Vasilia established the Drosophila intestine as an excellent model of tissue communication regulating adult stem cells, tissue regeneration and tumour growth (Tamamouna et al., Nature Cell Biology, 2021). As a Postdoc, she uses CRISPR screening to identify novel cancer-specific genetic targets for advanced therapeutic products. She received the “Young Scientist” award of 2022 in Cyprus and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship in 2024.