Nektarios Tavernarakis

Nektarios Tavernarakis is Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete, in Heraklion, Greece, and Distinguished Member of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). He is also Research Director at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) of FORTH, where he is heading the Neurogenetics and Ageing laboratory. He is currently serving as President of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC). He has served as President of the Board of Directors of FORTH, President of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Governing Board, Vice President of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), and Director of IMBB. He is also the Founder and first Director of the Graduate Program on BioInformatics at the University of Crete. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) and the Academy of Athens. His work focuses on the molecular mechanisms of ageing and neurodegeneration. He has received several notable scientific prizes, including two ERC Advanced Investigator Grants, and an innovation-supporting ERC Proof of Concept Grant. He is the recipient of the EMBO Young Investigator award, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel research award, the Helmholtz International Fellow Award, and the Datta Medal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS). He has received the Doctor Honoris Causa distinction of the Ionian University Department of Informatics. He is also the recipient of the Scientific Prize for Medicine and Biology, and the Excellence in Biomedical Sciences Award, of the Bodossaki Foundation, which are two of the most competitive scientific distinctions for Greeks, in Greece and abroad. He is the only Greek scientist to have been awarded both these prestigious prizes. In addition, he has received the BioMedical Research Award of the Academy of Athens, the Galien Scientific Research Award, the Empeirikeion Foundation Academic Excellence Prize, the FORTH Research Excellence award, and the International Human Frontier in Science Program Organization (HFSPO) long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship.