Dimitrios Thanos - Biography#

Dr. Thanos earned his B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Athens in 1983. He earned his M.S. degree in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in 1988 from the University of Crete-Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Heraklion. He had extensive training as a Postdoctoral Fellow initially at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Foundation for Research and Technology in Crete and continued on at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Dr. Tom Mantis’ laboratory at Harvard University.

In January 1995, Dr. Thanos was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University. In 2000 he was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure, and the following year (2001) he was elected Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Biomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”, Greece. In 2003 Dr. Thanos resigned from his position at Columbia and carried out his duties at Fleming until 2006. Currently, Dr. Thanos holds the position of Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, and from 2006 he is the Director of the Center of Basic Research and the Chairman of the Scientific Board at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece.

He has made pioneering and seminal contributions in the elucidation of the mechanisms by which human genes are turned on and off. He discovered the existence of the enhanceosomes, specific three-dimensional transcription factor-enhancer DNA complexes and he elucidated the mechanisms of enhanceosome function in activation of gene transcription. He provided for the first time a nearly complete molecular picture of the “translation” of the enhancer DNA code to specific chromatin dynamic modifications involved in the regulation of transcription initiation.

An additional notable and more recent accomplishment is the identification of mechanisms underlined gene expression stochasticity in genetically identical cell populations of the immune system.

Family Name: THANOS First name: DIMITRIS

Current Professional status: Director of Basic Research and Chairman of the Scientific Board
Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens
4 Soranou Efesiou Street, Athens 11527, GREECE
+30-210-659-7244 (ph), +30-210-659-7599 (fax)
thanos@bioacademy.gr (e-mail)

Birth date and place: June 22, 1960, Kalamata, Greece.

Education:
1983 B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Athens, Greece
1985 M.S. Molecular Biology, University of Crete, Greece
1988 Ph.D. Molecular Biology, University of Crete, Greece

Research interests: Mechanisms controlling gene expression, nuclear dynamics, gene networks

Dimitris Thanos publication record: 10.415 citations, 74 publications in total.
h index=44,.
Average 140 citations per publication