Clinical Virology research and medical education in Greece: An interview with Demetrios A. Spandidos, Professor of Clinical Virology at the University of Crete in Greece

Professor Demetrios A. Spandidos, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Virology at the University of Crete School of Medicine in Crete, Greece, is a pioneer in world research in Virology, Oncology and medical education. He has been the first Professor of Clinical Virology at the University of Crete School of Medicine, the only School of Medicine with a separate Department of Clinical Virology in Greece. According to Professor Spandidos, the understanding of the interactions of viruses with human host cells is what enables the development of new vaccines and new therapies against a wide range of diseases in humans, including cancer. Over the past two decades, the expansion of new knowledge, treatments, prevention and management options and the emerging needs on neonatal and paediatric viral infections have made the role of future paediatric virologists more than necessary. For this reason, he strongly believes that Paediatric Virology should be recognized as a new paediatric subspecialty. Professor Spandidos declares that medical education is a continuous sequence from undergraduate to postgraduate/specialty/subspecialty medical training and continuing learning. He also supports the concept that the future of medical education represents the future of Medicine.