Fotis Constantine Kafatos ( el, Φώτης Κ. Καφάτος; 16 April 1940 – 18 November 2017) was a Greek biologist. Between 2007-2010 he was the founding president of the European Research Council (ERC). He chaired the ERC Scientific Council from 2006-2010. Thereafter, he was appointed Honorary President of the ERC.

Education

Fotis Kafatos graduated from the Lyceum Korais in Heraklion in 1958 and from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1961, where he was mentored by

Thomas Eisner Thomas Eisner (June 25, 1929 – March 25, 2011) was a German-American entomologist and ecologist, known as the "father of chemical ecology." He was a Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University, and Director of the ...

and assisted by the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

and a scholarship from

Anne Gruner Schlumberger Anne Gruner Schlumberger (1905–1993) was a French heiress, philanthropist and patron of arts and science. Her father was Conrad Schlumberger, one of the founders of the oil exploration company Schlumberger and her mother was Louise Schlumberg ...

. He earned his PhD at Harvard in 1965 for research on

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

, supervised by Carroll Williams.

Research and career

Fotis Kafatos was an influential Greek

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, having had a pivotal role in triggering the interest of the Greek government for Science, with the establishment of the Faculty of Biology in the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

, the Faculty of Biology in the

University of Crete The University of Crete (UoC; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης) is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution in Crete, Greece, located in the cities of Rethymno (official seat) and Heraklion, and one of the country's most aca ...

and the IMBB in

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

. At the beginning of his career, he contributed to the development of the

complementary DNA In genetics, complementary DNA (cDNA) is DNA synthesized from a single-stranded RNA (e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA) or microRNA (miRNA)) template in a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme reverse transcriptase. cDNA is often used to express a spe ...

(cDNA)

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, cl ...

technology and worked on the mechanisms of cellular differentiation leading to the formation of the eggs in insects. He has particular interest in

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

research and used his knowledge of the genetics and molecular biology of insects to understand how the insect vector copes with the

Plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vert ...

parasite. He also participated in the sequencing of the genome of the mosquito ''

Anopheles gambiae The ''Anopheles gambiae'' complex consists of at least seven morphologically indistinguishable species of mosquitoes in the genus ''Anopheles''. The complex was recognised in the 1960s and includes the most important vectors of malaria in sub- ...

'' completed in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. He was Assistant Professor and later Professor and Chairman of the department of Cellular and Developmental Biology of Harvard University, Professor of Biology at the

and at the

, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) of the

Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas The Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas (FORTH) ( el, Ίδρυμα Τεχνολογίας και Έρευνας - ΙΤΕ) is a research center in Greece, supervised by the Ministry for Education through itGeneral Secretariat for Resea ...

and third Director-General of the

European Molecular Biology Laboratory The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 27 member states, two prospect states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in 1974 and ...

from 1993 to 2005. From 2005 till his death, he had been a professor at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 2007, he was appointed as the first President of the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

Awards and honours

Kafatos was a member of the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

since 1982 and of the American Academy. He was elected a

Foreign Member of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics ...

(ForMemRS) in 2003 and was also a member of the French

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

, the Pontifical Academy and the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO). He was awarded the Louis-Jeantet 25th anniversary prize in 2008, the

Robert Koch Medal The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually by the German for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by German physician Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the ...

in Gold in 2010, the BioMalPar.EviPalaR Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and the Leibnitz Medal in 2011. He was also a recipient of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

and of the Greek Order of the Phoenix, as well as other awards and honorary degrees in Greece and elsewhere.

Personal life

Fotis Kafatos was the son of Constantine and Helen Kafatos, had two brothers named Antonis and Menas, and lived until age 18 with his family in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. He married Sarah Niles in 1967 and they had two daughters, Helen and Zoe Myrto, and four grandchildren.

External links

Publications by F. Kafatos
in

PubMed PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health maintain the ...

Christos (Kitsos) Louis and Marian R. Goldsmith, "Fotis C. Kafatos", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kafatos, Fotis C 1940 births 2017 deaths Scientists from Heraklion Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Greek biologists Cornell University alumni Greek emigrants to the United States Foreign Members of the Royal Society Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences National and Kapodistrian University of Athens faculty Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Members of the French Academy of Sciences Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Crete faculty