Header Ele Zeggini

Director, Institute of Translational Genomics

Eleftheria Zeggini

"Our research leverages big data in genetics and genomics for medically important human traits. We aim to translate insights from genomics into mechanisms of disease development and progression, shortening the path to translation and empowering precision medicine."

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Research

Eleftheria works in the field of Translational Genomics. Her team develops and applies robust statistical and computational tools to integrate information gleaned from deep molecular, genomics and epidemiological approaches to address important biomedical research challenges.

Academic Journey

"In 2018, I joined Helmholtz Munich, where I am the founding director of the Institute of Translational Genomics. I am interested in dissecting the role of sequence variation in human health and disease by coupling high-throughput sequencing technologies with the study of diverse populations and strategies linking electronic health records to genomics. Our activities are underpinned by the integration of big multi-omics data and by the development of computational and statistical approaches for the next generation of translational genomics studies.

I am committed to developing early-career researchers. I promote diversity and inclusion, and have a strong interest in capacity building.

I am a Liesel Beckmann Distinguished Professor and hold the Chair of Translational Genomics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) School of Medicine."

Skills

Big data Multi-omics Genomics Biomedical research Precision medicine Digital Health

Professional Background

2020

Professor at the TUM School of Medicine, Technical University Munich and Klinikum Rechts der Isar

2018

Director ITG at Helmholtz Munich

2008-2018

Group Leader, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK

2006-2008

Wellcome Research Career Development Fellow, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, UK

2004-2006

Post Doctoral Research Associate in Statistical Genetics, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, UK

2003-2004

Post Doctoral Research Associate, Centre for Integrated Genomic and Medical Research, University of Manchester, UK

2003

PhD in Immunogenetics of Juvenile Arthritis at the School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK

1999

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK

Honors and Awards

  • 2024: Elected Member of Academia Europaea
  • 2024: Greek Excellence Award
  • 2022: National Representative to the EMBL Council
  • 2020: Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK
  • 2020: Argo Award for Distinguished Greeks Abroad
  • 2018: Honorary Senior Fellow, University of Cambridge
  • 2018: Honorary Professor, University of Bristol

Selected Publications

Soremekun O, Park Y-C, Tutino M, Kalungi A, Rayner NW, Nyirenda M, Fatumo S, Zeggini E

Linking the plasma proteome to genetics in individuals from continental Africa provides insights into type 2 diabetes pathogenesis

Arruda AL, Bocher O, Taylor HJ, Cammann D, Yoshiji S, Yin X, Zhao C, Chen J, Wood AC, Suzuki K, Mercader JM, Spracklen CN, Meigs JB, Vujkovic M, Smith GD, Rotter JI, Voight BF, Morris AP, Zeggini E

The effect of type 2 diabetes genetic predisposition on non-cardiovascular comorbidities

Tutino M, Yu NY, Hatzikotoulas K, Park YC, Kreitmaier P, Katsoula G, Berner R, Casteels K, Elding Larsson H, Kordonouri O, Ołtarzewski M, Szypowska A, Ott R, Weiss A, Winkler C, Zapardiel-Gonzalo J, Petrera A, Hauck SM, Bonifacio E, Ziegler AG, Zeggini E

Genetics of circulating proteins in newborn babies at high risk of type 1 diabetes

Hatzikotoulas K, Southam L, Stefansdottir L, Boer CG, McDonald ML et al.

Translational genomics of osteoarthritis in 1,962,069 individuals

Bittner N, Shi C, Zhao D, Ding J, Southam L, Swift D, Kreitmaier P, Tutino M, Stergiou O, Cheung JTS, Katsoula G, Hankinson J, Wilkinson JM, Orozco G, Zeggini E

Primary osteoarthritis chondrocyte map of chromatin conformation reveals novel candidate effector genes

Kreitmaier P, Suderman M, Southam L, Coutinho de Almeida R, Hatzikotoulas K, Meulenbelt I, Steinberg J, Relton CL, Wilkinson JM, Zeggini E

An epigenome-wide view of osteoarthritis in primary tissues

Png G, Barysenka A, Repetto L, Navarro P, Shen X, Pietzner M, Wheeler E, Wareham NJ, Langenberg C, Tsafantakis E, Karaleftheri M, Dedoussis G, Mälarstig A, Wilson JF, Gilly A, Zeggini E

Mapping the serum proteome to neurological diseases using whole genome sequencing
2021 Cell

Boer CG*, Hatzikotoulas K*, Southam L*, Stefánsdóttir L, Zhang Y, Coutinho de Almeida R, Wu TT, Zheng J, Hartley A, Teder-Laving M, Skogholt AH, Terao C, Zengini E, Alexiadis G, Barysenka A, Bjornsdottir G, Gabrielsen ME, Gilly A, Ingvarsson T, Johnsen MB, Jonsson H, Kloppenburg M, Luetge A, Lund SH, Mägi R, Mangino M, Nelissen RRGHH, Shivakumar M, Steinberg J, Takuwa H, Thomas LF, Tuerlings M; arcOGEN Consortium; HUNT All-In Pain; ARGO Consortium; Regeneron Genetics Center, Babis GC, Cheung JPY, Kang JH, Kraft P, Lietman SA, Samartzis D, Slagboom PE, Stefansson K, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tobias JH, Uitterlinden AG, Winsvold B, Zwart JA, Davey Smith G, Sham PC, Thorleifsson G, Gaunt TR, Morris AP, Valdes AM, Tsezou A, Cheah KSE, Ikegawa S, Hveem K, Esko T, Wilkinson JM, Meulenbelt I, Lee MTM, van Meurs JBJ, Styrkársdóttir U, Zeggini E *contributed equally

Deciphering osteoarthritis genetics across 826,690 individuals from 9 populations.

Steinberg J, Southam L, Roumeliotis TI, Clark MJ, Jayasuriya RL, Swift D, Shah KM, Butterfield NC, Brooks RA, McCaskie AW, Bassett JHD, Williams GR, Choudhary JS, Wilkinson JM, Zeggini E

A molecular quantitative trait locus map for osteoarthritis.

Gilly A, Park Y-C, Png G, Bjornland T, Southam L, Suveges D, Neumeyer S, Fischer I, Barysenka A, Rayner NW, Tsafantakis E, Karaleftheri M, Dedoussis G, Zeggini E

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of the cardiometabolic proteome.
2020 Cell

Zeggini E, Baumann M, Götz M, Herzig S, Hrabe de Angelis M, Tschöp MH

Biomedical Research Goes Viral: Dangers and Opportunities.

Kuchenbaecker K, Telkar N, Reiker T, Walters RG, Lin K, Eriksson A, Gurdasani D, Gilly A, Southam L, Tsafantakis E, Karaleftheri M, Seeley J, Kamali A, Asiki G, Millwood IY, Holmes M, Du H, Guo Y, Understanding Society Scientific Group, Kumari M, Dedoussis G, Li L, Chen Z, Sandhu MS, Zeggini E

The transferability of lipid loci across African, Asian and European cohorts.

Tachmazidou I, Hatzikotoulas K, Southam L, Esparza-Gordillo J, Haberland V, Zheng J, Johnson T, Koprulu M, Zengini E, Steinberg J, Wilkinson JM, Bhatnagar S, Hoffman J, Buchan N, Suveges D, arcOGEN Consortium, Yerges Armstrong L, Davey Smith G, Gaunt TR, Scott RA, McCarthy LC, Zeggini E

Identification of new therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis through genome-wide analyses of UK Biobank data.

Gilly A, Suveges D, Kuchenbaecker K, Pollard M, Southam L, Hatzikotoulas K, Farmaki AE, Bjornland T, Waples R, Appel EV, Casalone E, Melloni G, Kilian B, Rayner NW, Ntalla I, Kundu K, Walter K, Danesh J, Butterworth A, Barroso I, Tsafantakis E, Dedoussis G, Moltke I, Zeggini E

Cohort-wide deep whole genome sequencing and the allelic architecture of complex traits.

Zengini E, Hatzikotoulas K, Tachmazidou I, Steinberg J, Hartwig FP, Southam L, Hackinger S, Boer CG, Styrkarsdottir U, Suveges D, Kilian B, Gilly A, Ingvarsson T, Jonsson H, Babis GC, McCaskie A, Uitterlinden AG, van Meurs JBJ, Thorsteinsdottir U, Stefansson K, Davey Smith G, Wilkinson JM, Zeggini E.

Genome-wide analyses using UK wide Biobank data provides insights into the genetic architecture of osteoarthritis.

Networks and Affiliations

Logo Technische Universität München

Technical University Munich

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MRI TUM gross PNG

Klinikum rechts der Isar

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