Welcome to Irini's WormWorld

I am a molecular biologist and geneticist with an undying passion for the little roundworm, 

C. elegans.

 

Currently, I'm a Senior Scientist at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington involved in research and mentoring. I use C. elegans, neuroendocrine cell lines, and mice to study neuronal function with an emphasis on neuromodulation. My main focus is on understanding dense-core vesicle biogenesis and regulation of Gq signaling.

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I grew up in Athens, Greece where I studied Biology at the University of Athens (see "the Freedom of Choice" or "why I didn't study medicine").  I did my PhD at the lab of  the late, great George Thireos at the IMBB, Crete, in transcription regulation and chromatin remodeling in yeast.

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In 2004 I moved to New York City to join Nobel laureate Marty Chalfie's lab at Columbia University as a postdoctoral fellow and later as an associate research scientist, to study neuronal cell fate identity and function in worms. I've been crazy about C. elegans ever since. 

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In 2012 I moved to Seattle to join the new lab of Michael Ailion at the University of Washington. Together we have managed to build a lab that uses multiple model-systems to try and solve basic biological questions and survive the trials and tribulations of the academic world.