Dr. Diamandis’ research focuses on four areas including: proteomics, tumor markers, kallikrein biology and pathophysiology, with efforts on cancer and other diseases including neurodegeneration, inflammation and skin disorders. In terms of kallikrein biology, the laboratory has cloned numerous novel genes including those that belong to the kallikrein gene family which encode a group of related serine proteases. Dr. Diamandis is specifically interested in kallikrein gene structure and transcriptional regulation, protein function and enzymology, discovery of physiological pathways involving kallikreins, identification of physiological substrates, gene rearrangements in cancer, and the potential clinical applications of kallikreins as diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Dr. Diamandis’ research team is also working towards delineating the proteome of biological fluids and cancer cell lines to identify molecules that may represent novel cancer biomarkers for breast, ovarian, lung, prostate and other cancers. This research involves extensive use of tissue culture technologies, fractionation and purification with various chromatographic techniques and mass spectrometric analysis of fractionated proteins. The laboratory was the first to delineate the proteomes of amniotic and cervico-vaginal fluid. In the area of clinical proteomics, the research team is seeking to identify novel molecules or proteomic signatures that can be used for early detection of cancer, as well as prognosis and monitoring. Dr. Diamandis is a founding member and Principal Investigator of the Ontario Cancer Biomarker Network, a consortium which aims to discover, use and commercialize novel cancer biomarkers.

In 1979 Dr. Diamandis received his PhD in Analytical Chemistry and his medical degree in 1986 both from the University of Athens in Greece. Dr. Diamandis is the Head of the Clinical Biochemistry Section Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Department at Mount Sinai Hospital and Professor and Head of the Division of Clinical Biochemistry in Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He is also Biochemist-in-Chief in Department of Clinical Biochemistry at the University Health Network and Toronto Medical Laboratories in Toronto and the Director of the Advanced Centre for the Detection of Cancer. Dr. Diamandis has received several awards and including the Distinguished Scientist Award from the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry in 2000 and the Miriam Reiner Award from the Capital Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in 2001. In he received the Abbott Award from the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine and in 2006 he was honoured with the Frey-Werle Commemorative Gold Medal from the Frey-Werle Foundation.