We spoke recently to Nektarios Tavernarakis, Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete.
Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background?
I am originally from Crete, Greece. I did my undergraduate studies at the Aristotle University, in Thessaloniki, and I earned my PhD from the Department of Biology of the University of Crete, in Heraklion. Later, I did my postdoc at the Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry of Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. I came back to Crete in 2001 and founded the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Ageing at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB). Currently, I am Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete, in Heraklion. I am also the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), the most prominent Research Institution of Greece, which includes research Institutes in Crete, Patras, Athens, and Ioannina. Finally, I am the Chairman of the Governing Board and Executive Committee of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
