I received a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Democritus University of Thrace and obtained my PhD in Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. My graduate thesis investigating protocols for optimal hematopoietic stem cell mobilization was performed in collaboration with George Papanikolaou Hospital and was supervised by Dr. Evangelia Yannaki. My first postdoctoral position was in the laboratories of Prof. Thalia Papayannopoulou and late Prof. George Stamatoyannopoulos, University of Washington, where I developed novel genome editing methods as therapeutic tools for beta-hemoglobinopathies. I then joined the Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences as a Scholar where I studied the regulatory mechanisms of adult erythropoiesis under the guidance of Dr. Jeff Vierstra and John Stamatoyannopoulos. In 2021, I briefly joined the lab of Prof. Stein Aerts in VIB/KU Leuven, Belgium to explore cell type specific enhancers with implications towards gene therapy. I currently hold an Assistant Professor position at the School of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. My current research involves the use of high-scale genomic data to identify lineage specific DNA regulatory elements such as chromatin insulators and transcriptional enhancers governing cell differentiation and development towards the generation of optimized gene therapy vectors.