Anestis Gkanogiannis 🧬

Anestis Gkanogiannis

Senior AI/ML and genomics practitioner

Professional Summary

Senior AI/ML and genomics practitioner with ~15 years building open-source, production-grade tools for large-scale biological data. Maintainer of multiple Bioconductor packages (fastreeR, metabinR, jvecfor), and author of agentic, LLM-driven tooling that runs reproducible bioinformatics workflows from natural-language requests.

Broad multi-omics background spanning genome assembly and annotation, population genomics, large-scale NGS and functional-genomics analysis, and metagenomics, backed by reproducible HPC software and end-to-end program leadership. Currently focused on bringing modern AI — embeddings, deep learning, and LLM-based agents — to making complex omics datasets faster and easier to interrogate.

Education

PhD in Machine Learning

Athens University of Economics and Business

MSc in Machine Learning

Athens University of Economics and Business

BSc in Physics

University of Crete

Interests

Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Machine / Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence Population Genomics, GWAS & Genomic Selection Electronics prototyping (RPi, Arduino)
🔬 Research

My work sits at the intersection of bioinformatics, computational biology, and machine/deep learning — building algorithms and pipelines for NGS data analysis and integration, comparative and population genomics, GWAS, genomic selection, and big-data mining.

I have extensive experience in algorithm design and prototype software development across plant and human genomics, with strong skills in C++, Java, R, Nextflow, and Docker/Singularity, plus HPC cluster management.

Please reach out to collaborate 😃

Skills

Bioinformatics
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Java
C / C++
R
UNIX / Linux
Mathematics
Physics
HPC
Electronics (RPi, Arduino)

Experience

Bioinformatics Scientist
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA)
Dec 2022 – Present
De novo reference genome assembly, reference genome annotation, and population genomics. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Bioinformatician — Gene Regulation, Stem Cells and Cancer
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
Apr 2022 – Nov 2022
Cancer metabolism; NGS data analysis (RNA-Seq, ATAC-Seq, Nanopore, WGS); Nextflow pipeline and Bioconductor R package development; CRISPR gene screening; computational biology. Barcelona, Spain.
Research Scientist / Bioinformatics Head — Agrobiodiversity
CIAT / CGIAR
Jan 2017 – Mar 2021
Plant genomics/genetics/bioinformatics (Cassava, Rice, Bean, Forages); NGS data analysis; population genomics, GWAS, genomic selection; machine learning, AI, and Big Data. Cali, Colombia.
Post-Doctorate Research Fellow — Data Integration (Equipe ID)
CIRAD / BIOS / AGAP
Jun 2015 – Dec 2016
Computational biology and software/web development for RTB (Roots, Tubers and Banana). Montpellier, France.
Post-Doctorate Research Fellow — Genomics & Metabolism (LGBM)
CEA / Genoscope
Jun 2013 – Jun 2015
Machine learning and computational biology; software analyst/developer (with CEA LIST): MetaTarget. Évry, France.
Post-Doctorate Research Fellow — Faculty of Computer Science
University of New Brunswick
Oct 2011 – Mar 2013
Machine learning, AI, software development, and project management. I-AID: Intelligent Analysis of Information and Dissemination. Fredericton, Canada.

Awards

Wheat Growth Stage Challenge (CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture)
Zindi · 2020
First Place Winner (as CGIAR participant).
Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics
Syngenta · 2018
First Place Winner.
ECML 2008 Discovery Challenge
European Conference on Machine Learning · 2008
First prize, Spam Detection Task.
PENED Research Scholarship
Greek General Secretariat for Research and Technology · 2005
Competitive national research scholarship (2005–2008).
Languages
100%
Greek Native
100%
English Fluent
Featured Publications

Population Genomics and Genetic Diversity of Prosopis cineraria in the United Arab Emirates: Insights for Conservation in Arid Ecosystems

Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce is a keystone tree species in the arid and semi-arid regions of West and South Asia, with critical ecological, cultural, and conservation …

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Anestis Gkanogiannis

Nuclear localization of MTHFD2 is required for correct mitosis progression

Subcellular compartmentalization of metabolic enzymes establishes a unique metabolic environment that elicits specific cellular functions. Indeed, the nuclear translocation of …

natalia-pardo-lorente

Chromosome-level genome assembly and functional annotation of *Citrullus colocynthis*: unlocking genetic resources for drought-resilient crop development

This study presents the first comprehensive genome assembly and annotation of Citrullus colocynthis, a drought-tolerant wild close relative of cultivated watermelon, highlighting …

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Anestis Gkanogiannis
Recent Publications
Recent Posts
📫 Contact

I’m always happy to discuss research collaborations, data, and ideas.