Research Associate and
Head of the Systems Bioinformatics Unit
University of Cyprus, Cyprus
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Dr. Anna Onisiforou holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Natural Sciences with direction in Biology and Chemistry, an M.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She also holds a B.A. (Hons) in Accounting and Finance and a M.Sc. in Finance and Financial Law. Dr. Onisiforou completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience, at The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, hosted in the Bioinformatics Department, from 2018 to 2022. During this period, Dr. Onisiforou spearheaded pioneering research in Systems Bioinformatics, focusing on how viral infections can affect neurodegenerative diseases through mechanisms such as virus-host protein interactions and molecular mimicry. Her doctoral work was pivotal in identifying key viral-pathogenic mechanisms, including microbiota-virus interactions, and utilized computational methods like multi-omics and network analyses. This work not only highlighted the role of viruses in neurodegenerative diseases but also demonstrated their potential impact on other diseases influenced by pathogenic organisms, including autoimmune and neuropsychiatric disorders. Having finished her Ph.D. training only two years ago, Dr. Onisiforou has already succeeded in publishing eight papers as the first author. As the head of the Systems Bioinformatics Unit at the Translational Neuropharmacology Lab of the University of Cyprus, Dr. Onisiforou is committed to transforming complex biological data into clinical solutions, particularly targeting infectious diseases, as well as neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Her current research work is centered on the investigation of microbial pathogenesis in Alzheimer's Disease. Meanwhile, currently she is integrating her computational expertise with experimental methods to accelerate the translation of basic research findings into personalized therapeutic solutions.