Elena Xoplaki is an expert in Mediterranean climate change. She has conducted analysis on weather extremes (heat waves, floods, droughts, etc.) and health impacts, paleoclimatology; climate reconstructions / model comparison, influence of circulation on European and Mediterranean climate. She has participated in and coordinated several European, Swiss and US research projects. She holds a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from the University of Bern, Switzerland. From August 2011, she is awarded an Akademischer Rat (Assistant Professor) position at the University of Giessen, Germany. In this function, she is doing research on the Mediterranean climate, climate change and impacts and she is teaching at the BSc and MSc level at the Department of Geography.