Speaker

Professor Constantine A. Stratakis is an internationally known medical geneticist, endocrinologist, translational investigator and executive leader with a unique combination of skills and experience in science, healthcare, clinical trials, molecular research and genetics, policy, government regulations, and patient advocacy wo is currently based in Athens, Greece, where Prof. Stratakis served as the Chief Scientific Officer of ELPEN Pharmaceuticals and directed the efforts to build a new ELPEN Research Institute that is due to open in 2025-2026, while he also runs Human Genetics and Precision Medicine at IMBB, FORTH, in Heraklion (www.digenia.gr) since 2021. Prof. Stratakis leads the Hellenic Network for Precision Medicine in Molecular Oncology (EDIMO; https://edimo.gr/) (which he established in 2022), and most recently he was elected Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Athens Medical School (2024). In his previous positions as an executive leader, most notably, Prof. Stratakis led the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NICHD) (Bethesda, Maryland) Genetics and Endocrinology programs and the NICHD intramural research program (1,100 employees, $200M/year budget) in the United States (2002-2021), where he trained more than 200 trainees.

Prof. Stratakis is highly sought as a Mentor, speaker, teacher, a patient advocate, and a trusted and highly respected advisor for a wide range of issues, across various sectors of the healthcare and innovation in life sciences ecosystem. He has been visiting professor and lecturing at Universities around the world from Harvard to the Universities of Honk Kong, Adelaide, Singapore, Sao Paolo, Tel Aviv, Dresden, Sorbonne, Liege and others. His basic training was in medicine (Athens, GR 1989), pediatrics, endocrinology, and medical genetics (Paris, France 1988, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA 1990-1996) and holds a Medical Doctor’s(Athens 1989), a Doctorate in Medical Sciences (Athens 1994), and two honorary PhD degrees from the Universities of Liege, Belgium (2013) and Athens, Greece (2017)., in addition to being a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy Executive Leadership program (2012).

As an investigator, Prof. Stratakis has worked on the genetics of solid tumors and has identified several predisposing genetic defects, including for a disease that bears his name (Carney-Stratakis syndrome). He has authored more than 800 publications and served in major Editorial roles of leading journals, including being the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of HORMONES, the highest impact Greek medical journal, and co-EIC of Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology (MCE). Prof. Stratakis received the 1999 Award for Excellence in Published Clinical Research and the 2009 Ernst Oppenheimer Award both from the US Endocrine Society, and several other honors, including NIH Merit and Director’s Awards; he also has been named Visiting Professor in academic centers around the world. He is the recipient of the 2019 Dale Medal from the British Endocrine Society and received the 2018 International Award of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE). He was named honorary member of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology (2017) and the Hellenic Endocrine Society (2019) for his work on the genetics of hypertension and endocrine diseases, respectively. Prof. Stratakis served as the 2018-2019 President of the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR) in the US. In addition to the SPR, he is an elected member of American Pediatric Society (APS), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP).

Dr. Stratakis was instrumental in the launching of the new NICHD Strategic Plan (2020-2024) that emphasizes precision medicine, and the use of large data in predictive healthcare. His commitment to innovation in health technology and services has led him to co-found two start-up companies both in the field of personalized care, genetics, wellbeing and longevity in Greece (https://www.astrea.health, Athens, 2023) and in Canada and Dubai (https://healthspan.digital, Toronto, 2023) and serve as Chief of Clinical Genetics since 2022 at Human Longevity.(https://humanlongevity.com/, San Diego, CA, USA) the oldest provider in the field of prevention care for improving health- and lifespan, and Executive Medical Director for Sterotherapeutics since 2022 (https://www.sterotx.com/, Doylestown, PA, USA) a start-up pharmaceutical company in the field of small molecules that treat metabolic syndrome and contribute to longevity and wellness.