Sofia Kossida (1998)

I was born and raised in Athens, Greece. I completed my undergraduate studies in the Department of Biology in Heraklion, Crete. As an Erasmus+ student, I spent time at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. I pursued my DPhil at Merton College, Oxford, in the Zoology Department, followed by a post-doctoral position at Harvard University. 

My professional journey led me to various roles in companies such as LION Biosciences, Bayer, Endocube, and Novartis, located in the United States, Germany, France, and Switzerland, respectively. Eventually, I returned to Greece to establish my own research team specialising in comparative genomics and bioinformatics. 

Since 2014, I have held the position of a full professor at the University of Montpellier, where I also serve as the director of IMGT and the CBS2 doctoral school. I am fluent in Greek, French, and English, proficient in German, and have basic knowledge of Finnish. 

Throughout my life, I have been a passionate sports enthusiast, particularly in basketball and cross-country skiing. During my time at Oxford, I earned five Blues, and I was the first Greek to cross Finnish Lapland, 445km in a week. I have consistently been a member of the CISV organization, which promotes peace and cultural understanding, and my children are actively involved in its activities. I firmly believe in the power of dialogue to resolve many issues, which is why I greatly support the Merton Mentoring programme as an excellent initiative. Besides this, I take pleasure in assisting young individuals in discovering their life's path.