The Speakers

Alexandros Kanterakis received his Bachelor's degree in 2002 from the Department of Computer Science (CSD) at the University of Crete (UOC). After graduating, he was accepted into the Master's program in Bioinformatics at CSD hosted in the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). During his Master's studies, he developed algorithms for the classification and clustering of gene expression microarray data. He also participated in research involving text mining of biomedical corpora and the semantic annotation of biomedical information. In 2010, he began his PhD studies at the Department of Genetics of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands. During his PhD, he contributed primarily to the imputation component of the Genome of the Netherlands project. He also conceived the idea of a crowdsourcing environment for programming, which was later developed under the name PyPedia. From 2014 to 2023, he served as a Collaborating Researcher at the Computational BioMedicine Laboratory (CBML) of ICS/FORTH. His work focused mainly on human genetics studies, while he also developed Workflow Management Systems aimed at supporting open and reproducible science. From January 2024 to June 2025, he worked as a Senior Bioinformatician at the US-based pharmacogenomics startup company MyEngene. Since July 2025, he has been a Collaborating Researcher at the Computer Architecture and VLSI Systems (CARV) Laboratory of the Institute of Computer Science (ICS), FORTH, where he works on optimizing accelerators (GPUs) for modern AI applications, including large language models (LLMs) and bioinformatics workloads. 

Dr. Yannis Pantazis is a Principal Researcher at the Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), where he leads research at the intersection of machine learning, applied probability and information theory. His recent research interests include generative models, probabilistic divergences, foundation models and transfer learning. He has authored over 70 publications in leading venues, including IEEE TNNLS, JMLR, Annals of Applied Probability and ICLR.

Rob Zuidwijk is Professor of Global Supply Chains and Ports at Rotterdam School of Management. The chair focuses on synchronizing transportation networks, connecting the port to global supply chains, and coordinating global supply chains for sustainability. Rob Zuidwijk received a PhD from Erasmus University in Mathematics. He presently supervises several PhD students on topics related to the chair. His work has been published in journals like California Management Review, Transportation Science, Journal on Computing, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Communications of the ACM, and Production and Operations Management. He teaches on global sustainable supply chains, port logistics, international transportation, and inter-organizational systems in logistics to BSc, MSc, and PhD students, and he is also involved in post-experience courses. Professor Rob Zuidwijk actively participates in the SmartPort initiative, a collaboration between universities and port community, and the Topsector Logistics. He participates and coordinates several funded research projects on topics of the chair. 

She is a science communicator, social media strategist, and former international criminal lawyer who helps researchers tell stories that connect.  At Erasmus University Rotterdam, she works to bring research out of the academic bubble and into the public sphere by creating short-form videos and other social media content that spark conversation and helping researchers communicate their work in ways that feel clear, human, and meaningful.  What sets her apart? She brings a lawyer’s love of structure and substance, paired with a communicator’s instinct for the human angle. She supports researchers and institutions in moving their work from publication to platform and helping shape how it’s seen, understood, and acted on.