Dr Dimitrios (Jim) Cakouros obtained his PhD in 2002 from the ANU, John Curtin School of Medical Research under the supervision of Professor Frances Shannon.

Currently Dimitrios is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), where his interests lie in identifying epigenetic enzymes involved in bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) self-renewal, ageing and skeletal diseases including osteoporosis and craniosynostosis. This has led to unravelling the function of DNA hydroxymethylases (Tet), histone methyltransferases and demethylases (Ezh2 and KDM6A) in BMSC lineage determination, skeletal development and osteoporosis.

Another area of interest is deciphering the epigenetic basis of mesenchymal stem cell ageing and the effects of diet and diabetes on BMSC dysfunction.

Dr Cakouros is also the current chairperson of the Epigenetics Consortium of South Australia inc (EpiCSA).