Cyprus Biological Society Honors Excellence in Biology 2023

This honorary distinction of the Biological Society of Cyprus is based on the outstanding contributions of Dr. Pannie Trifillis PhD to date, in the fields of health, science, research and in general, her distinguished contribution to the global community but also to the promotion of the biological sciences and issues more broadly. As a molecular biologist and specialist in human genetics, Dr Trifillis is highly respected in the global research community.

In 1999, Dr. Trifillis joined PTC Therapeutics as the first employee and scientist. Twenty-five years later, she has served in three different roles within PTC, first as a scientist in Research and Development, then as the founder and Director of the Strategic Alliances function, and more recently as the Vice President and Head of Global Scientific Affairs. Her goals, to discover new treatments that address the underlying causes of rare diseases and to bring those to patients and their families for a more hopeful future, came true not once but twice in her 25-year career at PTC. Dr. Trifillis, together with teams of colleagues, have succeeded in bringing two rare disease drugs from a concept idea through discovery and development to the patients. These were a) Translarna (ataluren), the world's first approved treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and b) Evrysdi (risdiplam), the first approved small molecule splicing modifier for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Dr. Trifillis, as part of her volunteer work, serves as Vice President and Secretary of the Association of Greek American Professional Women (AGAPW), and as the Chair of AGAPW’s STEM Scholarship Committee. AGAPW seeks to expand career opportunities, promote community and build leadership among Greek-American professional women. Dr. Trifillis also serves on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Children's Fund, which provides assistance not only to refugee and enslaved children in Cyprus, but also to children from families struggling with financial and medical challenges.

With this in mind, the Cyprus Biological Society declares Dr. Pannie Trifillis as its Honorary Member.

?Brief Biography

Dr. Pannie Trifillis earned her PhD in 1994 in Molecular Biology and Human Genetics from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. In 1988, she received her BA with honors in Biology and Chemistry (double major), from Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. At the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher having secured a Cooley's Anemia Fellowship from the US. For her second postdoctoral training, she worked at Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ where she developed a methodology referred to as SNAAP (Specific Nucleic Acids Associated with Proteins) to identify protein-associated substrate mRNAs that are involved in human disease. In 1999, Dr. Trifillis was hired as the first employee and scientist at PTC Therapeutics, Inc., a virtual company then located at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (UMDNJ) in Dr. Stuart Peltz's lab, the founder’s academic lab. During her 25-year long tenure at PTC, Dr. Trifillis has served in various roles in Research and Development, Strategic Alliance Management, and Global Scientific and Medical Affairs. More recently, she served as Vice President and Head of Global Scientific Affairs, Global Medical Affairs. She has contributed to the development of two approved first-in-class and best-in-class medicines for rare disease patients worldwide, Translarna (ataluren), the first approved, oral, novel, disease-modifying drug for the treatment of the nmDMD mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Evrysdi (risdiplam), the first approved small molecule splicing modifier for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She is the owner of the Patent entitled: Methods for identifying chemical compounds that modulate regulation based on untranslated regions and methods of using them. PCT/US04/001643 (international filing). Dr. Trifillis was born in Famagusta, Cyprus; she is married, has 2 adult children and lives in NJ, USA.