About

Distinguished Professor Philippos Patsalis is a world-class geneticist, researcher and successful business entrepreneur, who has been leading public and private sector organizations since 1993. Prof. Patsalis held numerous executive positions and he served on several international scientific and business Boards, Committees and Councils during his 25-year distinguished career. Most notably, he held the presidential-appointed position of Minister of Health of the Republic of Cyprus. During his tenure as a Health Minister and under austere IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission economic measures, Prof. Patsalis implemented major reforms on the national healthcare sector. Among others, he restructured the operations of pharmaceuticals, he initiated the autonomization of public hospitals, and he introduced a new healthcare system.

He is currently the CEO and CMO of NIPD Genetics Public Company, a company he founded and has been successfully leading since its inception in 2010. NIPD Genetics is an international biotechnology company and a key-player within the competitive non-invasive genetic diagnostics field. Its focus is on developing and providing to the international market innovative technologies and products and it has demonstrated substantial growth.

Earlier in his career, Prof. Patsalis was for 10 year the founder and director of both The Department of Cytogenetics and Genomics and Translational Genetics and for 8 years the Chief Executive Director of The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, the largest and most technologically advanced research institute of Cyprus. During his leadership the Institute achieved tremendous growth and international recognition as a center of excellence. Prof. Patsalis was also the founder of the Akeso Fertility Center Company and the founder of The Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, an academic school for graduate education for which he served as its first Professor, Provost and Chief Executive Director.

Prof. Patsalis is an accomplished executive director, researcher and entrepreneur who has been bestowed with more than 30 national and international awards and distinctions for his contribution to science, innovation and business. Namely, the US-State Alumni Award of USA State Department, the National Award for Contribution to Scientific Research by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, and The Silver Medal of the Parliament – the highest honor of distinction by the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus. He filed multiple patents, contributed to over 10 books, has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers in prestigious Journals, and has been invited to lecture in over 200 institutions, universities and conferences. He obtained more than 40 competitive research grants for tens of millions, including the very prestigious ERC Advance Grant and raised tens of millions of capital investments from individual and investments funds. He currently also holds the title of Professor of Human Genetics of the University of Nicosia Medical School.

Prof. Patsalis is actively involved with Institutions, Councils and company Boards that play a significant role in shaping and structuring policies in public and private organizations. He is the President of the National Board for Research and Innovation (CY), an elected member of the Board of the European Society of Human Genetics (EU) and a Board member of MANA Products Ltd (USA) among others. Prof. Patsalis is an ardent proponent of responsible scientific and business progress and champions the advancement of research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Prof. Philippos Patsalis received his BSc degree from the Aristotelian University of Salonica, Greece and his MA, MPh and PhD degrees from the City University of New York. He underwent specialization and post-doctoral training at Cornel Medical Center, New York University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Columbia University. He is a Certified and Accredited Laboratory Director in Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics by the New York Department of Health and by the College of American Pathologists. In addition, he is a Certified High Complexity Laboratory Director by the American Board of Bioanalysis.

Dr. Koumbaris joined NIPD Genetics in 2011 as the Head of Research and Development and led the company’s R&D activities. He was appointed Chief Scientific Officer at NIPD Genetics in 2015 and oversees all scientific activities. He is an expert in Genomics, Transcriptomics and Epigenomics, Non-Invasive Diagnostics, and Advanced Genetic Technologies. He is also an inventor and author of numerous peer-reviewed papers published in international scientific journals. His research has been presented at various international scientific meetings. Dr. George Koumbaris received his BSc and MSc degrees from Florida State University and completed his PhD in Molecular Genetics at The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics where he also served for many years as a researcher in Genetics, Biotechnology and Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis.

Mr. Christopher Stylianou received his BSc in Psychology from Birmingham University. He has an extensive knowledge and a varied experience in international B2B sectors as well as product commercialization. Prior to joining NIPD Genetics in 2019, he has worked in the multiple international industry at senior positions. In his current role, Mr. Stylianou is responsible for the company’s commercial strategy and drives the sales growth through global strategic partnerships.

Dr. Hari Radhakrishnan joined NIPD Genetics in 2015 to lead the marketing and business development efforts of NIPD Genetics. As Chief Business Development Officer, he is responsible for advising the CEO on business strategy, bringing the new products to market, marketing of the company’s product portfolio, training the company’s and partners’ sales teams, and managing the research and regulatory affairs offices. He also advises the research and development team in developing innovative bioinformatics software for various applications. He has extensive knowledge in the fields of high-performance computing and in business development. As an independent software consultant, he worked with several universities and agencies on the application of super computers to solve complex physics and engineering problems. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering from IIT Roorkee, India; and PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Minnesota, USA.

Andreas Lambis joined NIPD Genetics in 2015. He specializes in business process automations and business driven development of information technology systems that satisfy the needs of the Technology Transfer platform customers and the company’s internal production and services. He has worked for many years in the private sector as a business consultant in the areas of software development and business integration. Andreas is a member of the PMI and has worked in many medium and large projects in the financial, banking, utilities, education, human resources and health services sectors for both private and public institutions in Europe and the Middle East. Andreas Lambis is an engineer by training, B.Sc. with honors and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, with extensive experience in the information technology field.

Mrs Elena Sakkalou Rouva is a Certified Public Accountant. She holds an MBA from Baruch College, City University of New York and an MSc in Risk Management from New York University. Her professional career was mainly in the financial industry. She has extensive experience in the international business sector in Cyprus. Also, in banking, she worked in one of the biggest banks in Cyprus through various positions in internal audit, risk management and NPL management. The main focus of her work was on the credit portfolio of the bank and involved the analysis of financials, business plans, projections, budgets and corporate structures. She joined NIPD Genetics in December 2018 at the position of the Chief Financial Officer.

Mrs. Mallouri develops and executes NIPD Genetics HR strategies and activities that foster growth, innovation, and organizational effectiveness. She leads the initiative, NIPD Genetics is an Employer of Choice, fostering a work culture that attracts and retains exceptional talent. Mrs. Mallouri joined the company in 2011 and she has more than 25 years of experience in administrative and HR services. Part of her date to date operations include, collaborating with key team members across departments to drive employee engagement, morale and performance and advising the executive team on organizational restructuring so as to create a more agile, cost-efficient workforce. She is also responsible for the negotiation of employees’ and consultants’ contracts and maintaining the company’s archives. Mrs. Mallouri administers the company’s archives and keeps registry of all intellectual property and signed agreements. Additionally, she is responsible for the administration of the Company’s Shareholders activities and keeping a record of the minutes of the Board of Directors. Mrs. Mallouri studied Business Administration and has an M.B.A. from Keele University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Ioannides joined NIPD Genetics in 2015 and is currently the Chief of R & D overseeing product development, technology optimization and all research activities of the company. He served for many years as a molecular cytogeneticist, a researcher, and later as acting head of the Translational Gentetics Team at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.He has extensive theoretical and technical knowledge of molecular techniques such as digital PCR and Next Generation Sequencing, as well as of development of clinical tests and clinical diagnostics. He is an expert in genomics, epigenetics and non-invasive diagnostics. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and his research has been presented at various national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Marios Ioannides received his BSc and Msc in Microbiology from the University of South Florida, and his PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

Dr Kypri joined NIPD Genetics in 2011 and is currently the Chief of laboratory operations overseeing all laboratory activities related to the provision of services. She received numerous awards and fellowships and has a broad research background including more than 10 years in molecular and cell biology techniques. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and her research has been presented at various national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Elena Kypri received her Bsc in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of Arizona and her PhD degree in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also board certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. She underwent specialization and post-doctoral training from the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Cyprus and the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in Crete.

Mrs. Pepa Tanousis joined NIPD Genetics in 2018 and is currently the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. She is responsible for the company’s marketing and communications strategy and oversees the marketing, scientific communications, customer service and CSR activities. She has a broad background in marketing and customer service having years of experience in the field in the US market. Mrs. Tanousis received her MA (Honors) in History from Queens College, City University of New York.

Prof. Suresh Jhanwar has forty years of clinical and research experience in Cancer Genomics and Molecular Medicine and he is recognized as a world renowned scientist in the field of Cancer Genetics. He served as the Director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s (MSKCC) from 1996 to 2013. His laboratory was the first one to be designated as the “Laboratory of Solid Tumor Genetics” in 1988, at the Department of Pathology of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2015, he was appointed as a Member Emeritus at the MSKCC. He has received many international honors and awards and he has professional certification and licensing in Cancer Cytogenetics, Molecular Oncology and Predisposition Cancer Genetics specialties, from the New York Department of Health, USA. He also served as a key member of various disease management teams and actively participated in various clinical trials for both hematologic as well as solid tumors. Prof. Jhanwar was recently elected as a Foreign Fellow of the oldest Academy of Sciences in India, which in the past 30 years elected only 84 such fellows internationally. He also served as Professor of Pathology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine of Weill Cornell Medical College. Prof. Jhanwar also serves as a member of the editorial boards of several journals including Anticancer Research, International Journal of Human Genetics, and Cancer Genomics and Proteomics. He has published in high impact journals like PNAS, Science, Nature, Nature Genetics, NEJM, Blood, Oncogene, MCB, Cancer Research, Cell and EMBO, among others, resulting in more than 225 publications.

Prof Joris Vermeesch was born in Belgium in 1965. He obtained his BSc degree from the Bioengineer University of Gent, Belgium and his PhD degree in Chemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Nebraska, USA. He is the Head of the Cytogenetics unit of the CME-UZ research group since 2001 and the Coordinator of Genomics Core since 2008. Furthermore, as from 2008, Prof. Vermeesch has been elected as the President of the Belgian Society of Human Genetics. He also serves as member of the Board of Directors of several organizations such as the International Standards on Array CGH Consortium (ISCA), the European Cytogenetics external Quality Control and the International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis. He is the founder of a biotech spin-off company known as “Cartagenia”. Prof. Vermeesch is a scientist with international reputation in the provision of cytogenetics, genomics, genetics, single cell, preimplantation, prenatal and postnatal diagnosis. He has published more than 130 peer review papers in scientific journals including Nature, J Med Genet, Am J Hum Genet, Nucleic Acid research, etc. He has collaborated with Prof. Patsalis in several research projects in the last ten years with great success.

Dr. Voula Velissariou received her BSc degree from the Department of Biology, University of Athens, Greece and her PhD in Genetics from the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK. She underwent specialization training in cytogenetic prenatal diagnosis methods and CVS culture techniques from the Department of Medical Genetics, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK. Dr Velissariou has also obtained training in molecular cytogenetic methodologies from Guy’s Hospital, London and University College London, London. Dr Velissariou is the Head of the Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Department in Bioatriki SA in Athens, Greece since January 2016. She has served as founder member of the Panhellenic Association of Medical Geneticists as well as member of the board of Panhellenic Union of Biologists. She is a scientist with an international reputation in the provision of prenatal and postnatal genetic diagnostic services in Greece with 30 years’ experience.

Assoc. professor Jūratė Kasnauskiene from Lithuania joined NIPD team in 2016 for scientific and clinical collaboration. She has a MD and PhD in Clinical Genetics at Vilnius University, more than 20 years professional experience in molecular genetic testing, clinical counseling and teaching (she is assoc. professor of Vilnius University) and currently works as a Head of department of Molecular Diagnostic at Klaipeda University Hospital. Jurate is a member European and Lithuanian Society of Human Genetics as well as a board member of Lithuanian Society of Laboratory Medicine. She has participated and leaded numerous Lithuanian and European scientific and healthcare projects and has worked in committees of Lithuanian Ministry of Health. Jurate has published a number of international publications and has taken trainings in Germany, Netherlands, Taiwan, Spain, Cyprus, UK. Jurate’s fields of interest include cancer genetics and prenatal genetics as well as infertility genetics and intellectual disabilities genetics.