Prof. 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 also the vice president of the European Research Council since January 2021 and is responsible for the Life Sciences domain.
The main focus of his lab's research is the study of neuronal function and dysfunction, using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism. Among the specific interests of the lab 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 C. elegans research.