Dr Leontios KOSTRIKIS
- Professor
Of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus
- Founding member
of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts
- Honorary member
Cyprus Biological Society (CBS)
Professor Leontios Kostrikis is a distinguished academic with a worldwide contribution to the Biological Sciences, a pioneer in the field of Molecular Virology and the study of Human Genetics in serious infectious diseases, with significant research – among others – in the global molecular epidemic. One of the most renowned scientists in Cyprus, he has made a significant contribution to science and society in the country and internationally and is an inspiration to students and young scientists in Cyprus. Leontios Kostrikis is a Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Cyprus and Head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology. He is also a Founding Member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts based on Biological Sciences. His scientific research focuses on the study of human genetic and viral factors that are responsible for the great global threat of infectious diseases in humans. He is considered one of the pioneers and leading experts in the world in defining the role of human genetics in the transmission of HIV-1 and the evolution of AIDS. The results of his research have been utilised and patented, while he has secured funding not only from Cypriots, but also from European and international organisations. To date, he has been honoured for the impact of his research and contribution to global health with international awards and distinctions.
Award rationale Dr Leontios Kostrikis
This proclamation and honorary distinction of the Biological Society of Cyprus (BEK) is based on the excellent contribution of Dr Leontios Kostrikis to date in the fields of health, science, research and in general his distinguished contribution to the Cypriot society but also to the promotion of biological sciences and broader issues. Dr Kostrikis holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree from New York University. This was followed by postdoctoral research at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre (ADARC) at Rockefeller University (New York) on the molecular virology of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). He is also one of forty Fulbright Scholars selected from 250,000 applicants from 140 Fulbright Scholarship recipients since 1946. He worked at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre as a Researcher in 1998 and at Rockefeller University as an Assistant Professor in 1999. He has conducted over twenty competing research projects from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the European Commission, international charities, and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation (CRPF). He is a member of the Board of Directors of seven international scientific journals and has served on departments and committees for European and international grant organizations, charities, and scientific conferences on HIV / AIDS. He is a co-founder and member of the Executive Board of the European Society for Translational Antiviral Research (ESAR) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Takis & Louki Nemitsas Foundation. In 2019, he was elected a Founding Member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts based on Biological Sciences. Dr Kostrikis has received awards from the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Aaron Diamond Foundation, and the Patti Cadby Birch Trust in the United States. In 2005 he received an Honorary Distinction from the J. William Fulbright Commission for his achievements in contributing to the betterment of the world. Dr Kostrikis also made a major contribution to the national effort to tackle the SARS COV2 Coronavirus Pandemic as a member of the Ministry of Health’s Scientific Advisory Team to tackle the Pandemic.