Ioannis Vlachos, PhD

Meet Dr. Ioannis Vlachos, Ph.D., our director of the Spatial Technologies and Bioinformatics Units within the Precision RNA Medicine Core. He is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and co-Director of the Bioinformatics Program at the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). Dr. Vlachos is also an Associated Faculty Member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Dr. Vlachos is a trailblazer in computational non-coding genome research, focusing on non-coding RNAs like microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs. His databases, models, and algorithms are global resources for understanding ncRNA biogenesis and their roles as biomarkers or therapeutic targets. Researchers in over 55 countries benefit from his systems and servers, recognized as 'Expert Databases' in RNACentral and official data sources in the Ensembl database. Notably, he introduced Super Learning to biomedical research.

His work explores the impact of non-coding RNAs and non-coding variation on cancer, immunosurveillance, and immunoediting. Non-coding mutations and RNAs offer promise as therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers. Dr. Vlachos seamlessly integrates in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methodologies to bridge the gap between bench and bedside.

His visionary goal is to incorporate the regulatory non-coding genome into personalized clinical decision-making. Dr. Vlachos's pioneering work is shaping a future where understanding non-coding RNAs informs tailored patient care.