Brief Bio
Dr. Gagos received his PhD in Cancer Cytogenetics from Athens Medical School, University of Athens Greece, in 1993. The same year he was appointed Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Cellular Genetics, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, USA (Directors: T.C.Hsu, S.Pathak). In 1994, he joined the Kleberg Cytogenetic and Prenatal Diagnosis Laboratory at the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA (Director: L.G.Shaffer) to get a solid background on Medical and Molecular Genetics through Baylor's official postdoctoral training program leading to the American Board of Medical Genetics Certification in Clinical Cytogenetics. Dr. Gagos was certified by the American Board of Medical Specialists in 1996. Sarantis Gagos was the first researcher to join BRF in 1998, as Investigator level D. In parallel to his commitment to BRFs design and organization set-up, Gagos set his small research group under special arrangement in Athens Medical School, to study the chromosomal mechanisms responsible for the generation and perpetuation of malignant growth, and to compare patterns of chromosomal evolution between telomerase positive and telomerase negative metastatic tumor specimens and cancer cell lines. In 2002, Dr. Gagos was promoted to Investigator C (Assistant Professor level), and took a 12-month sabbatical leave to the Division of Medical Genetics, University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland (Director: S.E. Antonarakis). In 2003, Dr. Gagos was appointed Associate Director of the Laboratories of Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics in the Division of Medical Genetics of the University Hospital of Geneva. In Antonarakis lab, he worked in the construction of tilling path genomic microarrays, the sequencing project of the short arm of human chromosome 21, in a functional comparison of monozygotic twins discordant for trisomy 21, and continued his studies on chromosomal instability in cancer and continuous growth. Dr. Gagos came back to FBRAA in 2004, as a Primary Investigator to apply his high expertise in human and molecular cytogenetics in basic research and to provide high quality clinical and research cytogenetic services. Current research of Gagos group is focused on the mechanisms and biological factors involved in recombinatorial telomere maintenance and the generation of chromosomal instability in neoplasia (CIN).

Selected Publications

Gagos S, Irminger-Finger I. Chromosome instability in neoplasia: chaotic roots to continuous growth. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2005 May;37(5):1014-33

Ioakim-Liossi A,Gagos S, Athanassiades P, Athanassidou P, Gogas J, Davaris P, and Christos Markopoulos (1998): Cytogenetic findings involving chromosomes 1,3, 6 and 11, in metastatic effusions arising from breast and ovarian cancer. Cancer Genet Cytogenet. 1999 Apr; 110(1):34-40.

Pratsinis H, Saetta A, Gagos S, Davaris P (1998): Isolation and characterization of a novel cell line derived from a transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: Inhibition by Epidermal Growth Factor. In vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim. 1998 Oct;34(9):722-8.

Goodman BK, Shaffer LG, Rutberg J, Leppert M, Harum K, Gagos S, Ray JH, Bialer MG, Zhou X, Pletcher BA, Shapira SK, Geraghty MT (1998): Inherited duplication Xq27-qter at Xp22.3 in severely affected males: Molecular Cytogenetic evaluation and clinical description in 3 unrelated families. Am J Med Genet 1998 Dec 4;80(4):377-84

Shapira SK, Orr-Urtreger A, Gagos S, Shaffer LG: Constitutional mosaicism for a chromosome 9 inversion resulting in recombinant aneusomy in an offspring. Am J Med Genetics. 1997 69(4): 360-364.

Gagos S, Tseleni S, Iliopoulos D, Agapitos E, Antachopoulos C, Kostakis A, Karayannakos P, Skalkeas G: Cell senescence and a mechanism of clonal evolution leading to continuous cell proliferation, LOH, and tumor heterogeneity: Studies on two immortal colon cancer cell lines. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1996 90: 157-165.

Gagos S., Iatridou-Kyrkou K. Liosi A., Karakitsos P., Papageorgaki P. Kyroudi A and S.Pathak : Clonal evolution of an immunoblastic type non Hodgkin's Lymphoma with der(6)t(1;6)(q11;p11) as it's primary cytogenetic abnormality. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1995 79:59-63.

Gagos S, Hopwood V, Iliopoulos D, Kostakis A, Karayannakos P, Yatzides H, Skalkeas G and Pathak S : Chromosomal markers associated with metastasis in two colon cancer cell lines established from the same patient. Anticancer Res 1995: 15:369-378.

Antachopoulos CT, Iliopoulos DC, Gagos S, Agapitos MV, Karayannakos PE, Roboli SK, Skalkeas GD: In vitro effects of heparin on SW480 cell line. Tumor cell - matrix interaction. Anticancer Res. 1995 15:1411-1416.

Pathak S, Dave B, and Gagos S: Chromosome alterations in cancer development and apoptosis. In vivo 1994, 8:843-850.