Dr Dimitris Kletsas is the director of the Institute of Biosciences and Applications, NCSR "Demokritos" in Athens, and head of the Laboratory of Cell Proliferation & Ageing in this institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Thessaloniki and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Athens. He worked as a post-doctoral or visiting scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, the Imperial College in London, and the Georgetown University in Washington DC. His research interests include cellular senescence, molecular mechanisms and their role in age-related diseases, mechanisms of carcinogenesis, regulation of intracellular signaling pathways activated by growth factors or exogenous stresses, and study of natural products and new synthetic compounds with antioxidant/antiaging, anticancer, and wound healing action. He is the president of the Hellenic Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and he served as president of the European Tissue Repair Society.