Kafatos Gives Fogarty Lecture
Dr. Fotis Kafatos, Director-General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory
in Heidelberg, Germany, will deliver the Fourth Annual Fogarty International
Lecture on Wednesday, May 28 at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Building 10.
The lecture was established to foster information exchange within the international
biomedical community.
Under this lecture series, eminent scientists from abroad are invited to
speak on a topic of current interest, and, while on the NIH campus, to engage
in informal discussions with scientific staff. This year, the lecture, which
is also a part of the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture series,
is entitled "The New Genetics in the Study of Organisms Important to
Humans: A Progress Report on Interaction between Mosquitoes and Malaria
Parasites.
A major force in the field of developmental biology, Dr. Kafatos' work has
contributed significantly to the understanding of molecular and cellular
aspects of development and differentiation during insect metamorphosis,
and molecular evolution. In recent years, he has taken on an added challenge
-- striving to understand at the molecular level the interaction between
Anopheles Gambiae, the principal vector for human malaria in Africa, and
malaria parasites. His work in this new field has led to an accelerated
effort to develop genetically modified mosquitoes as a means of malaria
control. Modified vectors could play a critical role in reducing the global
health threat posed by malaria.
Professor Kafatos was born in Crete, Greece, where he received his primary
and secondary education. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor
of Arts degree and went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in biology from Harvard,
where he was a professor of biology from 1969-1994. Always retaining his
ties to the Greek scientific community, he was Director of the Institute
of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Research Center of Crete from
1982-1993, Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Athens from
1972-1982, and is Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Crete.
His professional activities include service on the advisory boards and panels
of many international scientific organizations. He is the recipient of numerous
honors and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
All who are interested are welcome to attend the lecture and to meet with
Dr. Kafatos at an informal reception that will follow the talk.
Kafatos
research (short)
Kafatos
research group
Kafatos
group research report for 1996
Back to WALS Spring '97
last update: 15 May 1997