The laboratory has a strong background in Molecular Biotechnology and a clear inclination for multidisciplinary and applied research, as these are witnessed by a wide range of scientific publications and patents spanning from Biomedical Informatics to Biomaterials and from Bioconversions to Molecular Diagnostics. Nevertheless, our main research interests for more than ten years now, remain within the field of Post-Genomic analysis and in particular the molecular profiling of complex diseases and the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying them.

Our current research focuses on the processes involved in Cancer Metastasis and specifically on the role of Circulating Tumor Cells. CTCs are cancer cells that have disseminated from the primary tumor to the blood circulation. Several experimental and clinical studies associate the presence of CTCs with the development of metastasis and the poor prognosis of the disease. However, neither all patients with detectable CTCs develop metastases nor all patients without detectable CTCs escape relapse. In this respect, our research aims at the development of new methods for the isolation, culture, functional characterization and single-cell-profiling of CTCs in order to identify discrete subpopulations with high metastatic potential and/or recognize specific conditions that lead to the establishment of metastases.

To further support the above objectives we have also established several lines of research collaborations for the development of microfluidic devices, the establishment of advanced molecular imaging methods and the interpretation, visualization and integration of post-genomic data.

Selected Publications

Zervakis, M., Blazadonakis, M.E., Tsiliki, G., Danilatou, V., Tsiknakis, M., and Kafetzopoulos, D. (2009) Outcome prediction based on microarray analysis: a critical perspective on methods. BMC Bioinformatics. 10: 53.

Tatarakis, A., Margaritis, T., Martinez-Jimenez, C.P., Kouskouti, A., Mohan, W.S., 2nd, Haroniti, A., Kafetzopoulos, D. Tora, L., and Talianidis, I. (2008) Dominant and redundant functions of TFIID involved in the regulation of hepatic genes. Mol Cell . 31: 531-43.

Falara, V., Fotopoulos, V., Margaritis, T., Anastasaki, T., Pateraki, I., Bosabalidis, A.M., Kafetzopoulos, D., Demetzos, C., Pichersky, E., and Kanellis, A.K. (2008) Transcriptome analysis approaches for the isolation of trichome-specific genes from the medicinal plant Cistus creticus subsp. creticus. Plant Mol Biol . 68: 633-51.

Dinca, V., Ranella, A., Farsari, M., Kafetzopoulos, D., Dinescu, M., Popescu, A., and Fotakis, C. (2008) Quantification of the activity of biomolecules in microarrays obtained by direct laser transfer. Biomed Microdevices . 10: 719-25.

Tsiknakis, M., Kafetzopoulos, D., Potamias, G., Analyti, A., Marias, K., and Manganas, A. (2006) Building a European biomedical grid on cancer: the ACGT Integrated Project. Stud Health Technol Inform . 120: 247-58.