Apogee refreshes the Tavernarakis Lab website

30 June, 2026

Apogee Information Systems has completed a refresh of the Tavernarakis Laboratory website, refining the homepage, navigation, and visual identity on Apogee Essence CMS. The release follows Apogee’s earlier Essence delivery for the laboratory and concentrates on helping visitors reach research focus areas, recent publications, and facility information from the homepage without opening secondary menus first.

The Tavernarakis Laboratory is part of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), one of ten institutes of FORTH (Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas), Greece’s largest research institution. The group is also affiliated with the Medical School of the University of Crete. It was the first laboratory in Greece to use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for biological research, starting in mid-2001.

The laboratory’s public website serves collaborators, trainees, conference participants, and visitors looking for publications, microscopy capabilities, funding information, team pages, and news. Although the site already ran on Essence with a responsive layout, the homepage placed news and facility content ahead of research outputs, and the primary menu still exposed a long list of destinations (including a separate Links section) that made the research catalogue harder to scan at a glance.

Solution & Technology
Apogee delivered a homepage and navigation refresh on Essence CMS, without replacing the platform or migrating content.

The homepage keeps a two-column hero section with a responsive image slider and introductory copy on IMBB, FORTH, and the University of Crete, and adds two blocks that were not prominent on the earlier layout: a Research Focus row with icon cards for ageing and metabolism, neurodegeneration, and sensory integration (each linking to the relevant research area), and a Latest Research Publications strip with uniform preview tiles and direct PDF access, plus a path to the full publications catalogue. Existing homepage sections for news, multiphoton microscopy, and awards remain, with clearer visual hierarchy between them.

Navigation now uses a horizontal menu on desktop, grouping destinations under About (people, the lab, intranet, jobs) and Research, while keeping publications, microscopy, news, fundings, press, photos, and contact at the top level. The extensive link directory remains available through the site structure but no longer competes with core research navigation. A revised colour palette (deep grey-blue header, soft petrol and tan navigation accents, gold detail on research icons) is applied across header, navigation, buttons, and content frames.

The site retains site search and the English / Greek language toggle, with responsive layout across desktop, tablet, and mobile. Institutional shortcuts to IMBB, FORTH, the Medical School, and the University of Crete remain in the page footer.

Benefits

• Research outputs on the homepage: recent publications are visible immediately, with PDF links and a single route to the full list.

• Clearer research positioning: the three focus areas are summarised on the homepage with direct links into each topic.

• More purposeful navigation: fundings and core lab sections are easier to reach; the link directory no longer sits in the primary menu bar.

• Consistent scientific branding: the updated palette and iconography give a coherent tone across hero, research, and publication blocks.

• No platform change: Essence CMS keeps editorial control; structure and presentation were upgraded in place.

• Bilingual and mobile-ready: search, EN/EL switching, and responsive templates are preserved.

Approach / Roadmap
The upgrade followed the agreed design scope and sitemap consolidation, with homepage blocks and navigation implemented before the visual refresh. Apogee continues to support the site on Essence CMS; further content updates can use the new homepage and menu model without another structural rebuild.

“The homepage needed to reflect how visitors actually use the site: they look for papers, research themes, and microscopy capabilities, not only news items,” said Vasso Tsiakiroudi, Application Architect / Senior Analyst at Apogee Information Systems. “We kept Essence as the editorial backbone and reshaped the first screen around those priorities.”

About Apogee Information Systems
Apogee Information Systems develops tailored digital solutions including custom websites and applications, AI systems, e-learning platforms, project management services, IT human resources solutions, and online marketing services. The company supports organisations across public and private sectors with reliable, scalable technologies and long-term technical expertise.

About the Tavernarakis Laboratory
The Tavernarakis Laboratory at IMBB-FORTH conducts research on neurodegeneration, ageing and metabolism, and sensory integration, with affiliations to the University of Crete Medical School. The group has pioneered C. elegans research in Greece and maintains an active programme of publications, conferences, and international collaboration.

Learn more: Tavernarakis Laboratory · IMBB · FORTH