Nektarios Tavernarakis
Research Director (Professor), Neurogenetics and Ageing laboratory; Professor of Molecular Systems Biology, Medical School, University of Crete · Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH)
Heraklion, Crete, GR
Impact
Nektarios Tavernarakis heads the Neurogenetics and Ageing laboratory at IMBB-FORTH in Heraklion and is Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at the University of Crete Medical School. Using the nematode C. elegans, his group studies the molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegeneration, necrotic cell death, and the interplay between cellular metabolism and aging. Key papers in Nature include work showing that eIF4E-mediated control of protein synthesis in somatic cells modulates aging (2007), that prohibitin couples diapause signalling to mitochondrial energy metabolism during aging (2009), and that mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis are coordinated during aging (2015); the lab has also published on spermidine and autophagy. He has held two ERC Advanced Grants and major science-policy roles, including Vice President of the ERC Scientific Council, President of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Governing Board and President of the FORTH Board of Directors, and currently serves as President of the European Molecular Biology Conference. He is a member of EMBO and the Leopoldina. For longevity readers he is a leading figure in mitochondrial quality control, autophagy and neuronal aging research, and an influential voice in European research policy.
Metrics
- h-index 90 · google scholar as of 2026-09-23 source ↗