Dr. Alexandre Loktionov (MD, PhD) is a highly experienced biomedical scientist currently heading DiagNodus Ltd, a diagnostic company based in Cambridge, UK (Dr Loktionov is its CEO and Scientific Director). His current principal scientific interest is the development of non-invasive diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer early detection and screening. Dr Loktionov was educated as a physician (MD degree) in St Petersburg, Russia (Leningrad, USSR at the time). From the very beginning of his career he became involved in biomedical research and was always fascinated by the problem of cancer. After completing his PhD in experimental pathology he started working on experimental carcinogenesis at Petrov Research Institute of Oncology (St Petersburg). He then joined the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, Lyon, France) and worked there till 1993 becoming increasingly interested in molecular genetics of cancer. After a short spell at German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany), where he concentrated on refining his practical skills in performing and developing molecular analytical techniques, Dr Loktionov moved in 1995 to Cambridge (UK) and joined the Medical Research Council (MRC) to work on cancer genetics and investigation of polymorphic gene variants predisposing to the development of neoplasia, especially colorectal cancer. Since 2004 he was invited to become a Scientific Director in a Cambridge-based biomedical company and in 2011 founded and headed DiagNodus Ltd, an independent company focusing on the development of new non-invasive diagnostic approaches in the area of major colorectal conditions including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, as well as colorectal cancer screening. One of his main areas of research was the role of colorectal mucus as a highly diagnostically informative biological material rich in biomarker molecules. Current professional interests of Dr Loktionov comprise an extremely wide range of biomedical problems spanning from basic mechanisms and molecular pathology of disease development to epidemiology, diagnosis and clinical management of major human disorders, especially cancer. Dr Loktionov has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications, patented several inventions and won several research grants. He has published over 100 scientific papers, including original contributions, reviews, book chapters and patents. His h-index is 24. Dr Loktionov frequently acts as a reviewer for numerous biomedical journals and several grant-awarding bodies.