Lab members

Argyris (Akis) Papantonis (Principal Investigator) studied Biology at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, where he also undertook his PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. Rena Lecanidou. In 2008 he moved to Oxford for his postdoctoral work with Prof. Peter Cook at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. In 2013 he was appointed as a Junior Research Group Leader for Chromatin Systems Biology at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, and in 2018 he was recruited to the Medical Faculty of the Georg-August University of Göttingen where he currently is a W2-Professor for Translational Epigenetics. When not doing research he reads, writes, and translates literature or plays basketball with his two sons.

Dr. Athanasia Mizi (Senior postdoc) studied Biology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where she also undertook her PhD studies under the supervision of Prof. George Rodakis on the molecular evolution of mtDNA. Before joining our lab, Athanasia did her first post-doctoral work with Dr. Paul Brinkkoetter on the role of the key mitochondrial factor, TFAM, in kidney function. Currently, Athanasia is working on senescence-centered 3D chromatin networks; she is funded by the UMG.

Jinxin Yuan (PhD candidate) studied Clinical Medicine at the Chingqing Medical University, China, and undertook her MSc studies at the Dalian Medical University, China. Before joining our lab, Jinxin worked on the molecular mechanisms regulating H3K4 methylation in hepatoma. Currently, she focuses on the functional dissection of pancreatic cancer proliferation via anti-senescence programs. She is funded by a full PhD fellowship from the China Scholarship Council.

Dr. Mariano Barbieri (postdoc) graduated in Theoretical Physics from "Federico II" University of Napoli, Italy, where he also did his PhD in statistical models of chromatin architecture with Prof. Mario Nicodemi. Later he spent time as a postdoc in Prof. Ana Pombo's lab in Berlin. He is interested in complex systems behavior and machine learning techniques and joined our laboratory in 2021 after a stint in the private sector (quantitative finance at Morgan Stanley; optics simulations at Italian Space Agency) to develop in silico models of 3D nuclear organization and phase separation. Mariano is supported by the DFG-funded SPP2191 Priority Program on "Molecular Mechanisms of Functional Phase Separation".

Adi Mackay-Danieli (PhD candidate) studied Applied Biology at the University of Applied Sciences of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, and received her MSc in Molecular Medicine from the University Medical Center Göttingen. Adi did her MSc thesis in our lab and is now pursuing a PhD by investigating pancreatic cancer genome regulation in patient-derived organoids. She is funded by the KFO5002 Clinical Research Unit "Deciphering Genome Dynamics for Subtype-Specific Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer".

Vasiliki Varamogianni Mamatsi (PhD candiate) holds a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine from the University of Crete. Her PhD work focuses on understanding higher-order 3D chromatin architecture using genomics and chromatin simulations. Ilia is funded via the SFB1565 "Molecular Mechanisms and Interplay of Gene Expression Processes" consortium.

Chong Xie (PhD candidate) studied Biotechnology in Hunan University, China, where he also obtained his MSc for Biomedical Engineering. He worked as a research assistant with Dr. Haoyue Zhang at the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory before joining our lab in 2023. His PhD will focus on the connection between 3D genome architecture and phase separation propensity of the transcriptional machinery. Chong is supported by a full PhD fellowship awarded by the China Scholarship Council.

Dr. Anastasios Liakos (postdoc) graduated with a diploma in Biology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Greece, before obtaining an MSc degree in Medical Genetics from the University of Glasgow, UK, and a PhD after working in the laboratory of Dr. Maria Fousteri at BSRC 'Alexander Fleming' in Greece. He is working on the interphase of aging, DNA maintenance, and 3D genome architecture. Anastasios is currently supported by a Human Frontier Science Program postdoctoral fellowship.

Dr. Andrés Penagos-Puig (postdoc) graduated with a degree in Biology and a Master's in Biochemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he also did his PhD in 3D chromatin architecture with Prof. Furlan-Margaril. He is interested in the interplay between RNA polymerases and cohesin and how they shape the genome. Andrés is currently supported by the DFG-funded SFB1565 Collborative Research Center on "Molecular mechanisms and interplay of gene expression processes".

Markos Tsitsianopoulos (PhD Candidate) studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Thessaly, Greece and holds an MSc in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Before joining our lab, Markos worked on the spatial organization of gene expression in breast cancer at the lab of Dr. Christoforos Nikolaou at BSRC 'Alexander Fleming'. His PhD work focuses on dissecting 3D genome architecture in FFPE pancreatic cancer samples. Markos is funded by the KFO5002 Clinical Research Unit.

Aaliya Khan (PhD candidate) studied Zoology from Aligarh Muslim University, India and completed her MSc degree in Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics, and Evolution at Université Paris-Saclay, France. Prior to joining our lab, she worked at the Almouzni lab in Institut Curie, Paris,on the roles of H3.3S31ph in cell cycle progression. Her current work investigates the epigenetic landscape of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells in response to mechanical cues as part of SCIE-PANC consortium, funded by the TRANSCAN-3 EU research initiative.

Pengfei Yin (PhD candidate) holds a BSc in Aquaculture from the Ocean University of China and an MSc in Systems Biology from the Southern University of Science and Technology, where he began using computational and theoretical methods to study 3D genomics. His PhD research focuses on utilizing computational 3D genomics to better understand the evolution of genomes. He is supported by the DFG-funded RTG2984 EvoREST Program.

Tuba Sena Oğurlu (PhD candidate) received her BSc degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. During this time, she focused on genome-wide analysis of DNA repair at Sabancı University. She later completed her MSc at Bilkent University, Turkey, where she investigated the mechanisms of senescence. Currently, She combines her experience in senescence and DNA repair/damage balance to study the fidelity of gene expression in the presence of DNA/RNA lesions as cells age. Her research is supported by the DFG CRC1678 consortium.