Panayiotis Benos

Address:
Department of Computational Biology, SOM
University of Pittsburgh,
3501 Fifth Ave., Suite 3064 BST3
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Phone: 412 648 3315
Fax: 412 648 3163
Homepage: Visit

Background:

When and where you received your PhD
University of Crete, 1997

Where you did your postdoc
European Molecular Biology Laboratory - The EBI, 1997-1999
Washington University in St. Louis, 1999-2002

Research:

The primary focus of my research is in the area of gene regulation and special emphasis is given to the understanding of the mechanisms that govern the specific DNA binding by the regulatory proteins. The recognition of a particular DNA sequence in the proximity of a gene (promoter region); is in the centre of most cellular functions and constitutes a key step towards gene regulation. Moreover, the ability to engineer transcription factors so that they can bind a predetermined DNA target with high affinity is not trivial nowadays. Thus, unravelling the rules behind the specific DNA recognition by transcription factors is of great medical importance, with numerous potential therapeutic applications. Despite its importance, it is still a poorly understood process. Part of our work consists of the development of computational algorithms to model this process. Biochemical experimentation is an essential component of our research too, providing the data that are necessary for training and evaluation of our algorithms. Another area of interest is the genome analysis, with special emphasis to the evolution of the protein families and the genomes.