Research

The research in the Bioinformatics Department is focusing on Network-based Computational Diagnostics and Therapeutics.

We are analysing each layer of information separately (the omics spectrum, signalling and imaging measurements, clinical and other patient’s record data) and then we perform multiomics / multisource integration methods to generate descriptive profiles, to highlight complex patterns of potential biomarkers, provide insights regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms and suggest candidate repurposed drugs. 

We have strong interest in network analytics that capture the systemic behavior of the biomolecules, to integrate multi-omics / multisource data, to generate comprehensive disease/patient profiles that will act as the stepping stone for AI-fueled computer aided diagnostics, to face complexities and to recognize criticalities in biomedical problems, trying to develop new mathematical/computational methods to offer a solution if possible.  This way we try to contribute to the vision of personalized and precision medicine.

More specifically, we are working on the following directions:

Build pipelines to analyze omics from various sources regarding the profiling of the transcriptome (RNA-seq), the genome (DNA-seq, exome-seq), and the proteome (MS data).

Create post-filtering methodologies to derive meaningful molecular signatures of the diseases.

Develop computational methodologies for classification and clustering on molecular data in order to rank them based on their significance to the disease towards biomarker discovery, risk estimation and early prediction.  

Proceed to omics-driven Network Reconstruction using Network Inference methods as well as Probabilistic methods (Random Walks on Nets).

Perform Biological Network Analysis in terms of Quantitative Measures of Network Complexity.

Perform re-ranking for the derived gene/protein lists (in a biomarker discovery pipeline) based on their systemic/network characteristics.

Perform drug repurposing pipelines based on the expression profiles for each patient.

Proceed with Chem-Bioinformatics concerning compound screening, fingerprint calculation and analysis, toxicity checks, to conclude with short listed compounds suitable to the profile of each patient.

Develop and utilize methods of image analysis and computational intelligence to process, analyze and understand biomedical signals and images in order to extract critical features acting as imaging markers for various diseases or stages of a disease.

Develop systems for computer aided diagnosis that integrate molecular, imaging and clinical data towards risk estimation adapted to each patient profile.

Create handy and powerful Databases that will give dynamic feedback to new-comers case analyses through content-based retrieval approaches.

Create user-friendly Bioinformatics Web Services to have medical doctors actually use the developed tools.
 

Selected Publications

Click to see a list of the C-BIG publications

winner