Honours
President of the European Research Council and Chairman of its Scientific Council, 2007 - 2011
Fondation Louis Jeantet – 25th Anniversary Special Prize, 2008
Member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2007
Uni-Heidelberg Grosse Universitats Medal, 2005
Medal of Honour, City of Heraklion, Crete, 2004
“Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse”, awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2004
Medal “Taxiarchis of Phoenix”, awarded by the President of the Hellenic Republic, for contributions to Science, Culture and Society, 2003
Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London, 2003
Member, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 2003
Foreign Member of the French Academy of Sciences, 2002
Honorary Medal for Distinction in Biology, Academy of Athens, 2000
Honorary Professor, University of Heidelberg, Germany 2000
G.J. Mendel Honorary Gold Medal for Merit in the Biological Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 1995
Member, Academia Europaea, 1991
Member, National Academy of Science, USA, 1982
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1980

Honorary Doctorates
Agricultural University of Athens 1992
University Thessaloniki 1994
Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg 2002
University of Thrace 2004
Cyprus University of Technology 2008