Dr.George Tsokos was born in Mistro, Evia. He graduated from the Medical School of the University of Athens, with specialization in Rheumatology, where in 1977 he also received the postgraduate diploma in Bio-statistics.

In 1979 he traveled to the United States of America where he pursued a brilliant academic career and, at the same time, served in many management positions.
Dr. George Tsokos is now a Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Department of Clinical Rheumatology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

“The decision to work in Greece or abroad is purely personal and at the same time dynamic,” he said in an interview. “Those who choose to stay abroad can offer a lot in Greece by training new colleagues, participating in conferences, seminars and other events in Greece and perhaps contributing to the teaching and research activities of Greek universities.”

He is widely recognized as one of the foremost leaders of modern lupus research with landmark discoveries that have brought understanding of lupus to new levels, shedding light on how disease develops and progresses over time.

In 2016 he participated in a research team which discovered an enzyme that grows in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The “blocking” of this enzyme has been shown to significantly reduce the symptoms of the disease.

In his laboratory, Dr. Tsokos is interested in studies of immune cell signaling and gene transcription in human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as in mechanisms of tissue injury. By exploring the molecular origin of the multiple immune cell abnormalities in SLE, his studies identify novel bio markers for the diagnosis of the disease and therapeutic targets.

He has published over 400 papers and has received numerous awards and honors recognizing his contributions to the field including the Lupus Insight Prize, the Evelyn V. Hess MD, MACP, MARC award for lupus research, Lee C. Howley Jr. Arthritis Research Prize by the Arthritis Foundation, Distinguished Basic Investigator Award by the American College of Rheumatology and many more.

“I am absolutely certain that the future of the Greek Academic community will be brilliant. Its international contribution will continue to grow. Greece’s substantial economic growth, decoupled from tourism and other service sectors, is totally identified with research activity. It is reasonable that Greek society must gather all its efforts into creative research efforts. Human material is what is missing, it is known to everyone,” Dr. Tsokos.

It is worth mentioning the fact that George Tsokos is particularly has a large amount of publications in prestigious medical journals, while he is the chief editor in 7 English-language books of medical interest.