Vangelis Papathanassiou obtained his first degree in Biology from the University of Athens followed by a Ph.D. degree on Marine Biology from University of Swansea (UK). He is currently Research Director of the Institute of Oceanography in the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), in Greece, being also the Director (2003-2006) and Acting Director (2009-2012) of the Institute in HCMR.