ESCI Award 2012, Prof. Dr. Triantafyllos Chavakis,Dresden, Germany

Professor Triantafyllos Chavakis is one of the leading scientists

worldwide working in the field of leucocyte biology and

inflammation research. He was born in Athens, Greece in 1974,

studied medicine at the Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen,

Germany, where he graduated in 2000. For his doctoral thesis,

he joined the laboratory of Professor Klaus Preissner, Universi-

tat Giessen and Max-Planck-Institute, Bad Nauheim, Germany,

where Triantafyllos Chavakis started his work on the molecular

mechanisms of leucocyte recruitment. After graduating, he

began his training as clinician ⁄ scientist in Internal Medicine at

the Universitat Giessen and continued his scientific work in

Klaus Preissner’s laboratory. In 2002, Professor Chavakis

moved to Professor Peter Nawroth’s department at Universitat

Heidelberg, Germany, where he established his own research

group and carried on his clinical education. In 2005, Professor

Chavakis was promoted to become a Principal Investigator and

Head of the Inflammation Biology Section, at the Experimental

Immunology Branch (headed by Dr. Alfred Singer) of the

National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health,

Bethesda, MD, USA. During his 5-year stay at the NIH,

Professor Chavakis had the opportunity to work in a unique

scientific atmosphere that further boosted his scientific produc-

tivity. In 2010, Chavakis returned to Europe and became Chief

of the Division of Vascular Inflammation, Diabetes and Kidney,

Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Carl

Gustav Carus Universitat Dresden, Germany.

During his scientific career, Professor Chavakis has made

seminal contributions to the field of leucocyte biology and

inflammation research. This included the identification of the

first Staphylococcus aureus-derived inhibitor of the leucocyte

adhesion cascade, called extracellular adherence protein (EAP),

which blocks beta2-integrin-dependent leucocyte adhesion to

endothelial ICAM-1, thereby providing a paradigm for how

bacteria subvert the immune response of the host as well as a

mechanism for the delayed closure of S. aureus-infected

wounds. He also identified JAM-C and RAGE as ligands of the

leucocyte integrin Mac-1. Only recently, Professor Chavakis

characterised a novel endogenous anti-inflammatory agent,

Del-1, which acts as an inhibitor of LFA-1-integrin-dependent

adhesion.

Professor Chavakis published a large number of outstanding

articles in leading scientific journals including Science, Nature

Medicine and Journal of Experimental Medicine. He has

received several prestigious awards and honours during his

career including the Otto-Hahn Prize of the Max-Planck Society

in 2001, the Oscar-Lapp Prize of the German Society of Cardiol-

ogy, 2003 and the Alexander Schmidt Prize of the Society of

Thrombosis and Hemostasis in 2005.

Based on his seminal contributions to our understanding of

the molecular mechanisms regulating the recruitment of leuco-

cytes into inflamed tissue, the ESCI Council is proud to select

Professor Triantafyllos Chavakis as the recipient of the 2012

ESCI Award for Excellence in Biomedical Investigation.

Markus Sperandio, MD

ESCI Councillor

European Journal of Clinical Investigation Vol 42 685

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2012.02693.x

ESCI AWARD 2012