Dr Themis Alissafi is a researcher at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) and an Investigator (Assistant Professor level) at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) in Crete, Greece.
She obtained her bachelor's degree from the Department of Chemistry, as well as an MSc in Clinical Chemistry from the University of Crete. In 2010, she received her PhD in Immunology from BRFAA, investigating the role of osteopontin in allergic reactions, with prominent results published in Nature Medicine and the Journal of Immunology. She then did post-doctoral training in Dr Bart N. Lambrecht’s lab at Ghent University, Belgium.
Her lab focuses on Treg cells in predicting response to immunotherapy, adverse autoimmune effects and identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Her research also involves understanding the mechanisms of immune regulation and immune metabolism in autoimmunity.
Dr Alissafi has been honoured with several national and international awards (ERS, EAACI, EWRR, HELANI, IKY). Last year, she was awarded the prestigious European Research Council 2020 ERC Starting Grant, the only ERCStG Life Sciences project awarded to Greece!