Tassos C. Kyriakides, born and raised on the island of Cyprus, completed his B.Sc. (Biochemistry) as a Fulbright Scholar at UCLA (1993) and continued to receive his Ph.D. at the Yale School of Public Health (Epidemiology of Infectious Disease; 1999).
He has been with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Cooperative Studies Program (VACSPCC-West Haven, CT) the last nineteen years as a Senior Biostatistician and has worked on pivotal clinical trials (The OPTIMA Trial, a multi-national HIV/AIDS treatment clinical trial; a surgical clinical trial (The OVER Trial); and a PTSD clinical trial (The VIP-STAR Trial). As of April 2015, he has been appointed Acting Deputy Director at VASCPCC-West Haven.
In 2011 he joined the Yale Center for Analytical Sciences (Yale School of Public Health), where he collaborates with researchers on numerous clinical research projects. He is the President of the Association of Yale Alumni in Public Health (AYAPH) Board and a faculty fellow at Yale’s Saybrook College.
He provides statistical consulting on numerous clinical research protocols, has been an abstract mentor for young researchers at the International AIDS Conferences since 2012, leads the VACSPCC internship program and is a statistical reviewer for high-impact medical journals (Lancet Infectious Diseases and the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology).
Even though his primary research focus is in infectious diseases, with emphasis on HIV/AIDS and its treatment, he has a keen interest in the history of medicine, and social determinants of health. His love for the examination of the socio-cultural dimension of the benefits of Greek/Mediterranean nutrition has inspired him to study, in great depth, through evidence-based research, its main pillar: olive oil. He is a certified Olive Oil Sommelier (International Culinary Center/Olive Oil Education Lab in NY City; 2017) and has given numerous olive oil presentations and tastings at various venues, ranging from health-focused gyms to academic settings. In addition, he is a past President and, currently, Board member of the Massaro Community Farm, Inc., an organic and sustainable 57-acre, 200 CSA member, farm in Woodbridge, CT.
When not training for medium/long-distance races or triathlons, he enjoys long bike rides through the rolling hills of CT; he is inspired by and experiments with the fine art of cooking; he immerses, and sometimes loses himself, in the EVOO world. He is intrigued by interesting and complex, trendy as well as mainstream, wines. He is a strong believer in the holy triad: food, drink and dialogue! He is best reached via email.