Home > Research > NIBIB Intramural Labs > Laboratory for the Assessment of Medical Imaging Systems > Gender-based Differences in Cardiovascular Disease

E-mail this page

Biosketch: Raising a New Generation of Researchers

LAMIS fellow, Iacovos Kyprianou--known here in America as "Jake"--is native to the Mediterranean country known as Cyprus. Born in the central part of the island where Greek heritage remains firmly intact, his country is a European Union member recognized for its high standard in education and exceptional instructors. Solid academics, in combination with the influence of the well-developed engineering and up-and-coming science industries, made the island a fertile environment for his passion for physics to take root and grow.

Kyprianou felt the calling to his profession early on. He says, "I liked science as a child. When people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I responded, 'I want to be an inventor!'" When asked about early influences on his educational and career choices, he says, "I admired my cousin who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics. But also, my high school had a program where you could try a job for a week; it was their idea of professional development. My mother was an oncology nurse at Nicosia General Hospital. I asked her if she knew of any jobs that involved physics, and she told me about medical physicists at the hospital. So I went there for a week. They were doing radiation therapy and imaging, and that's when I got really interested in this field." 

Despite his strong, natural predilection, life wasn't all about science. Kyprianou also enjoyed painting in both oil and watercolor, and pastels and pencils were also among his favored media. He says, "My art teacher would try to lure me away from physics saying, 'Many physicists are great painters.'"

Athletic activities were also a big part of his teenage years. He played tennis, and he was also a champion cyclist who won races in several European countries. Kyprianou still feels comfortable in the saddle, and bikes the 90-minute round trip route to work every day.

Beyond High School

In 1995, Kyprianou enrolled for undergraduate studies at the University of Cyprus where he received his B.Sc. degree in physics in 1999. At that time, people on the other side of the globe were already starting to take interest in his precocious insights. His undergraduate thesis, titled "Chaotic Dynamics in Pinball Billiard Systems," received an honorable mention from the American Institute of Physics (see Computing in Science Engineering, Nov-Dec, 1999. http://webphysics.davidson.edu/applets/resources/c6065.pdf)

As Kyprianou contemplated his graduate experience, he began to consider opportunities beyond the shores of Cyprus. He applied to physics Ph.D. programs in Germany, France, and Greece, and had much interest in a satellite simulation program in New Zealand, but it was ultimately the University of Buffalo's (SUNY) medical imaging physics program that reeled him in for another academic endeavor.

Kyprianou reflects on the pace of those days and how early experience and choices made in his youth alleviated some of the pressure, "During the first two years in grad school, you have to take lots of courses, and you have teaching requirements. There is barely enough time to spend thinking about [the project] you want to do. It was pretty much four years of research--hiding in a cave--eating, living, and breathing physics. I knew what I wanted to do before, and it's just easier if you can make those decisions when you're a kid."

His studies at SUNY ultimately provided practical insight into the entire research process, and even prior to his graduation, Kyprianou saw the fruits of his labor manifest themselves in clinical application in the operating room. He describes his experience, "I did my graduate studies from 1999 to 2004, and my research project at the Toshiba Stroke Research Center was mentored by Stephen Rudin. I was doing basic research, but I also got clinical experience. My project focused on development of a high-resolution camera for visualizing extremely small vessels in the brain, which included creating the software and optimizing it for clinical use. I worked with neurosurgeons during [early] trials, and when they felt it was good enough, they moved it to the hospital and used it on patients."

Nature Versus Nurture: Characteristics that fit well in the world of research

Research isn't for everyone, and those best suited to the field may exhibit certain characteristics. Kyprianou comments, "A researcher has to be driven to find out why things are the way they are, and maybe more importantly, why they aren't some other way. It's like you get a little worm inside your head that won't let you sleep until you figure things out. What can I improve? What technology do I need to improve this? Questions like these are the force that drives me."

Kyprianou likes the cadence of his chosen field of work. He says, "One of the reasons I chose medical imaging as opposed to all the other fields in the physical sciences is because the results of your research are immediate. For example, if you study cosmology, it may take 40 years to see the results of whatever you've been working on. In comparison, imaging is about as immediate as a physicist could hope for. On the other hand, the clinicians I work with sometimes suggest developments in software or hardware assuming that their request can be done in a few days, when in reality, their ideas might take ten years of research to realize. So for them, the research pace is way too slow."

Kyprianou's consistent tenacity and motivation ultimately resulted in a kind of career slingshot maneuver that catapulted him into the career trajectory he is on today. But his fate wasn't clear until uncomfortably late in his Ph.D. program. He explains, "I wasn't sure if I would graduate. I had developed a system to optimize detectors we were using specifically on patients, and my advisor was unsure of how the scientific community would accept my methods. He told me, 'If you're well received at the SPIE (Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers) medical imaging conference in February, then you can graduate in the summer.' So I went and presented. Kyle [Myers] (the current-day Director for the NIBIB/CDRH Laboratory for the Assessment of Medical Imaging Systems) gave the key note speech at the physics meeting, and she really inspired me. Then I gave my talk, and afterward, my advisor came over and said, 'Congratulations, Doctor Kyprianou.' I knew then that I was going to graduate."

At that same conference, he saw a bulletin board with an opening in Dr. Myers' lab, and he emailed her immediately to discuss the possibilities. As fate would have it, he graduated on July 13 and had just enough time to pack all his worldly possessions in his Jeep and make the trek to D.C. prior to starting work on July 14, 2004.

Teamwork Spurs Advances in Health Care

One of the projects currently occupying Kyprianou's time is called in-silico imaging. He has developed a lifelike "phantom" model of the human form for heart imaging studies, as well as imaging software for analysis of the resulting data. He explains the versitility of these research tools, "I built the phantom for my heart imaging project, but it can be used for other things such as lung imaging or mammography, so it has applications outside my own fellowship."

Through his fellowship, he continues to work with surgeons and clinicians to improve medical tools, and as before, he realizes the importance of these collaborations to improvements in health care. He says, "Surgeons sometimes suggest very simple things, but they're things that I would never think of myself. For example, there was a surgeon who suggested a very simple technology change that would save him a half minute--every second is precious when you're doing brain surgery. This wasn't something I would have thought of because I don't do his job every day. Through my interactions with doctors, I understand their world better; I realize which areas need improvement, and why. Then I realize how my expertise could help them have the kind of technology that would best suit their needs."

Adapting to Life in America

Adjusting to the cultural differences here in America hasn't always been easy, but Kyprianou enjoys Washington, D.C., and all the things it offers. Quick to provide an anecdote on the trials and tribulations of his enculturation, he says, "When I was in Buffalo, I was debating whether I wanted to stay in the United States. In Cyprus, people like to go outdoors, and eating is really more of an occasion to socialize--people there love to socialize. The first time I went to a restaurant in Buffalo, I was eating dinner and chatting with a friend, and the moment I finished my plate, the waitress gave me the check. I was so offended! I told her, 'I'm not done yet.' And she said, 'Do you want to order something else?' I said, 'No, not right now. I'm talking.' She said, 'Well, okay. I'll give you the bill and you can pay when you want.' So, I was disappointed, but here in D.C., there are many sidewalk cafes and restaurants where people can linger to have dinner and talk. After visiting here and seeing the difference, I really liked this area."

He also misses the afternoon "siestas" customary in southern Europe. "My parents came here to visit and saw me getting up early and staying up late without taking a nap, and they couldn't understand how I could do it. If you break your day with a couple hours of sleep after lunch, you can go for coffee at 10 o'clock at night."

On the other hand, there are also things Kyprianou prefers in American culture. He says, "Americans are hard workers. They take fewer holidays, and their vacations are more interesting. In Cyprus, between the 1st and 15th of August, everything is closed. Stores are regularly closed on Sundays, as well. It's very inconvenient. I've been here for so many years, and I don't want to have to plan to do my shopping anymore."

Kyprianou also likes the wide open spaces in America. "Geographically, Cyprus is 60 by 150 miles. It's about 8 hours by boat to Israel, and about a day by boat to mainland Greece. I felt a little constrained on the island, but in the U.S., driving to a different state is like driving to a different country in Europe, except that you don't have to worry about a passport."

After four years in the lab, Kyprianou has decided to stay. His mentor, Myers says, "We plan to keep Jake. One of the strengths of this joint lab is the training opportunity it represents. We are training a new cadre of medical imaging researchers who have been exposed to the regulatory environment, and who understand the safety and effectiveness questions that regulators must ask. This enables them to successfully negotiate the bench-to-bedside path for the products they develop. At the same time, it gives the lab the opportunity to keep the best and the brightest that we bring on as post docs. We intend for it to be an excellent opportunity for these young scientists, whether they go on to careers elsewhere, or stay with us more permanently."

As for his professional future, Kyprianou is happy to be continuing his work here. "This is deeply interesting work. For the short-term future, I really want to continue what I'm doing to build up the tools and knowledge base so that I can play a bigger part in this field."

(Back to Top)