Dimitris Anastassiou

His team has developed winning computational models in several related international challenges, including one for breast cancer prognosis.

His work on data mining of cancer datasets has led to the computational discoveries of two cell populations characterized by well-defined multi-gene signatures, and of the differentiation of one of them into the other. His current research focuses on the investigation of the underlying biological mechanism common in multiple types of cancer, associated with invasiveness, metastasis and resistance to therapy, and in the development of therapeutics targeting this mechanism. Specifically, one of these populations consists of a type of a progenitor cells found in abundance in the adipose tissue, which has typically previously been unrecognized or mischaracterized when found in cancer datasets. His analysis provides evidence that this population is recruited by aggressive tumors and undergoes differentiation into another particular type of cancer-associated fibroblasts expressing collagen XI, as part of a mechanism contributing to tumor progression and resistance to therapy. This mechanism also provides an explanation of the well-known role of adipose tissue in cancer aggressiveness.

His previous research was in the area of video technology. He is author of patents accepted as essential for the implementation of several international standards, such as MPEG-2, used in digital television transmission. He received a Ph.D. (1979) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.   He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, an IEEE Fellow, the recipient of an IBM Outstanding Innovation Award, a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and a Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates.  

Research Areas

• Data Science
• Systems Biology