Current Positions

Associate Professor of Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba

Senior Scientist and Director of the Bioinformatics Platform at the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute, CCMB

Academic Lead, Bioinformatics Network (BioNet)

Co-Director, Statistical Genomics and Bioinformatics Core Platform, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Education

MD, Medical School, National University of Athens, Greece
Doctorate, University of Goettingen, Germany
Postgraduate Certificate in Bioinformatics, University of Manchester, UK

Research Focus

Our genetic information is encoded mainly in the biochemical sequence of DNA and forms our 3-billionbase-long genome. Surprisingly, less than 3% of the genomic information in our genome is coding for proteins. The rest ~97% of the human genomic sequence, called the non-coding genome, is largely transcribed into RNA molecules called non coding RNAs, but does not encode for proteins and its role in human disease remains largely unknown. The Zovoilis Lab uses next generation sequencing, AI and bioinformatics algorithms to shed light on the non-coding DNA (genome), the RNAs produced by this DNA (transcriptome) and their modifications (epi-transcriptome) and advance our knowledge of this part of biological information , often referred as our genome’s “dark matter”.

Dissecting the function of non-coding RNAs will help us understand their rolen in human health and disease. The Zovoilis Lab focuses on dissecting the role of these RNAs in human health and disease and translating this knowledge into the development of early genomics and RNA diagnostics. We aim to characterize the patterns of non-coding RNAs in patients and establish novel non-coding RNA biomarkers that will be informative for the disease’s onset.

Moreover, during the recent years, large-scale cancer genomics and transcriptomics research has revealed the uniqueness of each individual’s genetic profile and has transformed modern diagnosis and treatment through customized targeted treatments instead of applying one-size-fits-all solutions. However, availability of personalized genomics services in Canada is currently limited as the process of genome and transcriptome interpretation remains a mostly manual and time-consuming process, complicated by the shortage of bioinformaticians. A second focus of our Lab’s research is to devise bioinformatics and AI strategies that will enable us to automate and accelerate the analysis and interpretation of genomic and transcriptomic data.

Research Interests

Dissecting the role of non coding RNAs in health and disease, understanding the dark matter of our genomes. Developing (epi-)genomic and (epi-)transcriptomic bioinformatics and AI pipelines to empower health care professionals and other next generation sequencing end users.