Head of the Systems Bioengineering Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, NTUA; Co-founder of ProtATonce

Leonidas Alexopoulos is an Associate Professor at the National Technical University of Athens, head of the Systems Bioengineering Lab, and co-founder of ProtATonce a biotech company that offers proteomic solutions for biomarker discovery. Leonidas received his PhD in 2004 from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and he continued his postdoctoral studies at MIT (Dept of Biological Eng) and Harvard Medical School (Dept of Systems Biology). He combines a strong academic record with industrial expertise. He has served in several organizations for empowering research translation to startup companies including the MIT Enterprise Forum (Greek chapter), Mindspace and to an international strategy committee for the establishment of a novel biotechnology cluster in Seoul, Korea.

Associate Professor, Laboratory of Histology and Embryology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Ipatia Doussis-Anagnostopoulou got her Medical Degree from the University of Ioannina Medical School (1988) and she trained in Histopathology at the “St Savvas” Anticancer Hospital in Athens (1988-1990) and at the Nuffield Department of Pathology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK (1990-1993). She then worked as a Cheffe de Clinique at the Division de Pathologie Clinique, Faculté de Médecine, Hopital Cantonal Universitaire in Geneva, Switzerland (1994-1998). She got her Ph. D. Thesis from the NKUA Medical School (1993). In 1999 she was elected Lecturer at the Laboratory of Histology and Embryology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, where she currently holds a position of Associate Professor. Her major focus was Haematopathology and her research interest was Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with a number of scientific research publications on the field. In 2021 she was appointed Representative of the NKUA in the Hub Health Council of the newly founded European University Alliance CIVIS. In 2010, Dr. Doussis-Anagnostopoulou founded the NGO Mission ANTHROPOS, a non for profit medical and humanitarian organization that provides support to vulnerable populations in both Greece and abroad (Ethiopia and Tanzania) (www.missionanthropos.com). In the last 14 years the organization has materialized 105 Programs and Initiatives, with more than 33.000 beneficiaries. In the last 2 years, Mission ANTHROPOS in collaboration with the Postgraduate Program “Physiology of Aging and Geriatric Syndromes” of the NKUA Medical School has welcomed students to participate in the program “Improving the Life of Seniors”, organizing initiatives of service learning within the context of CIVIS.

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Spyretta Golemati is Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering in the Medical School of the University of Athens. She holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Bioengineering from Imperial College London. Her research interests include (a) medical image /theme/img/team/analysis, with emphasis on vascular ultrasound image /theme/img/team/analysis, (b) biosignal processing, and (c) vascular physiology and pathophysiology. She has co-authored 37 papers published in international scientific peer-reviewed journals, 12 book chapters, and 45 papers published in international scientific peer-reviewed conference proceedings. She has participated in 7 funded national and international research projects (in one, as coordinator). Dr Golemati has acted as reviewer of national and international research proposals as well as of papers submitted to international scientific journals and conferences. She is a member of the Advisory Editorial Board of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. She is a member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE-EMBS), the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society (IEEE-UFFC), the Technical Chamber of Greece, and the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society.

Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Radiology (Physics), Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

Elisa Konofagou is the Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor Radiology as well as Director of the Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory at Columbia University in New York City. Her main interests are in the development of novel theranostic and therapeutic ultrasound methods for the advancement of therapeutic ultrasound. Elisa has co-authored over 300 published articles in the aforementioned fields. Elisa Konofagou is the Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Elisa is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (US), an Elected Fellow of the International Society of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (AIMBE) and the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Elisa is recipient of the CAREER award by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Nagy award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Technological Achievement Award by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology society (EMBS), the Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Award by the IEEE Society in Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control (UFFC), the Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award by Columbia University and the Elisabeth Papazoglou Inspired Leadership Award by Drexel university as well as additional recognitions by the American Heart Association, the Acoustical Society of America, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the Wallace H. Coulter foundation, the Bodossaki foundation, the Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Elisa also serves as President-Elect of the International Society of Therapeutic Ultrasound.

Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Professor of Radiology (Physics), Department of Radiology; Director, Heffner Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Columbia University.

Andrew F. Laine received his D.Sc. degree from Washington University (St. Louis) School of Engineering and Applied Science in Computer Science, in 1989 and BS degree from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). He was a Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering at the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) from 1990-1997. He joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 1997 and served as Vice Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University since 2003 – 2011, and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (2012 – 2017). He is currently Director of the Heffner Biomedical Imaging at Columbia University and the Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Radiology (Physics). He has served on the program committee for the IEEE-EMBS Workshop on Wavelet Applications in Medicine in 1994, 1998, 1999, and 2004. He was the founding chair of the SPIE conference on “Mathematical Imaging: Wavelet Application in Signal and Image Processing” and served as co-chair during the years 1993-2003. Dr. Laine has served as Chair of Technical Committee (TC-BIIP) on Biomedical Imaging and Image Processing for IEEE EMBS 2004-2009 and has been a member of the TC of IEEE Signal Processing Society, TC-BISP (Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing) 2003-present. Professor Laine served on the IEEE ISBI (International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging) steering committee, 2006-2009 and 2009 – 2012. He was the Program Chair for the IEEE EMBS annual conference in 2006 held in New York City and served as Program Co-Chair for IEEE ISBI in 2008 (Paris, France). He served as Area Editor for IEEE Reviews in BME in Biomedical Imaging since 2007-2013. He was Program Chair for the EMBS annual conference for 2011 (Boston, MA). Professor Laine Chaired the Steering committee for IEEE ISBI, 2011-2013, and Chaired the Council of Societies for AIMBE (American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers). He was the General Co-Chair for IEEE ISBI in 2022. Finally, he served as the IEEE EMBS Vice President of Publications 2008 – 2012 and was the President of IEEE EMBS (Engineering in Biology and Medicine Society) 2015 and 2016. He currently serves as the Chair of the Membership Committee for IAMBE (International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers). He is a Fellow of IEEE, AIMBE and IFMBE.

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Founding Director of the MSc Programme “Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine”, NTUA

Konstantina received the M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and the Ph.D. degree from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), as well as the M.D. degree from the Medical School, University of Athens. She is a full professor at NTUA, the Irene McCulloch Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, at Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, and the 2022/2023 Global Chair at the University of Bath. She is the director of the Mobile Radiocommunications Laboratory and founder and director of the Biomedical Simulations and Imaging Laboratory at NTUA. Her current research interests include biomedical data science, mobile health, image computing and analysis, simulation of physiological and biological systems. Her published work consists of twelve books, more than 200 papers in refereed international journals, 48 chapters in books, over 400 papers in international conference proceedings, and three patents. She has been the technical manager of numerous European and National R&D projects. She is the founding director of the MSc Programme “Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine” and has been the advisor of 35 completed Ph.D. theses, several of which have received various awards. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation and Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Antennas and Propagation. She has served as chair of the LS7 Consolidator Grant Panel of the European Research Council (ERC), for granting investigator-driven frontier research in the domain of life sciences. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the European Association of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES). She has received various honors/awards, with the Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize being one of them.

Technology entrepreneur

Vassilis is a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of hands-on experience across various industry sectors. He likes building things, exploring ideas, and connecting people. He is a co-founder and partner of Blue Dome Capital, an investment manager seeking to capture emerging opportunities in technology transfer and innovation-driven ventures in Central & South- Eastern Europe. He is the co-founder of Mobiltron, Inc, a technology company developing a next- generation user authentication platform using behavioral biometrics for mobile applications. He is a partner of Sylipsis, Inc, a company helping researchers move their ideas from the lab to the market and providing managed technology development as a service. Vassilis consults the Boards of various organizations on issues related to technology and innovation. He currently sits on the Board of Fasmatech, a startup developing mass spectroscopy technology, and VIORYL, a chemical engineering company. Previously, he was on the Board of Metis Cybertechnologies, a company developing vessel performance solutions, and helped the investors achieve a 3X exit. He is the co-founder and Vice-Chairman of the MIT Enterprise Forum Greece, the Greek chapter of an MIT-inspired global network, enabling technology entrepreneurs to rapidly transform ideas into world-changing companies. He is the co-founder and Treasurer of the Hellenic Innovation Network, Inc, a Boston-based charity that supports the entrepreneurial growth of the Greek and Cypriot tech ecosystem. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from NTUA and Ocean Systems Management from MIT. He has conducted research in fluid mechanics, control systems, risk management, and system dynamics.

Mechanical Engineer, MSc TEAM Student

Katerina Afentouli, originally from Athens, Greece, earned her integrated Master's Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Thessaly specializing in Mechanics, Materials, and Manufacturing Processes. Currently, she is pursuing a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. Her thesis project is a collaboration with Columbia University's Ultrasound & Elasticity Imaging Lab (UEIL), where she is working on refining 3D rendering algorithms for echocardiography views, aiming to enhance the accuracy and detail of medical imaging for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Biologist, MSc TEAM Student

Konstantinos received his integrated master’s degree in Biological Applications and Technology from the University of Ioannina, where he specialized in Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology. Continuing his academic journey, he enrolled in the MSc Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine program. His performance in the master’s program led to him receiving a travel scholarship from the Bodossaki Foundation, enabling him to undertake a summer internship at Columbia University's Department of Biomedical Engineering. During this internship, he worked in the Biomaterials and Interface Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Currently, he is completing his master's thesis in the Biomedical Simulations and Imaging (BioSIM) Laboratory at the National Technical University of Athens.

Electrical and Computer Engineer, MSc TEAM Student

Thodoris Spiliotis has a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and is currently working on his thesis for his Master's degree in Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine in NTUA. His thesis focuses on automated recognition of mental health status with the use of social media data through NLP and LLM techniques. He is committed to leveraging his knowledge through entrepreneurship. For this purpose, he founded Cordia, a company dedicated to developing innovative health solutions aimed at making a positive impact in the world.