Creation of a Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness in collaboration with leading international experts, Grecotel Crete, Greece.

A Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness has been created with the participation of leading world-renowned scientists. The Center aims to promote the values of Greek culture, spearheading the Mediterranean Diet.

The opening of the Center took place under the auspices of the Greek Tourism Ministry (EOT) and the Region of Crete in an event at the Amirandes Grecotel Boutique Resort. Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, President of the Hellenic Health Foundation is a member of the center’s Advisory Board and participated in this inaugural event.

The Center of Excellence has a non-profit character, maintains an official academic relationship with the internationally renowned University Foundation of the USA, Harvard, as with other scientific institutions worldwide, while select members of the global scientific community are members of the Advisory Board. Among them, Dr. Walter Willet, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Frank Hu, Chair of the Department of Nutrition, Harvard University School of Public Health, Greg Drescher, Culinary Institute of America, Miguel Angel Martinez, Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine, University of Navarra, Mercedes Sotos, Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine, Prieto University of Madrid, and Ken Toong, Executive Director, University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Trichopoulou made a special presentation entitled "Temporal Trends in the Cretan Diet: from the Rockefeller Study to Present".