I was born in Athens on March 8, 1975. My father, Antonis, was a retired director of the Agricultural Bank of Greece from Ermoupolis, Syros, and my mother, Rosa-Maria Delaroka, exclusively devoted to maternal duties, was from Naxos.
The 6 years of primary school were spent at the 150th Primary School of Kypseli. I then attended gymnasium (junior high school) and lyceum (high school) at the Varvakeio Public Model High School. In 1993, I entered the School of Medicine at the University of Crete through the Panhellenic entrance exams. After completing my studies and receiving my medical degree, I fulfilled the mandatory rural service for 21 months at the Health Centre of Dimitsana, with a secondment to the surgical clinic of the Panarkadian Hospital of Tripolis for on-call duties. From 2003-2004, I served as a soldier doctor in the army, while waiting for a position to open up for my general surgery residency.