Network Structure

The National Network comprises two levels:

1. The Axial (Developed) Network, comprising units that are mature in regards to research on and diagnosis of inherited heart conditions and which either carry out clinical as well as genetic screening or have considerable clinical experience, and
2. The Developing Network, comprising hospitals around the country that have not yet developed the relevant knowhow but have plans to do so; staff at these institutions will be trained by clinicians from Axial Network units.

The Axial Network comprises the following hospitals:

1. Unit of Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Diseases, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center –
2. 1st Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Athens “Ippokratio”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
3. 3rd Cardiology Department, Hippokration General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
4. Cardiology Department, Unit of Cardiomyopathies, University General Hospital of Heraklion
5. 1st Department of Cardiology, Unit of Cardiomyopathies, AHEPA University General Hospital of Thessaloniki
6. “Inherited Cardiovascular Diseases and Sudden Cardiac Death Unit”, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens
7. Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
8. Laboratory of Forensic Medicine &Toxicology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

The Axial Network also comprises the following units that will undertake to carry out patient genetic screening:

1. Laboratory of Histocompatibility/Immunogenetics-Molecular Diagnostics-Genetics, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center
2. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH)
3. Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH)
4. Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA)

 

The Developing Network comprises the following cardiology clinics:

1. Cardiology Department, General University Hospital of Patras «Panagia i Voitheia»
2. 1st Department of Cardiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, University Hospital of Ioannina
3. 2nd Department of Cardiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, University Hospital of Ioannina
4. Cardiology Department, General University Hospital of Larissa
5. Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis
6. 2nd Department of Cardiology , “Attikon” University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Committees

Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee is the partnership’s supreme governing body

Supervisory Committee Chair

Panos Vardas

Emeritus Professor of Cardiology

Members

Aris Anastasakis

Scientific Coordinator of the Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Disease Unit

Deputy Head of the Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Diseases Unit

Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Perry Elliott
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
Director of the Centre for Heart Muscle Disease at University College London (UCL)
Consultant cardiologist at the Centre for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital London, UK.
Chairman of the ESC Heart Academy and the ESC Council on Cardiovascular Genomics

Hara Spiliopoulou

Professor of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the Faculty of Medicine of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Konstantinos Tsioufis

Director of the First Department of Cardiology, Hippocratio General Hospital of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Professor of Cardiology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Visiting Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA

Dorothea Tsekoura

Consultant Cardiologist at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Scientific Coordinator of the Cardiology Department at Aretaieion University Hospital, Athens

GSRT Representative

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee is the partnership’s main body; it has the scientific responsibility for the Network and controls its day-to-day operations.

Committee Coordinator

Aris Anastasakis

Scientific Coordinator of the Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Disease Unit

Deputy Head of the Inherited and Rare Cardiovascular Diseases Unit

Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Members

Vasilis Vasilikos

Professor of Cardiology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Director of the Third Department of Cardiology at Ippokratio General Hospital of Thessaloniki

Charalambos Vlachopoulos

Professor at the First Department of Cardiology, Hippocratio General Hospital of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Georgios Efthymiadis

Professor of Cardiology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

First Department of Cardiology AUTh

Dimitrios Thanos

Investigator – Professor Level, Chair of the Scientific Board at BRFAA

Dimitrios Degiannis

Director of the Immunology, Molecular Diagnostics, Genetics and Histocompatibility Lab

Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Frangiskos Parthenakis

Director Professor at the General University Hospital of Heraklion

Efstathia Prappa

Head of the Department of Cardiomyopathy and Sudden Death Prevention at Evaggelismos General Hospital

Nikolaos Raikos

Associate Professor at the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Laboratory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Evaggelia Sofouli

GSRT Representative

Hara Spiliopoulou

Professor of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the Faculty of Medicine of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Nektarios Tavernarakis

Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH)

Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete

Irini Fundulaki

Principal Researcher at the Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (ICS-FORTH)

Collaborating Researcher at the Greek Research and Technology Network (GRNET)

Anastasia Hatzidimitriou

Researcher Β’ at the Institute of Applied Biosciences at the Centre for Research and Technology – Hellas (INAB-CERTH)

Working Committees

Genetic Screening Approval Committee

Cardiologists

Aris Anastasakis (Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre) – member

Stathis Papatheodorou (Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre) – member

Georgios Efthymiadis (AHEPA) – member

Sotiris Katranas – alternate member

Evaggelos Oikonomou (Hippocratio – NKUoA) – member

Georgios Lazaros – alternate member

Efstathios Pagourelias (Ippokratio – AUTh) – member

Vasileios Vasilikos – alternate member

Alexandros Patrianakos (General University Hospital of Heraklion) – member

Ioannis Anastasiou – alternate member

Efstathia Prappa (Evaggelismos) – member

Ioannis Liatakis – alternate member

Geneticists

Malena Pantou (Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre) – member

Polyxeni Gourzi – alternate member

Emmanouela Linardaki (IMBB-FORTH) – member

TBA – alternate member

Periklis Makrythanasis (BRFAA) – member

Anastasia Hatzidimitriou (CERTH) – member

Anastasia Laidou – alternate member

Clinical Protocols

Aris Anastasakis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Stathis Papatheodorou – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Konstantinos Ritsatos – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Vasiliki Vlagouli – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos – BRFAA

Charalambos Vlachopoulos – Hippocratio, NKUoA

Georgios Efthymiadis – AHEPA

Alexandros Patrianakos – General University Hospital of Heraklion

Efstathios Pagourelias – Ippokratio, AUTh

Efstathia Prappa – Evaggelismos

Genetics Protocols

Aris Anastasakis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Dimitrios Degiannis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Malena Pantou – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Xenia Gourzi – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Xanthippi Kotsaka – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Georgios Efthymiadis – AHEPA

Emmanouela Linardaki – IMBB-FORTH

Periklis Makrythanasis – BRFAA

Efstathios Pagourelias – Ippokratio, AUTh

Anastasia Hatzidimitriou – CERTH

Registries

Aris Anastasakis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Stathis Papatheodorou – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Evaggelia Karvouni – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Hara Spiliopoulou – Forensics, NKUoA

Anastasios Tagaris – ICS-FORTH

Irini Fundulaki – ICS-FORTH

Project Dissemination

Aris Anastasakis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Xanthippi Kotsaka – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Alexandra Loli – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Stelios Pantelopoulos – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre

Konstantinos Tzortzis – Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre – elculture.gr

Irini Fundulaki – ICS-FORTH