Elsa Pilarinou is the Director of the Florida Division of the Walker Cancer Research Institute. She is responsible for the founding and development of the WCRI Natural Products, Cell Biology, and Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry Laboratories and the initiation of the many collaboratory efforts of the Florida Division with outside State and Government agencies. She received her Degree in Biochemistry from the University of London U.K. She has been the director of the WCRI Florida Division for fourteen years. Previously she was with the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London, a world-renowned hospital specializing in liver and bone marrow transplantation. At Metrogen in Athens, Greece, Elsa Pilarinou conducted research in Chemical Pathology.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Managing the Laboratory towards the development of a natural product sourced pharmaceuticals for the cure of the cancer diseases. This entails the responsibility of coordinating the activities of the numerous scientists at this laboratory and developing specific research programs.

The emphasis of the Florida lab is to research and investigate native plants of Florida and the Southeastern United States to evaluate those which exhibit potential as sources of cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

Among her many duties is to serve as a biochemist representative with a Florida intergovernmental and academic consortium to explore the need and feasibility of cultivating and harvesting native Florida plants Identified to have potential anticancer properties for biomedical research and also to serve as supervisor to senior Biology and Chemistry students interning with the Florida Laboratory.

In the scientific and local community Ms. Pilarinou has worked on projects and maintained contacts which will have a significant effect on common health practices.
 

University and Biotechnological Contacts. Ms Pilarinou is associated with botanical scientists at Florida State University and agricultural and pharmaceutical scientists at Florida A&M University. She is also a member of a consortium of biotechnological companies which seek to derive and develop natural chemicals for the enhancement of human life as well as to relieve human stress associated with maladies that are currently incurable by common health practices.

Federal Government representative. Ms Pilarinou served as the official US representative of the Department of Agriculture to the International Conference on Luffa Development held in Italy.
 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2. Badisa, R. B., Tzakou, O., Couladis, M., Pilarinou, E. (2004). Cytotoxic activities of salvia plants of Labiatae family. Pharmaceutical Biology, 42(8): 640-645.

3. Badisa, R. B., V. L. D. Badisa., D. W. Watson., E. Pilarinou and E. H. Walker (2004). Cytotoxic activities of Snow Lotus filtrates against human cancer cell lines and origin of active factors. Pharmaceutical Biology 42(2): 117-124.

4. Badisa, R. B., M. Couladis, V. Tsortanidou, S. K. Chaudhuri, Larry Walker, E. Pilarinou, A. Santos - Guerra and J. Francisco-Ortega (2004). Pharmacological activities of some Argyranthemum Species Growing in the Canary Islands. Phytotherapy Research 18: 763-767.

5. Badisa R. B., O. Tzakou.,  M. Couladis.,  E. Pilarinou (2003). Cytotoxic activities of some Greek Labiatae Herbs.. Phytotherapy Research 17: 472-476.6

6. M. Couladis, R.B. Badisa, P. Baziou, SK Chaudhuri, E. Pilarinou, E. Verykokidou and C. Harvala (2002). Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities Hypericum sp. on brine shrimps and human cancer cell lines. Phytotherapy Research 16: 719-722.

7. S. K. Chaudhuri, R. B. Badisa, E. Pilarinou and E. H. Walker (2002). Licamichauxii A and B acids- Two Ent-kaurene diterpenoids from Licania michauxii. Natural Product Letters 16(1): 39-45.

8. Badisa R. B., Chaudhuri, S. K., E. Pilarinou., N. J. Rutkoski., H. Hare., C. W. Levenson (2000). Licania michauxii Prance root extract induces hsp 70 mRNA and necrotic cell death in cultured hepatoma and colon carcinoma cell lines. Cancer Letters, 149(1-2): 61-68.

9. Liu, X. X., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L. (1999). Pondaplin: a novel cyclic prenylated phenylpropanoid from Annona Glabra, Tetrahedron Lett., 40: 399-402.

10. Liu, X. X., Alali, F. Q., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L. (1999). Two bioactive mono-tetrahydrofuran acetogenins, annoglacins A and B, from Annona Glabra, Phytochemistry, 50(5): 815-821.

11. Liu, X. X., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L. (2000). Two novel bioactive adjacent bis-THF acetogenins from the leaves of Annona Glabra, Nat. Prod. Lett., 14(4): 255-263.

12. Liu, X. X., Alali, F.Q., Hopp D. C., Rogers, L. L., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L. (1998). Glabracins A and B, two acetogenins from Annona glabra, Biorg. Med. Chem., 6(7): 959-965.

13. Liu, X. X., Alali, F.Q., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L (1998). Glacins A and B: Two novel bioactive mono-tetrahydrofuran acetogenins from Annona glabra, J. Nat. Prod. 61(5): 620-624.

14. Liu, X. X., Pilarinou, E., McLaughlin, J. L. (1999). Two Novel acetogenins, annoglaxin and 27-Hydroxyl bullatacin, from Annona glabra, J Nat. Prod. 62(6): 848-852.