[1] She was inspired to pursue science in her undergraduate degree after her high school biology teacher assisted her in securing a summer internship in an Immunology lab.

[1] Her work explored the role of the cytokine TNFα in neuroinflammation under the mentorship of George Kollias and Lesley Probert within the Hellenic Pasteur Institute.

[5] To explore the biology of Tumor Necrosis Factor signalling and probe its role in promoting disease, Akassoglou expressed TNFα in a transmembrane form on various brain cells.

[7] After inducing expressing of TNF from glial cells, she found oligodendrocyte death and myelin degeneration in the central nervous system, similar to the pathology one would find in MS.[7] Akassoglou then found that by blocking the TNFα receptor, she was able to abrogate inflammation and cell death suggesting a major role for TNF signalling in MS type brain pathology.

[9] They further found that fibrin deposition also changes the extracellular matrix which inhibits Schwann Cell migration, further preventing re-myelination and leading to degeneration of peripheral nerves.

[2] Akassoglou is also a Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences and she now Directs the Gladstone Center for In Vivo Imaging Research.

[15] Again, they used two-photon imaging to track the progress of disease and directly observe the role fibrinogen plays in microglial activation, spine elimination, and subsequent cognitive decline.

[17] They generated a monoclonal antibody, 5B8, that binds to fibrin and is able to inhibit CNS inflammation and oxidative stress without affecting blood clotting capabilities.

[17] Akassoglou then proceeded to push this monoclonal antibody into the biotechnology space so that it can be further tested and eventually used in clinical trials and then for treatment of various types of neurodegenerative and brain autoimmune disorders.