Fotis C. Kafatos personal archive

Fotis Constantine Kafatos (1940-2017) received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University (1961) and masters (1962) and PhD (1965) degrees in biology from Harvard University. He became the youngest full Professor at Harvard in 1969, serving until 1994, during which time he chaired the Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology from 1978 to 1981. Under Kafatos’s direction, the Harvard biological laboratory became one of the major training centers for silkworm molecular biology in the world. Simultaneously with his tenure at Harvard, Kafatos promoted training and development of life sciences in Greece, holding adjunct professorships at the University of Athens (1972-1982) and the University of Crete (1982-present). Kafatos founded and directed the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Foundation for Research and Technology, Research Centre of Crete (1982-1993). Additionally, Kafatos served as Director-General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory from 1993 to 2005.

A pioneer of developmental biology, genomics, and insect molecular analysis, Kafatos was one of the early leaders in the use of molecular approaches to the study of cellular development and helped establish the cDNA cloning technology that has been fundamental to the understanding of the use of genetic information. Kafatos’s primary research interests include insect biology, the defense mechanisms of arthropods, molecular evolution, the immune system in insects, and the control of malaria. By introducing the development of molecular approaches to the understanding of the relationship between mosquitos, parasites, infection and the immune system, Kafatos made significant contributions to the study of mosquito-borne illnesses.