Biominformatics and Biomechanics Design Consultant

Expertise

• Bioinformatics research projects, involving external collaborators with industry and core facilities.
• Biomechanics and design biomarker studies. Analyze and review data in drug discovery and drug development.
• Analyze novel signaling pathways that modulate osteoclast functions.
• Develop inhibitors for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
• Regenerative medicine research.
• In-vivo research utilizing rodent models of bone disease including knock-out, transgenics, overexpression and various animal models of arthritis as well as in-vitro cell-based assays to delineate the immune regulation of bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.
• Rheumatic diseases, cellular and molecular mechanisms of pathological bone loss.
• Conduct laboratory studies of the interface between the skeletal and immune systems, a newly emerging area of research called "osteoimmunology."
• Through in-vivo gene transfer of immune cytokines IL-23 and IL-17, established new arthritis animal models that highlight the importance of these immune cytokines in arthritis initiation and bone homeostasis.
• Using in vitro assays, to define the cellular and molecular mechanisms that take place and interplay of the immune and skeletal systems.
• Leukotriene B4 studies-activities in Juvenile Arthritis (JA).
• Autophagy in skeletal development; identified protein domains associated with vesicle trafficking that impact bone destruction.

Experience

Undisclosed Hospital for Children, 2011 - Present

• Associate Investigator, regenerative medicine and pediatrics, 2015 - Present
• Assistant Investigator, regenerative medicine and pediatrics, 2011 - 2015

School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, 2010 - 2015

Associate Professor

• Tenured/Tenure-Track (FTE) Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Assistant Professor, 2010 - 2015

• Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine.

DNAX Research Institute, Drug Discovery Research, Department of Immunology, 2007 - 2010

Post-Doctoral Research, Schering-Plough Biopharma, Laboratory

• In-vivo research utilizing rodent models of bone disease including knock-out, transgenics, overexpression and various animal models of arthritis as well as in-vitro cell-based assays to delineate the immune regulation of bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 2006 - 2007

Post-Doctoral Research, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Laboratory

• Analyzed novel signaling pathways that modulate osteoclast function.

Biovista Inc., Greece, Consultant, 2002 - 2003

• Advisor in Cell Signaling for, a global drug development services company that supplies corporate intelligence products and services to the life sciences industry.

University of Athens, Department of Biology, Greece, 1997 - 1999

• Lecturer and Researcher,
• Division of cell biology and biophysics.

Management

• Manage a research laboratory staff, with $500K annual budget and multiple research projects, involving external collaborators with industry and core facilities including bioinformatics.
• Outsource biomechanics and design biomarker studies for multiple projects. Analyze and review data in drug discovery/ development meetings.
• Design and develop 'Osteo-Pro', a pioneering image processing software for quantifying bone lacunar resorption, spearheading project from inception to product development.
• Manage the day-to-day running of the Pathological Bone Resorption Laboratory at the Botnar Research Center and supervise technical research assistants.
• Project Management course, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford.
• Wolfson College Academic Committee member. Plan and organize educational seminars of distinguished scientists.

Educator

• Topics in Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology
• Biomedical Engineering-Graduate Course
• Clinical Immunology-Graduate students
• Topics in Immunology-Graduate students
• Comparative Clinical Immunology-Graduate students
• Research-Autoimmune Disorders-Graduate students
• Generating functional human osteoclasts'-International postgraduate course.
• Introduction to cell biology
• Introduction to cell microscopy
• Certificate of Building a Business, course included a series of lectures on starting a company, raising capital, intellectual property management, product development and financial reporting.
• Laboratory rotations of pre-doctoral graduate students at UC Davis

Examiner (Graduates)

• Immunology
• Comparative Pathology
• Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
• Pilot and Feasibility studies (P30 Musculoskeletal), Research Center at Washington University.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Certificate of Proficiency in English, University of Cambridge

Thesis

• Cellular and molecular mechanisms in pathological bone destruction in arthritis, University of Oxford
• The effects of dexamethasone on enzyme regulation in human hepatocytes, University College Medical School, London.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• British Biochemical Society
• American Society of Bone and Mineral Research
• British Society for Research Into Aging
• American Association of Immunologists
• International Cytokine Society (ICS)
• International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research
• Elected Member Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance
• American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Publications

• Author of many publications in peer reviewed journals, presentations, conference papers, educational text and invited speaker, tackling subjects such as: Arthritis, Rheumatism, Immunology, Autoimmunity, Orthopedic Research, Biologics.

Education

• D.Phil. Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
• M.Phil. Clinical Medicine (Hepatology), University of London, London, United Kingdom
• B.Sc. Medical Microbiology (With Honors), University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom