George P. Chrousos is Professor and Chairman of the First Department of Pediatrics at the University of Athens School of Medicine, Greece, and former Chief of the Pediatric and Reproductive Endocrinology Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD. He also holds the UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care at the University of Athens and the John Kluge Distinguished Chair in Technology and Society at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

Prof. Chrousos is internationally recognized for his research on the glucocorticoid signaling system of the cell, on the diseases of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of stress. His work has opened new horizons in our understanding of a spectrum of human complex disorders, including depression, the eating disorders, the metabolic syndrome and the inflammatory autoimmune and allergic diseases.  His contributions span a range of medical disciplines, including Medicine, Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Psychiatry, Rheumatology, Allergy, Surgery, Oncology and Reproductive Medicine.

Dr. Chrousos has written over 650 original scientific papers and his work has been cited in more than 56,000 other scientific articles, an irrefutable testimony to the importance and influence of his research. He is one of the 250 most cited scientists internationally (ISI highly cited) included not only in the list of Clinical Medicine, but also in that of Biology and Biochemistry, and the highest cited clinical endocrinologist and pediatrician in the world. With an H index of 119, Dr. Chrousos is the top cited Greek Clinician and Clinical Researcher.

Dr. Chrousos has received numerous national and international awards and has given many lectures in the USA, Europe, Latin America and Japan. His awards include the 1987 Richard E. Weitzman Memorial Award, US Endocrine Society, the 1992   Superior Service Award, U.S. Public Health Service, the 1997 Clinical Investigator Award, US Endocrine Society, the 1997 Hans Selye Award, Hans Selye Foundation, Montreal, Canada, the 1999 Pharmacia-Upjohn International First Prize for Excellence in Published Clinical Research, US Endocrine Society, the 1999 Novera Herbert Spector Award, International Society for Neuroimmunomodulation, Lugano, Switzerland,  the 2000 Henning Andersen Prize, European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology,  Brussels, Belgium, the 2002 Sir Edward Sharpey-Schafer Medal, British Endocrine Societies, the 2004  Lifetime Achievement Award, International Society for Psycho-Neuro-Endocrinology, Glasgow, UK, the  2007 Henning Andersen Prize, European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology,  Helsinki, Finland, and the 2008 Geoffrey Harris Prize in Neuroendocrinology, European Society of Endocrinology, Berlin, Germany. Among others, he is a Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Liege, Liege, Belgium (2003), and the Universita Politechnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy (2006). Recently he was honored with the 2011 Aristeion Bodossaki Award, the highest distinction for accomplishment in the Sciences in Greece.

Dr Chrousos was inducted as a Master of both the American College of Endocrinology and the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London, UK. He currently is the past president of the European Society of Clinical Investigation. He is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Research, the Association of American Physicians, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington DC, USA, and the Academia Europaea, London, UK.

Prof. Chrousos run one of the best endocrine training programs in the world and fostered the careers of over 60 distinguished, award-winning, world-class physician-scientists. After a 25 year distinguished career in the Intramural Program of the NIH, where he made seminal original contributions and trained a generation of international leaders in Endocrinology, Dr. Chrousos returned to his country and has assumed leadership roles at the University of Athens and in Greek and European Medicine and Academia.

Dr. Efstratiadis is the Higgins Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Development at the Institute for Cancer Genetics of Columbia University, and a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens. He earned his M.D. degree (1966) and a Dr.Med.Sci. degree (1971) from the University of Athens. In 1976, he earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University. He was a Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows and then a faculty member in the Department of Biological Chemistry, Harvard Medical School. He received a career development award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (1980-83). He joined Columbia University as a Professor in 1982. He has directed the Columbia Human Genome Program that contributed to the Human Genome Initiative a complete, annotated physical map of human chromosome 13.

Dr. Efstratiadis is internationally recognized both for pioneering advance in recombinant DNA technology and for contributions to the understanding of the structure, evolution and expression of eukaryotic genes. Efstratiadis and his collaborators were the first to develop the technology of cDNA cloning, which allowed them to sequence and characterize for the first time the structure of a eukaryotic mRNA (encoding rabbit β-globin). This work established an approach essential for the identification and mapping of eukaryotic genes and for the capability to synthesize medically useful proteins in bacteria (Efstratiadis was a member of the team that constructed for the first time a bacterium synthesizing insulin). Since then, he has made contributions to the study of the genes encoding globin, insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). In addition to other work on molecular evolution, he discovered for the first time that functional genes can be generated by RNA retroposition. Also notable is the first in vivo description of lariat RNA splicing intermediates. Subsequently, gene targeting experiments in mice, allowed Efstratiadis and his colleagues to discover the first example of an endogenous gene (Igf2) that is subject to parental imprinting and to establish the IGF signaling system as the major determinant of growth during embryonic and postnatal development. More recently, his laboratory focused on mouse developmental genetics, with emphasis on the role of growth factors in normal development and malignancy, specifically mammary tumor progression, including research on the murine homologs of the breast cancer susceptibility genes Brca1 and Brca2, and the involvement of the Notch signaling pathway in breast tumorigenesis. Additional work on cancer biology includes the development of novel approaches for modeling cancer at anatomical sites of choice (?designer tumors?); preclinical studies to treat breast cancer in mice with drugs inhibiting IGF signaling (picropophyllin derivatives); studies on the involvement of stem cells in tumor initation; and development of mouse models of prostate and pancreatic cancer.

Source: Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens

Dr. Diamandis currently serves as Division Head of Clinical Biochemistry at Mount Sinai Hospital and Biochemist-in-Chief at the University Health Network and is Professor & Head, Clinical Biochemisty, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  His research activities evolve around discovery and validation of cancer biomarkers, proteomics, mass spectrometry and translational research.  Dr. Diamandis received his B.Sc. in Chemistry, Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry and M.D. from the University of Athens, Greece and a Diploma in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Toronto, Canada.  He is a Certified Clinical Chemist by the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. 

The research interests of Dr. Diamandis include: Kallikrein Biology and Pathophysiology, Proteomics, Tumor Markers, Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis and Metastatic Progression, Translational Research, Cancer Therapeutics, Male Infertility, Pathobiology and Biomarkers of Autoimmune Diseases and Neurodegeneration

Dr. Diamandis is a Member of 31 Journal Advisory Scientific and Editorial Boards. He has received numerous awards from both national and international organizations. These include: American Association for Clinical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements by a Young Investigator (1985); Annual Research Excellence Award of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (1995); Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Toronto (1997); Distinguished Scientist Award, Clinical Ligand Assay Society (CLAS) (1999); American Association for Clinical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry in a Selected Area of Research (1999); Van Slyke Award, the New York Metro Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (1999); Distinguished Scientist Award, National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) (2000); Miriam Reiner Award from the Capital Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (2001); Abbott Award from the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine (ISOBM) (2002); Annual Education Excellence Award of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (2003); Frey-Werle Commemorative Gold Medal from the Frey-Werle Foundation (2007); The Morton K. Schwartz Award for Significant Contributions in Cancer Research Diagnostics from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) (2007); Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Biochemistry Award from the Ontario Society of Clinical Chemists (OSCC) (2008); The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)/Abbott Award for Significant Contributions to Molecular Diagnostics (2009); Excellence in Biomedical Research Nemitsas Prize in Medical Sciences, Takis and Louki Nemitsas Foundation (2010); Dr. Diamandis is highlighted for his citation record in: The Provincial Government of Ontario document entitled “Ontario’s Innovation Agenda” (2010), [www.ontario.ca/innovation; page 11];.

Other major distinctions of Dr. Diamandis include his election as Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens, Greece (2005) and as Member of the Royal Society of Canada (2008).  He has published 95 review papers, 493 research papers and co-authored 4 books and 22 book chapters. He is the inventor of 28 issued and 21 pending patents and supervised 19 MSc. and 22 PhD. theses.

Dimitrios T Boumpas graduated with honours from the Medical school of the University of Ioannina in 1983. Following a fellowship in Molecular Immunology at National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD he trained in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University, Washington DC and in Rheumatology-Clinical immunology  at  ARB, NIAMS, NIH. Upon the completion of his training, he was appointed an Investigator at ARB, NIAMS, NIH and he served as Deputy and Acting Clinical Director at NIAMS, before he repatriated to the University of Crete to lead the Departments of Rheumatology, Clinical immunology and Allergy, and Internal Medicine. In Crete, Professor Boumpas has served as Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Studies and Directs the Graduate Program on the Molecular Basis of Human Diseases at the Medical School.  He is also a member of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH Greece and the Institute for Biomedical Research of the Academy of Athens. In 2009 was elected professor of Medicine at the Medical school, University of Athens.

His primary clinical and research interests are in the areas of human autoimmunity with emphasis on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inflammatory arthritis. His work on the treatment of lupus nephritis has shaped immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune rheumatic diseases internationally. Dr Boumpas work on the pathogenesis of SLE has elucidated the role of peripheral tolerance and innate immunity in the disease and the contribution of polymorphisms of genes associated with disease susceptibility through functional genetics and construction of gene networks for the disease by the use of high-throughput tecvhnoilogy and validation in animal models and humans with SLE. He has published over 240 peer-reviewed scientific papers and books chapters, and has edited a monograph on SLE. 

Dr Boumpas is the Chair of the Training and Education Committee for the European League against Rheumatism and Chair of European Task force on SLE that develops  guidelines for the management and coordinates  clinical trials and research on SLE. He is Associate Editor of Annals of Rheumatic Diseases and serves on the Editorial Board of Arthritis and Rheumatism, J Autoimmunity, Kidney International and Clinical Experimental Rheumatology .He is Chair of the  the European Research Council Panel for Advanced Grants on Diagnostics Tools, Therapies and Public Health and has served on the EU  ESRFI Committee for Translational Research Infrastructures.

Diomedes E. Logothetis received his undergraduate degree in Physics in 1980 and a Master’s degree in Psychology in 1981 from Northeastern University in Boston. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics in 1987 from Harvard University under the mentorship of David Clapham. After completing postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Drs. Bernardo Nadal-Ginard and Peter Hess at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Logothetis joined the faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City at 1993 and the VCU faculty in 2008.

His research focuses on elucidating intracellular as well as cell-to-cell signaling mechanisms. His laboratory aims to understand the function of signaling systems making use of the information depicted in the three-dimensional structure of the macromolecules involved (proteins and lipids) and their interrelationships. His group has focused on signaling mechanisms leading to the control of the activity of Ion Channel proteins. These transmembrane proteins underlie the proper rapid communication of our brain cells allowing processes such as thinking and memory to occur, the control of the rhythmic contraction of our hearts, the release of insulin from our pancreas, the proper transfer of solutes in our kidneys. When they malfunction they lead to devastating diseases, such as epilepsy, fatal cardiac arrhythmias, diabetes and hypertension. Understanding in molecular detail how their activity is regulated is essential if we aspire to develop therapeutic agents to control their function during disease.

Dr. Logothetis has always enjoyed teaching. At both of his previous two institutions, Harvard Medical School and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, he lectured on Membrane Excitability / Ion Channels and Cardiovascular Physiology and directed laboratory exercises in Medical Physiology. At Mount Sinai he directed the Medical Physiology course for two years and also a Core Cell Biology course for five years. In addition, he organized and directed a graduate level course on “Ion Channels” for over 10 years and a “Methods in Biomedical Sciences” course for two years. He also participated in several other courses in Neurobiology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Biophysics and Cell Biology.

Dr. Logothetis has received several awards including the following:

• 2008: The Outstanding Mentor Award, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

• 2005: Student Council Appreciation Award, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

• 2000, 2001, 2002: Excellence in Teaching Award, first year graduate students, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; 1992: Excellence in Teaching Award, first year medical students, Harvard Medical School

• 1986-1987: Albert J. Ryan Fellow, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School

• 1980: Avrom Aaron Leve Award, Outstanding Psychology Student, Northeastern University

Source: Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Kollias is a professor at University of Zurich in the Institute of Neuroradiology where he serves as the director of neuroMRI. He is well published and has funded research in functional MRI, DTI of brain and spinal cord, and cerebrovascular imaging using MRI. He is a frequently invited speaker to the ASNR, ESNR and other venues.

The NeuroMRI provides State of the art clinical diagnostic service for the neurologically diseased patient in a routine and in an emergency basis in the fields of neurosurgery, neurology, neuro-ophthalmology, ORL, maxillofacial surgery, and traumatology. The clinical research of Dr. Kolias focuses on the fields of diagnostic and interventional neuroimaging, while his basic research is in the fields of high resolution neuroimaging and functional brain mapping. Dr. Kolias also teaches neuroimaging and MR technology for Neuroradiology residents, medical students, and postdoctoral students from the neuroscience disciplines

Dr. Kolias conducts research in the following fields: i) Structural imaging of neural tissue and neurovascular anatomy: a) high-resolution imaging of the white matter using DTI for the investigation of brain and spinal myeloarchitecture with clinical applications in neuro-oncology, vascular disease, trauma, and MS, b) clinical applications of advanced imaging techniques including MRS, DTI, Perfusion MRI, for increasing the specificity of MR technology in brain tumors, vascular disease and neurodegeneration, c) high-resolution vascular imaging and investigations of hemodynamics in cerebral aneurysms using advanced computational applications (SNF funding)

ii) Functional brain mapping using fMRI: several methodological and clinical projects have been pursued over the last years including methodological advancements and clinical applications. Specific on-going projects: a) functional organization of the sensorimotor system and its postlesional reorganization in patients with intracranial lesions (tumors, stroke) (SNF funding), b) functional analysis of brain plasticity and recovery of function in paraplegia (NCCR/SNF, IRP and industry funding), c) reorganization of language function in aphasic patients (NCCR funding), d) preoperative cortical mapping for treatment planning.

iii) Advanced imaging of the spinal cord: including high-resolution anatomical imaging for accurate definition of gray and white matter, MR spectroscopy and fMRI for obtaining metabolic and functional information, and DTI for obtaining quantitative microstructural information on tissue composition with applications in oncological, vascular traumatic and neurodegenerative pathologies affecting the human spinal cord. (SNF, Swiss MS Society funding).

Source: Neuroscience Center, ETH & University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr Dimitris Kardassis obtained his BSc degree from the Department of Biology of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki in 1985 and his PhD degree from the Department of Biochemistry of Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) in 1991. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Section of Molecular Genetics of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute of BUMC. In 1993-1998 he was Research Associate in the Department of Basic Sciences of the University of Crete Medical School. In 1994, he was awarded an EMBO short term fellowship to work in the laboratory of Dr Miguel Beato in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Tumor Science in Marburg, Germany. Dr Kardassis was elected Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Crete Medical Scool in 1998, Associate Professor in 2004 and Full Professor in 2010. He was the Chairman of the Department of Basic Sciences of the University of Crete Medical School in 2009-2010. Since 1998, Dr Kardassis has been a faculty member of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the Foundation for Research and Technology of Hellas in Heraklion.

Dr Kardassis is actively involved in Undergraduate and Graduate teaching at the University of Crete Medical School. He was a founding member of the Graduate Program “The Molecular Basis of Human Disease” and a co-Director of this program.

Dr Dimitris Kardassis has been working in the field of apolipoprotein regulation and function since 1986. His studies have focused on the characterization of the regulatory elements and factors that control the expression of several apolipoprotein genes including apoB, apoA-I, ApoC-III, apoC-II, apoA-IV, apoA-II, apoE and more recently apoM. He played a major role in the elucidation of the role of hormone nuclear receptors in apolipoprotein gene regulation. He identified and characterized the common enhancer of the apoA-I/apoC-III/apoA-IV gene locus as well as the role of the Hepatic Control Region 1 (HCR-1) in the regulation of the genes of the apoE/apoC-I/apoC-IV/apoC-II gene cluster. More recently, Dr Kardassis is focusing on the mechanisms that regulate the expression of several genes involved in HDL biogenesis and catabolism including ABCA1 and SR-BI in the liver and steroidogenic tissues. He is also focusing on the functional characterization of natural mutations in human apolipoprotein and plasma enzyme genes. Dr Kardassis has also investigated in depth the signal transduction pathways that are induced by the Transforming Growth Factor β cytokine and the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation by the TGFβ-regulated Smad proteins.

Dr Kardassis is the Chairman of COST Action BM0904: “HDL: from biological understanding to clinical exploitation” (2010-2014), a scientific network of top HDL investigators from 14 European countries. He is also a member of the Hellenic Society of Lipidology, Atherosclerosis and Vascular Disease (HSLAVD) and of the European Lipoprotein Club. He was the organizer of the “International Workshop on HDL” that took place in Athens in January 2011 with the participation of the HSLAVD and COST. In 1999 he received the Young Investigator Award from the European Atherosclerosis Society. He is a fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA). Dr Kardassis has received funding from Greek or International agencies for his work on the regulation of HDL. He has published more than 70 original and review articles on lipoprotein structure, function and gene regulation. 

Dr. Sakis Mantalaris is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Imperial College London. He obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2000 from the University of Rochester, USA.

His research interests lie in the areas of stem cell bioprocessing, tissue engineering and mammalian cell bioprocessing. Particularly his lab (BSEL), in collaboration with other groups, is seeking to develop a novel monitoring modality that allows the systematic development of clinically relevant culture systems and methodologies, which control and regulate stem cell self-renewal, expansion, differentiation, and death. Ultimately, such a breakthrough will lead to the engineering of reproducible, well-characterised, regenerated “designer” tissues and organs that meet the strict regulatory criteria for clinical applications. Furthermore, his laboratory is currently working in developing intergated processes and culture systems for the expansion and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. In addition, his laboratory is seeking to provide integrated solutions to tissue engineering problems working close with material scientists and modellers to develop suitable scaffolds and culture systems for a variety of applications ranging from bone marrow, bone, cartilage, pneumocytes, and cardiomyocytes, as well as developing ex vivo models for disease states, such as leukaemia. Moreover, his group’s research focuses on mammalian cell bioprocessing.  Animal cell technology is an area of rapid expansion and one that produces a wide range of high-value products, including vaccines, recombinant proteins, drugs for cardiovascular, respiratory and immune diseases, and monoclonal antibodies. commercial synthesis of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) represents one of the most important products in the biopharmaceutical industry because of their diagnostic and clinical applications. However, the production of industrial scale quantities of mAb is an expensive and challenging task. Models of animal cell culture systems have a wide range of potential applications, such as analysis and prediction of experimental results, optimisation of culture conditions for prolonged viability, and perhaps most importantly, the investigation of fundamental metabolic processes and their subsequent elucidation. His research programme sets out to integrate modelling, experiment design and validation, and control and optimisation into a single framework that would lead to increased productivity, regulated product quality, and reduced costs for mammalian cell culture systems.  The integration of these three research tools represents a unique, novel, and interdisciplinary approach to addressing the complicated research and industrial problem of model-based control and optimisation of mammalian cell culture processes. 

Dr. Mantalaris has received several distinctions including the following:
-          Rector's Award for Research Excellence, Imperial College London, 2006
-          Governor's Lecturer, Imperial College London, 2000
-          Junior Moulton Award, Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2004
-          Young Investigator Award, 7th International Conference on Cellular Engineering, 2005
-          Best poster award, Tissue Engineering Society International, 2003

Emmanouil Dermitzakis is currently a Louis-Jeantet Professor of Genetics in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development of the University of Geneva Medical School. He is also an affiliated Faculty member at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens in Greece. He obtained his B.Sc. in 1995 and M.Sc. in 1997 in Biology from the University of Crete (Greece) (with Prof. Lefteri Zouros) and his PhD in 2001 from the Pennsylvania State University in the US (with Prof. Andrew Clark), studying the evolutionary biology and population genetics of regulatory DNA in mammals and Drosophila. His post-doctoral work was at the University of Geneva Medical School, focusing on comparative genome analysis and the functional characterization of conserved non-genic elements. He previously was an Investigator and Senior Investigator at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute since April 2004.

His current research focuses on the genetic basis of regulatory variation and gene expression variation in the human genome, the processes that govern non-coding DNA evolution. He has authored and co-authored more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals and many of them in journals such as Nature, Science and Nature Genetics. His papers have attracted more than 8500 citations and his H-index is 36. His research is supported by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the European Commission and the NIH.

He is also the recipient of an ERC starting grant. He has been invited to give talks and keynote lectures in the most prestigious genetics meeting in the world and is the organizer of multiple training courses including the Wellcome Trust HapMap course and organizer of the Leena Peltonen School of Human Genomics. He has served as an analysis co-chair in the pilot phase of the ENCODE (ENCyclopedia Of Dna Elements) consortium and member of the analysis group of the Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium and the International HapMap project. He had a leading analysis role in the extension of the HapMap (aka HapMap3 project) and is a member of the analysis group of the 1000 genomes project. He currently serves in the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science, and he is a Senior Editor in PLoS Genetics.

Christos Tsatsanis received his BSc in Biology from the University of Athens in 1991. Between 1991 and 1995 he worked in the laboratory of Prof. J.C. Neil at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, Scotland and the Dept. of Veterinary Pathology, University of Glasgow, Scotland and received his PhD in collaboration with the University of Crete in 1995, in the field of Molecular Oncology-Virology. From 1995 until 1999 he was a Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. P. Tsichlis at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, studying the role of Tpl2 kinase in T-cells and macrophages. Following military service, he was appointed Lecturer in Clinical Chemistry at the Medical School, University of Crete in 2001. He is currently Associate Professor at the Medical School, University of Crete and the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete. During his employment he has received sabbatical training at Lawrence Berkeley Labs, University of California, Berkeley, CA (2002), and at Tufts Medical School, Boston, MA (2004 and 2008-2009).

His work focuses on studying the molecular mechanisms of macrophage activation and inactivation and their role in inflammatory diseases. His earlier work analyzed the crosstalk between neuropeptides and macrophages in regulating inflammation. Recently he has identified Akt kinases as major participants in regulating inflammatory miRNAs and the polarization of macrophages to pro-inflammatory (M1) or anti-inflammatory (M2). He is currently characterizing signaling molecules such as IRAK-M and miRNAs as potential biomarkers of metabolic inflammation, the Compensatory Anti-inflammatory Response Syndrome (CARS) and sepsis. His lab also studies the impact of metabolic factors and their downstream signaling molecules on macrophage function in the context of inflammatory diseases, using genetically modified mice. In collaboration with biotech companies he is working towards the characterization of novel targets and the development and evaluation of siRNA and miRNA delivery systems for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Dr Tsatsanis is actively involved in training Medical students in topics of Laboratory Medicine and MSc students of the Graduate program “Molecular Basis of Human Diseases and “Molecular Biology-Biomedicine”. He is member of the steering committee of both graduate programs. He has supervised three PhD students and another four PhD theses are currently in progress.

His research at the University of Crete has been funded by international competitive programs such as the Association for International Cancer Research, the US Department of Defense Medical Research Program and the EU under the FP7 program, as well as by national funding programs. He is co-author of 65 peer-reviewed publications and four book chapters.

Despina Sanoudou is an Assistant Professor at the Pharmacology Department of the Medical School at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and in charge of the Pharmacogenomics team. She is focused on Genomics/Pharmacogenomics and serves as an Expert Reviewer in this field at the European Union, the French Agency against Myopathies and the Greek Scholarship Foundation. Dr Sanoudou has been involved in the development and has extensively used microarray technologies during the past 10 years, with 45 research publications (PubMed), 120 conference abstracts and 110 invited talks. As evidenced by her publication record, she has contributed to i) the elucidation of molecular mechanisms implicated in the development of myopathies and cardiomyopathies, ii) the identification of molecular signatures that could improve diagnosis of muscular diseases, iii) the discovery of novel pathways involved in the response to anti-lipidemic treatments, and iv) the selection of promising new molecular targets for combating hyperlipidemia.

Dr Sanoudou’s research is currently funded by competitive research grants from the European Union (FP6 and FP7) and the Hellenic Cardiological Society, the Leducq Foundation and the U.S. National Institute of Health.

As an educator, she teaches in the undergraduate course of the Medical School as well as in 9 MSc Programs at the University of Athens and the University of Crete. She has served as supervisor and mentor to 28 post-doctoral fellows/ PhD/ MSc/ BSc students. Dr Sanoudou established and directs a High School Outreach program that has hosted over 1,500 students to date. Additionally, she is an active member of the Alumni Mentor Program at the University of Hertfordshire- UK

Dr Sanoudou has received multiple awards for her research work including the UNESCO award for young women in science, the European Society for Human Genetics, the Panhellenic Union of Bioscientists, the Hellenic Cardiological Society and others. She is an Editorial Board member for 7 and serves as reviewer for another 16 international scientific journals.

Background
- Diploma of Medicine: Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, 1985
- Medical Specialty: "Cardiology", Athens, 1991
- M.D. Thesis: Athens University title: "Cardiopulmonary function in thalassemia", 1992
-Cardiovascular Magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging
   (September 1991-August 1993): Research Registrar, MRI Unit, Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital, London UK. YEAR(s) 2
-CMR Sabbatical (December 1993): University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

1.      European Diploma in Cardiology (2000)
2.      Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC, 2000)
3.      CMR Credentialing (Level 3) by SCMR (2003)
4.      CMR Credentialing (European exams) by EUROCMR (2003
5.      1st President of the Greek CMR WG (1999-2002)
6.      Secretary to the Nucleus of the European Society of Cardiology CMR WG (2002)
7.      ESC CMR WG Nucleus Member (elected, 2004-2008)
Distinctions
Honor by Hellenic Cardiac Society about CMR in VasculitidesHonor by Hellenic Cardiac Society about CMR in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
 
Selected publications
1. Mavrogeni SI, et al. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2004; 6(1):17-23.
2. Mavrogeni S, et al. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2006; 8(3):493-8.
3. Mavrogeni S, et al.. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004; 43(4):649-52..
4. Mavrogeni SI, et al. Eur J Haematol. 2005; 75(3):241-7.
 Publications numbered 1, 2, 3 have been included in the guidelines about the application of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging Circulation 2010; 2462-2505 (DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3181d44a8f).
Publication numbered 4 has been included in the Endomyocardial Biopsy Guidelines published in Circulation 2007; 116:2216-2233 (DOI:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.186093)

Current research activities
CMR in myocarditis, CMR in systemic diseases (thalassemia, diabetes mellitus, neuromuscular disorders, immunologic diseases), stress CMR in coronary and non-coronary artery disease.

Specialty / Affiliation:  Cardiology / “ATHENS EUROCLINIC” Hospital / Medical Advisor in CMC and General Medicine Products of Merck KGaA Department in Greece

EDUCATION
-1991 - 1997: Medical School of National University of Athens, Greece.
-July 1997: Medical Diploma.
-September 1984: License to practice Medicine.

RURAL MEDICAL SERVICE
  October 1997 – December 1998: as General Practitioner.

POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION AND MEDICAL PRACTICE
-12/2005: PhD thesis: “ Ventilatory response in the cardiopulmonary exercise test as an independent survival risk factor in patients with chronic heart failure”,  Medical School of National Univ. of Athens
-3/2001 –03/2003: S. House Officer in Internal Medicine, “Konstantopoulio Hospital, Athens, Greece
-10/2005 – 10/2009:  S. House Officer in Cardiology, “Enagelismos” Hospital, Athens, Greece
- 10/2000- 10/2009: Research Fellow  in Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing and Rehabilitation laboratory of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Dpt, National University of Athens
- 10/ 2010- today: Medical Advisor in CMC and General Medicine Products Dept of Merck KGaA, Greece
- 3/2010 – today:  Consultant in 2nd Cardiology Dpt “Athens Euroclinic”

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
 - 09/2003- 9/2004: Teaching Assistant, “First Aid” Medical School of University of Athens
- 9/2003-9/2005: Assistant instructor, “First Aid” on-line class National University of Athens
DISTINCTIONS
- Award at 1st Panhellenic Congress of Heart Failure (Athens 1999)
- 1st Prize at 3rd  Panhellenic Congress of Heart Failure (Athens 2002)
-2nd Prize at 8th State-of- the Art Interdisciplinary Review Course (Athens 2004)
- Award  at 6th Panhellenic Congress of Heart Failure (Athens 2005)

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
- 20 publications in international peer reviewed Cardiology Journals (Eur. J. Heart Failure, PACE, International Journal Cardiology, EJCPR etc) and 10 in Greek Cardiology Journal
-  More than 100 presentations in different areas of cardiovascular diseases