Animal breeding, genomics and computational biology.

- Development, evaluation and application of computational and statistical methods for the analysis of large sets of farm animal records, pedigrees and genomic data with the aim to extract useful information that unravels the genetic background of economically important traits and facilitates decision making at farm and population level.

- Methods to improve the accuracy of genomic evaluations and detection of genomic markers.
Studies of biomarkers as predictors of animal health, fitness, longevity, robustness and welfare.

- Development, assessment and optimisation of breeding strategies to enhance animal productivity and resilience, safeguard genetic diversity and support the sustainability of the livestock sector.

I graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1983 (emphasis in Livestock Production) and continued my postgraduate studies at the University of New Hampshire, USA, on a full scholarship. Upon completing my Master in Science degree with focus on Animal Breeding and Genetics in 1985, I started my PhD studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, which I successfully completed in 1989 with major in Dairy Science (Breeding and Genetics) and Statistics. After a two-year post-doctoral stint at the Centre for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock at the University of Guelph in Canada, I accepted an offer to lead the newly established Interbull Centre (www.interbull.org) in Uppsala, Sweden. Working on the interphase between scientific advances and industry applications, the Centre followed a unique business model for the development and delivery of international genetic evaluation services to the global bovine sector, with stakeholders spanning more than 30 countries worldwide. In the process I completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Warwick. In 2000 I returned fulltime to academia as Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where I researched and taught genetics of livestock productivity and disease resistance. For the next 12 years I also collaborated closely with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Edinburgh as a Visiting Scientist and later a Visiting Professor. In 2012 I moved to Edinburgh to take on my current role, which is a joint Professorship between SRUC and the University of Edinburgh. I conduct research on computational biology, animal breeding and genomics, supervise PhD students and also teach at undergraduate and graduate levels.