PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Eleftheria Zeggini

Eleftheria Zeggini is a translational genomics researcher whose 2026 paper HistoGWAS applied foundation models to genetic analysis of tissue images. She earned degrees in biochemistry and immunogenetics at Manchester, led complex-trait genomics research at Wellcome Sanger, and founded Helmholtz Munich's Institute of Translational Genomics. She became an ELLIS Fellow in 2021. She directs the institute, holds the Liesel Beckmann Distinguished Professorship at TUM, and serves on the ERC Scientific Council.

Links
Website, Google Scholar, X and LinkedIn

Timeline

  1. 1999–2003

    Biochemistry and immunogenetics

    She earns a BSc in biochemistry at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1999 and a PhD in immunogenetics of juvenile arthritis at the University of Manchester's arc Epidemiology Unit in 2003.

  2. By 2006

    Statistical genetics in Manchester and Oxford

    After her 2003 PhD, she undertakes statistical-genetics postdoctoral work at the University of Manchester's Centre for Integrated Genomic and Medical Research, then moves to the University of Oxford's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics.

  3. 2006

    A Wellcome research fellowship

    At Oxford, she receives a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship in 2006 to study design, analysis, and interpretation in large-scale association studies.

  4. 2008

    A Sanger genomics group

    She joins the Wellcome Sanger Institute faculty in November 2008 and leads the Analytical Genomics of Complex Traits group.

  5. 2018–2020

    Founding a genomics institute

    In 2018, she founds the Institute of Translational Genomics at Helmholtz Munich. TUM appoints her as Liesel Beckmann Professor to the Chair of Translational Genomics in its Faculty of Medicine in 2020.

  6. 2021

    An ELLIS fellowship

    She becomes an ELLIS Fellow in its Munich unit in 2021.

  7. 2026

    HistoGWAS for tissue genetics

    In 2026, she coauthors HistoGWAS, an AI-enabled framework that uses pretrained foundation models to derive histology embeddings for genetic analysis.

  8. As of October 2026

    Director and ERC member

    She directs Helmholtz Munich's Institute of Translational Genomics, holds the Liesel Beckmann Distinguished Professorship at TUM, and is spokesperson for its Metabolic and Computational Health (CONNECT) programme. The European Commission appoints her to the ERC Scientific Council in December 2025 for a four-year term starting in January 2026.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Eleftheria Zeggini yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Zeggini, Eleftheria sanger.ac.uk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Eleftheria Zeggini - Advancing Precision Medicine helmholtz-munich.de. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Liesel Beckmann-Professur für Eleftheria Zeggini - TUM tum.de. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. HistoGWAS: an AI-enabled framework for automated genetic analysis of tissue phenotypes in histology cohorts - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Six new members of the ERC Scientific Council and three new Vice Presidents erc.europa.eu. Checked 19 October 2026.