Dr Kourmpeti is a recently appointed Lecturer at the School of Water, Energy and Environment with an interest on cereal grain development and quality. She holds a degree in Agriculture from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and she has worked as an agronomist in the private and public sector before pursuing a career in research and education. During her PhD at the University of Nottingham and Rothamsted Research she got extensive experience on the development of tissue culture and plant genetic manipulation techniques, while as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leicester she has developed a wide a range of molecular biology and bioinformatics skills working on fruit and grain development and evolution. 

Dr Kourmpetli's research area is focused on grain development and the genetic control of grain quality traits in cereal crops. She is particularly interested in investigating the genetic regulatory networks that link fundamental developmental biology with metabolic processes in the grain, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the complex mechanisms that control grain quality and identify targets for potential crop improvement.