Working with world-class scientists propels us, and every now and then, we can share a glimpse into their lives and the work they’re doing! Here’s a brief Q&A with Dr. Nikolaos Daskalakis; we’re thrilled to have his energy and expertise as our consulting Chief Scientist!
What are you working on right now at Polaris?
As an academic, I always aspire for translational application of research findings. So, I am excited to be advising Polaris in the development of Polaris’ ADAPT neuropsychiatric biomarker platform, exploring the specific disease applications in which it could be impactful.
What are you most hopeful about?
The adaptability of the panel! ADAPT holds the potential to circumvent the problem of low RNA quantity and deal with multiple RNA sources like blood and saliva.
How do you feel your work and current industry shifts are changing to usher in advancement?
We may be able to both see and assess the heterogeneity of psychiatric diseases in their presentation, pathophysiology, and treatment response.
When you’re not in the lab, where are you, what are you doing?
I love to travel with my wife and kids. Also, I am a cinephile.
If you could collaborate with any specific organization, lab, or mind, who would it be?
I want to work with Archimedes and Leonardo da Vinci!
More About Nikolaos Daskalakis, MD, PhD
Nikolaos P. Daskalakis, MD, PhD, is a renowned stress neuroscientist known for advancing Systems Biology of PTSD. He is the director of the Neurogenomics and Translational Bioinformatics Laboratory, part of the Advanced Bioinformatics and Computational Discovery Hub, at McLean Hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and an associate member of the Broad Institute, MIT Computer Science. He is also an affiliate member of the Broad Institute, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and the National Center for PTSD. Dr. Daskalakis received his MD from the University of Athens, his PhD in neuropsychopharmacology from Leiden University, and completed post-doctoral research fellowships in clinical neuroendocrinology at Leiden University and in systems biology at the Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Daskalakis focuses on the interaction between stress and the brain, conducting translational studies and following an integrative systems biology approach. His lab uses transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of brain and blood samples to identify cell and gene networks associated with vulnerability and resilience to PTSD.