Yannis started diving in 1994; he is a PADI Instructor and also certified in technical mixed gas diving, closed circuit rebreathers, and cave diving. He completed a PhD in Zoology at the University of Hawaii and is now a Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews. His research primarily involves the behavioral and physiological ecology of sharks and other fishes and applying his research findings to conservation. His research takes him all over the world, including very remote parts of the Pacific, Mexico and the Bahamas. He has published over 40 papers in the scientific literature.