Athanassios Giannis

Athanassios Giannis (born 22 January 1954) is a Greek chemist and physician. He is a professor emeritus at Leipzig University, where he held a professorship in organic chemistry and natural products chemistry.

Early life and education Giannis was born in Drama, Greece. He studied chemistry at the University of Bonn (1972–1980) and medicine at the University of Bonn (1978–1988).

Academic career From 1992 to 1997, Giannis was associate professor of organic chemistry at the University of Bonn. From 1997 to 2002, he was professor of organic chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe (TH). In 2002, he moved to Leipzig University as full professor of organic chemistry and chemistry of natural products, and he later became professor emeritus. The same review describes the first total synthesis of cyclopamine as being reported in 2023 by another group.

Health system and humanitarian engagement In a 2015 interview with Telepolis during the Greek debt crisis, Giannis discussed the humanitarian situation in Greece, including problems in healthcare provision, and addressed the implications for vulnerable groups, including refugees.

Giannis has also been associated with the humanitarian initiative Medikamenten-Nothilfe für Griechenland (Medication emergency aid for Greece). In a 2020 interview, he described the initiative as having been established in 2015 to support access to medicines and medical supplies and stated that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, support shifted toward medical equipment for an ambulance service providing examinations and preventive care in remote regions of Greece, including support for children and refugees. A 2015 newspaper report referred to the initiative as collaborating with Giannis and partners in Leipzig and Patras.

Awards and honours

Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) award (2008). Natural Compounds Enabled Therapies: From Tragedy to Therapeutics (Springer, 2025).