Professor Ioannis Vontas was unanimously re-elected Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) of FORTH, on December 12, 2025. (Official Government Gazette appointment (FEK): 129_ΥΟΔΔ_10.2.2025).
The election was carried out by a seven-member Evaluation Committee, appointed by the Ministry of Development and chaired by Professor Nikolaos Kyrpides, Senior Scientist (Biologist), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Joint Genome Institute, United States Department of Energy, Walnut Creek, USA.
Prof. Vontas brings extensive experience both at the administrative level—having served as Director of IMBB since 2021—as well as at the scientific level, as the research of his group on the development of biotechnological methods for controlling agricultural pests and insects of public health importance has gained significant international recognition.

Mr. Panagiotis Tsakalides, Professor at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Crete, ex-Deputy Director of the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of FORTH (19/6/2021-31/8/2025) and ex- Acting Director of the Institute (1/9/2025-23/10/2025), was unanimously elected Director of ICS on 24 October 2025 (Official Government Gazette appointment (FEK): 129_ΥΟΔΔ_10.2.2026).

The election was carried out by a seven-member Evaluation Committee appointed by the Ministry of Development and chaired by Nikolaos Sidiropoulos, Louis T. Rader Professor, and Chair of the Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Virginia.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (aDNA Lab IMBB) at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), in collaboration with experts from multiple scientific fields, has shed new light on one of antiquity’s most captivating chapters: Ancient Greek colonization. Their study on “Genetic affinities between the ancient Greek colony of Amvrakia and its metropolis”, published in the leading scientific journal Genome Biology, reveals how human mobility shaped the ancient Greek world beyond material culture.

The FEBS Datta Medal is a prestigious award, bestowed annually by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies to a distinguished senior scientist for outstanding achievements in the fields of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, or related sciences. It is one of the top three awards given by FEBS at the annual FEBS Congress, and includes a silver medal and funding for accommodation and travel to the Congress.

The event will take place on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 18:00, at the FORTH Science & Cultural Center and will be held on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrated annually on February 11th, as well as the 10th anniversary of the publication of the first direct detection of gravitational waves. The speech will be given by Dr. Maria Charisi, a research fellow at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), who will present a decade of discoveries, from colliding black holes and neutron stars to gargantuan mergers of supermassive black holes in galaxy centers—shedding light on the most extreme and violent phenomena in the Universe.

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) and the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), are co-organizing a two-day event, entitled “Crete and the Sea.” The opening event will take place on Monday, 9 February 2026, at 18:00, in the “Kastellaki” Hall at the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce & Industry, where citizens and local stakeholders will have the opportunity to be informed about the work carried out at the two Research Centers. The Scientific Workshop will be held on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, from 10:00 to 17:30, at the HCMR Amphitheatre at CRETAquarium, in Gournes, Heraklion.

Praxi Network, as a National Contact Point for the European Innovation Council (EIC), and EISMEA (European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency) co-organize an Online Info Day on the EIC Work Programme 2026, which will take place on Tuesday, 27 January 2026 (10:00–12:30, Greece time). The event will focus on the new Work Programme and the calls for proposals to be launched in 2026. It is addressed to researchers of all levels, from all scientific fields, research and academic institutions, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Τhe Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS) of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) is organizing a lecture entitled " Tides of labor: gender and mobility in social history from the South Atlantic". The Lecture will take place on Tuesday, January 27, (19:30), at IMS-FORTH, 130 Nikiforou Foka and Melissinou, in the old down, Rethymnon.

The activities of “Contact Point” at FORTH is an original series of public discussions, each featuring a FORTH scientist and a distinguished artist. “Contact Point” brings Science and Culture into Creative Dialogue, fostering open and meaningful communication of science through art.
The third event of the series, entitled entitled “Back to the Future: When Yesterday meets Tomorrow”, will take place on Monday, January 26, 2026, at 18:00 at the Cultural Conference Center of Heraklion, in the Experimental Theatre Hall, co-organized with DEPANAL S.A.

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB-FORTH) and the University of Crete, together with collaborators from Greece, Europe, the USA, and India, have discovered a novel role of albumin, the most abundant protein in human blood, in protecting against a rare and often deadly fungal infection called mucormycosis. The study is published in Nature.