Dr. Leonidas G. Ioannou is an environmental and occupational physiologist with a strong multidisciplinary background bridging Exercise Science, Health Sciences, Thermophysiological Modelling, and Environmental Physiology. His research focuses on the physiological mechanisms underlying human adaptation to heat and the broader implications of environmental stressors and climate change on physiology, cognition, health, safety, and productivity.
Dr. Leonidas G. Ioannou is an environmental and occupational physiologist with a strong multidisciplinary background bridging Exercise Science, Health Sciences, Thermophysiological Modelling, and Environmental Physiology. His research focuses on the physiological mechanisms underlying human adaptation to heat and the broader implications of environmental stressors and climate change on physiology, cognition, health, safety, and productivity. His scientific work integrates experimental, field, and modeling approaches to understand thermoregulation and human performance across occupations, environments, and populations throughout the lifespan.
Dr. Ioannou holds two Bachelor’s degrees in Exercise Science and Health Sciences (currently in the fourth and final year of this degree), a Master’s thesis in Environmental Physiology, and two PhDs in Environmental and Occupational Physiology from the University of Thessaly (Greece) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). He also completed a 12-month academic training in thermophysiological modeling at the University of Porto (Portugal). Following his doctoral studies, he earned the higher postdoctoral academic title of Habilitation in Physiology, after official examination before an evaluation committee, based on a five-year research program conducted at the European Space Agency’s ground facilities of the Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovenia).
He is currently an Assistant Professor of Physiology at the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia, an Affiliated Researcher with the University of Ottawa (Canada), and a Visiting Lecturer at the Medical School of the University of Cyprus. At FAME Lab, he serves as a Senior Researcher, examining the impacts of heat stress and global warming on all aspects of human health and physiology.
Dr. Ioannou maintains active collaborations with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and various Ministries of Health, Labour, and Defence across Europe. He has also led guidance efforts on occupational heat stress in Europe and North America, contributing to international standards and protective measures. His collaborative work extends to multiple European Union–funded projects investigating the health effects of heat exposure and the climate crisis in vulnerable populations, advancing global understanding of human resilience in a warming world.
His research is published in leading international journals and supports evidence-based policymaking for heat adaptation and worker protection worldwide.
