The Mass General Research Institute (MGRI) is home to a research community of 9,500+ individuals working to understand disease and develop solutions to medicine’s most pressing challenges.

But who are they and what do they do when they’re not conducting research? Learn more about them in the #HumansOfMGRI.series.

From clinical research coordinators to postdoctoral fellows, research technicians, graduate students and principal investigators—they are all part of the Mass General Research Institute.

Our next guest in the series is Foivos Chatzidimitriou, PhD

What lab/department do you work in?

I am a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Systems Biology, working in the lab of Kamila Naxerova, PhD.

We study the origins and consequences of somatic variation. Our aim is to understand how mutational processes and selection in normal cells can pave the way to cancer.

The projects I currently work on focus on the effects of tissue turnover and selection in the hematopoietic system.

When and why did you get interested in the work that you are doing?

I have always been interested in biomedicine: the science and the technologies that can cure or ameliorate human diseases.

After obtaining an engineering degree, I did research in biopsy preservation and developed a device to restore fluid flow through tissue specimens.

As I was learning more about oncology, I became curious of more fundamental scientific concepts; how healthy cells undergo changes that eventually impair their functions and possibly enable them to become malignant.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I spend most of my time outside the lab with friends, keeping up with new movies and politics, and trying to stay physically active.

Also, I spend most of my time off in Greece (where I originally come from). Especially in the summer, you may find me at the sunny beaches of Lefkada, at Agios Nikitas in particular.

What is your favorite TV show, podcast, book, or movie? 

I don’t necessarily have a favorite movie, but there is a group of directors that I try to never miss a movie from:
● Alejandro González Iñárritu
● Christopher Nolan
● David Fincher
● Alfonso Cuarón
● Pedro Almodóvar

For movies, The Prestige (Directed by Nolan) and Biutiful (directed by Iñárritu) are definitely high on my list.

A fun fact about yourself

Due to my love for cinema, I often quote films during discussions and get grilled for doing so by my friends and family on a regular basis.

Can you give us a quote from a movie that you have used in reference to science?

Ha, that’s a geeky one. Maybe, paraphrasing the Gladiator, “Failed experiments smile at us all. All one can do is smile back.”

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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