He was graduated from the Biology Dept of the University of Athens, Greece, in 1994 after that he jumped immediately to his PhD dealing with benthic-pelagic coupling, until 1998. In 2000, he spent six months working on coastal Cyanobacteria at the Trondhjem Biological Station, Norway. Between October 2000 and September 2002 he worked as a post-doc at the lab of Andreas Teske, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA. Upon his return to Greece, he worked for ca. 2.5 years as a research associate at his old lab where he did his PhD. In March 2005 he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of aquatic microbial ecology at the Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Greece. Since March 2015 he was Professor at the same department. He was authored/co-authored more than 80 research papers, 8 chapter books and 1 book. In his lab they investigate patterns and processes that underpin the distribution and abundance of microorganisms in different habitats of the aquatic environment. Some of their quests deal with the following: - How do aquatic microbial communities assemble? - Which members of the microbial trophic web are the key players in defining and maintaining community structure? - How do these trophic links change over time? - What is the role of spatial structure in regulating the community’s stability? - How do abiotic parameters regulate ecosystem functioning of microbial processes? - What types of association exist between prokaryotes and aquatic animals?

Microbiology and prokaryotic study