Prof. Dr. Alexander Kel
CEO & CSO, geneXplain GmbH, Wolfenbüttel, Germany
Visiting Professor, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin
Email:
alexander.kel(at)genexplain(dot)com
ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6775-2467
ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexander-Kel
Alexander Kel is a visionary in regulatory genomics and co-author of TRANSFAC and Genome Enhancer, driven by the mission to uncover life’s regulatory code and accelerate precision medicine, with nature walking and playing guitar as his grounding passions.
years in bioinformatics
scientific publications
Leader of international research projects
Co-author of TRANSFAC® & Genome Enhancer
Profile
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kel is the CEO and CSO of geneXplain GmbH, a leading bioinformatics and systems medicine company based in Germany. He also serves as a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). He received his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, and Genetics in 1990 after studying biology and mathematics at Novosibirsk State University, where he completed an M.S. in 1985 with a specialization in mathematical biology.
With more than 35 years of experience, Prof. Kel has contributed to nearly all major areas of modern bioinformatics: sequence analysis, gene recognition, promoter and enhancer prediction, RNA structure modeling, pathway reconstruction, systems biology, and drug-target discovery. He is a co-author of the TRANSFAC® database and the multi-omics, AI-powered analysis tool Genome Enhancer.
Prof. Kel introduced the “fuzzy puzzle” concept for modeling combinatorial gene regulation and developed the “walking pathways” algorithm for identifying master regulators in signaling and gene regulatory networks. His methods have been applied in over 20 national and international research projects focused on cancer, IBD, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, and other complex disorders. He has authored more than 140 scientific publications and multiple book chapters in bioinformatics and systems biology.
Scientific Expertise
Selected International Grants
Targeting tumor-host interactions in pediatric malignant gliomas to reinvigorate immunity and improve radio- and immunotherapy efficacy.
Identification and validation of combinational therapies to overcome resistance to oxidative-stress-inducing anticancer drugs.
Precision medicine and systems-based stratification in metastatic colorectal cancer.
Integrated prediction of early disease activity in multiple sclerosis.
Selected Publications
1. Myer P.A., Kim H., Blümel A.M., Finnegan E., Kel A., et al. (2022). Master transcription regulators… Gastro Hep Adv. 1: 328–341.
2. Orekhov A.N., Sukhorukov V.N., Nikiforov N.G., Kel A., et al. (2020). Signaling pathways potentially responsible for foam cell formation… Int. J. Mol. Sci. 21: 2716.
3. Kel A., Boyarskikh U., Stegmaier P., et al. (2019). Walking pathways with positive feedback loops reveal DNA methylation biomarkers of colorectal cancer. BMC Bioinformatics 20 (Suppl 4): 119.
4. Kolpakov F., Akberdin I., Yevshin I., Kel A., et al. (2019). BioUML: an integrated environment for systems biology… NAR 47(W1): W225–W233.
5. Kolmykov S., Yevshin I., Kel A., et al. (2020). GTRD: an integrated view of transcription regulation. NAR 49: D104–D111.
6. Lloyd K., Papoutsopoulou S., Stegmaier P., Kel A., et al. (2020). Systems medicine identifies a repurposable therapeutic agent for IBD. Dis. Model. Mech. 13: dmm044040.
7. Stegmaier P., Voss N., Meier T., Kel A., et al. (2011). Molecular switches for malignancy in an EGF mouse model of liver cancer. PLoS One 6(3): e17738.
8. Shi Y., Nikulenkov F., Zawacka-Pankau J., Kel A., et al. (2014). ROS-dependent activation of JNK converts p53 into an efficient oncogene inhibitor. Cell Death Differ. 21: 612–623.
9. Kel-Margoulis O.V., Romashchenko A.G., Kolchanov N.A., Wingender E., Kel A.E. (2000). COMPEL: a database on composite regulatory elements… NAR 28(1): 311–315.
10. Matys V., Kel-Margoulis O.V., Fricke E., Kel A.E., Wingender E. (2006). TRANSFAC and TRANSCompel. NAR 34: D108–D110.