Despina Kontos

Despina Kontos is a Professor of Radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and serves as Vice Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Research in the Department of Radiology. She is the founding director of the Center for Innovation in Imaging Biomarkers and Integrated Diagnostics (CIMBID) and holds additional appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on leveraging imaging and non-imaging biomarkers for personalized cancer prediction and treatment.

• Undergraduate: University of Patras (Engineering)
• PhD: Temple University (Computer and Information Sciences)
• Postdoc: University of Pennsylvania (Radiology)
• Certificates: Biostatistics & Epidemiology (UPenn), Cancer Biology (Harvard), AI for Decision Making (Wharton)

Dr. Kontos specializes in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and multi-modality imaging data analysis, particularly for cancer risk prediction. Her work has pioneered quantitative imaging biomarkers for breast and lung cancer, integrating radiomics with liquid biopsy data to predict tumor heterogeneity and treatment response. She leads multidisciplinary efforts in biomarker discovery and data-driven diagnostics.

Her research program has attracted significant funding from federal agencies like the NIH and DOD, as well as private foundations including the American Cancer Society. She is a member of the RSNA Research & Education Foundation Fund Development Committee and has authored over 100 high-impact publications.