Greek Pioneers

This book and the study that preceded it highlight the pioneering discoveries through which physicians and biomedical researchers of Greek origin contributed to the progress of clinical medicine, biomedical research and the pharmaceutical industry at the global level in the 200 years from the Greek revolution of 1821 to 2021. The book represents one of the many initiatives that Greeks from Greece and abroad pursued to promote scientific excellence. Common goal of the person that perceived the idea of the study, the historian who implemented it and wrote the book, the scientific council that supervised it and the ARISTEiA-Institute for the Advancement of Research & Education in Arts, Sciences & Technology that coordinated it along with the American College of Greece-Deree pertained to highlighting the contributions of Greece to the discovery of new scientific knowledge and the creation of innovative treatments that doubled human life expectancy.

Since 2016, when I conceived the idea of pursuing this study, until 2021 that it was completed, my goal was to present the selected Greek scientists as global role models for the next generations of doctors and bioscientists. The selection of the 63 individuals among more than 120 nominees, apart from the criteria of bibliographic references, was made with unanimous approval by the scientific council for the originality, timeliness, and global impact of their work, but also for their leading role in international scientific initiatives. In the event of a question whether some of those who were nominated could still be included in the final selection, the answer will be: MAYBE… The scientific board, however, made sure that each of the 63 who were chosen deserved it. Undoubtedly, the continuation of the study in the future will identify more Greeks whose work will be considered historic for the progress it will have brought by that time to Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.