, Mylona PV. Mediterranean White Lupin Landraces as a Valuable Genetic Reserve for Breeding. Plants. 2021; 10(11):2403. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112403