Dr Laura Panagi is a Post-doctoral Researcher at the Department of Nursing, Cyprus University of Technology. Laura holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Cyprus, an MSc in Stress Management and Health Promotion from the University of Athens, and a PhD in Behavioral Science and Health from University College London. After her PhD, Laura worked at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, for three years as a Post-Doctoral Researcher.

Laura is interested on the behavioral and physiological mechanisms linking physical and mental health. Her PhD, which was funded by the A. G. Leventis Foundation and the Cyprus State Scholarship, aimed to understand the role of individual factors in type 2 diabetes risk and progression, and the physiological, particularly inflammatory, mechanisms involved. As a Post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge, Laura used large, population-based studies to understand the mental health of children and young people with long-term physical health conditions. The overarching aim of her research is to encourage the implementation of targeted preventive and management public health interventions. Laura’s research has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at national and international conferences.

At the Co-OPERATOR project, Laura’s role is to identify existing evidence and tools on the investigation of barriers and communication around COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and best practices implemented in participating countries. Additionally, she leads the survey tools’ development and validation tasks as well as data collection and analyses. She also coordinates the Publication Committe, aiming to consult the consortium on scientific publications, and she is a member of the Ethics Committee. 

Laura is working on the co-OPERATOR project as researcher and task leader.