Nektarios Tavernarakis - Biography#

Nektarios Tavernarakis is the Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, at the Foundation for Research and Technology, and a Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete, in Heraklion, Greece. He is also heading the Neurogenetics and Ageing laboratory of the Institute. He earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of Crete, and trained as a postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. His research focuses on studies of neuronal function and dysfunction.

Nektarios Tavernarakis' main interests are the molecular mechanisms of necrotic cell death in neurodegeneration and senescent decline, the molecular mechanisms of sensory transduction and integration by the nervous system, the interplay between cellular metabolism and ageing, and the development of novel genetic tools for biomedical research.

For his scientific accomplishments, Nektarios Tavernarakis has received several notable scientific prizes including a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Investigator grant award, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator award, the International Human Frontier in Science Program Organization (HFSPO) long-term postdoctoral fellowship, the Dr. Frederick E. G. Valergakis Post-Graduate Research Grand Program Academic achievement award of the Hellenic University Club of New York, the Bodossaki Foundation Scientific Prize for Medicine and Biology, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel research award, the Empeirikeion Foundation Academic Excellence Prize, and the Research Excellence award of the Foundation for Research and Technology. Prof. Tavernarakis is also an elected member of EMBO and Academia Europaea.