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Nektarios Tavernarakis - CV CURRICULUM VITAE NEKTARIOS TAVERNARAKIS Research Director Professor of Molecular Systems Biology Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Medical School Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas University of Crete 1 Nektarios Tavernarakis - CV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SHORT BIOGRAPHY 3 SCIENTIFIC & LEADERSHIP PROFILE 4 Executive experience & Administrative activities / Scientific consulting & service 5 International recognition / Impact / Mentoring 7 EXTENDED CURRICULUM VITAE 8 EDUCATION 8 RESEARCH TRAINING 8 PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS 9 DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS 9 SELECTED RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS 11 EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE 13 ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE / CONSULTING 14 o Ad hoc Reviewer/Referee duties for: 14 . Funding organizations 14 . Scientific journals / editions 16 CONFERENCES CHAIRED / ORGANIZED 19 MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE 21 o Editorial duties 21 o Scientific evaluation / counselling committees 22 o Other services 25 TEACHING & MENTORING ACTIVITIES 26 o Supervision of Master’s theses 27 o Supervision of Ph.D. theses 28 o Supervision of Postdoctoral associates 28 o Training of scientists visiting from abroad 29 RESEARCH FUNDING 30 PATENTS 38 PUBLICATIONS 38 o Books 38 o Pending manuscripts 38 o Peer-reviewed papers 39 INVITED BOOK CHAPTERS 51 MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS 53 INVITED & SPONSORED LECTURES 55 PUBLICATIONS IN REFEREED INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 70 o Oral presentations 70 o Poster presentations 74 PUBLICATIONS IN NATIONAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 83 MEMBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS 85 PRESS RELEASES 85 MISCELLANEOUS 87 2 Nektarios Tavernarakis - CV SHORT BIOGRAPHY Nektarios Tavernarakis is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Research Director at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), and Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete, in Heraklion, Greece. He is the Director of the Graduate Program on BioInformatics at the Medical School of the University of Crete, and is also heading the Neurogenetics and Ageing laboratory of IMBB. He is an elected corresponding member of the Academy of Athens, an elected member and Vice President of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), and an elected member of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Governing Board and Executive Committee, 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, and Academia Europaea. He has also served as the Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. 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 the molecular mechanisms of necrotic cell death and neurodegeneration, the interplay between cellular metabolism and ageing, the mechanisms of sensory transduction and integration by the nervous system, and the development of novel genetic tools for biomedical research. He has published numerous scientific papers in top-tier, cross-discipline, international scientific journals, in addition to invited book chapters, and other publications, including editorials, commentaries, and science-popularizing articles. His research has been commended internationally, and is supported by highly competitive funding from the European Union, international organizations and the Greek Government. For his scientific accomplishments, he has received several notable scientific prizes, including two ERC Advanced Investigator Grants (in 2009 and 2016), and an innovation-supporting ERC Proof of Concept Grant. He is one of the first in Europe, and the first in Greece, to have been awarded this highly competitive and prestigious grant twice. He is also the recipient of the EMBO Young Investigator award, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel research award, the Bodossaki Foundation Scientific Prize for Medicine and Biology, the Empeirikeion Foundation Academic Excellence Prize, the Research Excellence award of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, the BioMedical Research Award of the Academy of Athens, the Galien Scientific Research Award, the Helmholtz International Fellow Award, the International Human Frontier in Science Program Organization (HFSPO) long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Honorary Education Business Award, and the Dr. Frederick Valergakis Post-Graduate Research Grant Program Academic Achievement Award of the Hellenic University Club of New York. Representative Publications Tavernarakis N. (2019) Ageing: Neural excitation moderates lifespan (Moderation of neural excitation promotes longevity). Nature, 574: 338-340. Palikaras K., Lionaki E. & Tavernarakis N. (2015) Coordination of mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis during ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature, 521: 525-528. Kourtis N., Nikoletopoulou V. & Tavernarakis N. (2012) Small heat shock proteins protect from heat stroke- associated neurodegeneration. Nature, 490: 213-218. Artal-Sanz M. & Tavernarakis N. (2009) Prohibitin couples diapause signaling to mitochondrial energy metabolism during ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature, 461: 793-797. Syntichaki P. Troulinaki K. & Tavernarakis N. (2007) eIF4E function in somatic cells modulates ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature, 445: 922-926. Syntichaki P., Xu K., Driscoll M. & Tavernarakis N. (2002) Specific aspartyl and calpain proteases are required for neurodegeneration in C. elegans. Nature, 419: 939-944. 3 Nektarios Tavernarakis - CV SCIENTIFIC & LEADERSHIP PROFILE Nektarios Tavernarakis began working at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) as an independent scientist at the level of Assistant Professor in late 2001, after postdoctoral studies in the US (for a total of 3.5 years, interrupted by a 2-year mandatory army service). He was promoted to the level of Associate Professor in 2004 and to the level of Full Professor (Research Director), effective in mid-2008 (expedited evaluation in September 2007). In June 2010, he was elected Distinguished Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the Medical School of the University of Crete. In September 2013, he was elected in the position of the Director of IMBB, and in November 2016, he was elected in the position of the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). His laboratory at IMBB was the first to commence C. elegans research in Greece. Despite the difficulties associated with the introduction of a new model organism and the relative geographic isolation of Crete, his team has been able to conduct internationally competitive research of the uppermost quality. This is demonstrated by a number of indicators. Specifically: Through innovative studies, the group has progressed significantly beyond the current state-of-the-art, opening new vistas at the forefront of modern research in the fields of ageing, cell death and learning/memory (see for example: Nature, 521: 525-528, Nature, 490: 213-218; Nature, 461: 793-797; Nature, 445: 922-926; Nature, 419: 939-944). The lab has published 194 peer-reviewed papers, with many in top-tier, cross-discipline journals (in a total of 218; including 24 publications as a PhD and postdoctoral researcher). In addition, he has published 26 invited book chapters and 34 miscellaneous publications, including editorials and commentaries in international scientific journals, as well as several science-popularizing articles. He has also edited 2 books: on protein metabolism and ageing, published by Springer, New York, and the Greek edition of the book “A Universe of Consciousness: How Matter Becomes Imagination” by Nobel laureate Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi, published by Crete University Press. Notwithstanding a relatively short publication history (first paper indexed by Medline in 1995), and a field of research that involves simple model organisms, his publications have thus far received more than 34,000 citations (excluding self- citations; more than 90 average citations per publication). His h-index is currently 73 (sources include: Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar). The 10-year projection of his h-index is 104 (as per Nature, 489: 201-202). Among several notable distinctions, Nektarios Tavernarakis is an elected corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens (http://www.academyofathens.gr/), an elected Member and Vice President of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC; http://erc.europa.eu/), as well as, an elected Member of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT; https://eit.europa.eu/) Governing Board and Executive Committee, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO; http://www.embo.org/), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, https://www.aaas.org/), the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina; https://www.leopoldina.org/), the Academia Europaea (AE; http://www.ae-info.org/) and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA; https://www.euro-acad.eu/). He is the recipient of 2 European Research Council (ERC; http://erc.europa.eu/) Advanced Investigator Grants (one of the first in Europe, and until now the only one in Greece, to have been awarded this highly competitive and prestigious grant twice,
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