Emanual Maverakis was born in Oakland, California, and spent his early childhood in South Central Los Angeles. His family later relocated to Moorpark, California, where he attended high school. Maverakis is of mixed heritage: his mother's family immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico, and his father's family immigrated from Crete.
Although Maverakis would become an accomplished academic, he did not immediately pursue higher education after high school. Instead, he spent three years working as a security guard. He eventually completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he worked with and was mentored by the late Eli Sercarz, PhD, a notable immunologist. Maverakis graduated from UCLA with departmental honors and the Latin distinction summa cum laude.
Concerned about Maverakis' rough vernacular, Dr. Sercarz recommended that he delay matriculation to Harvard Medical School for one year, which Maverakis agreed to. During medical school, Maverakis continued his research efforts and spent a year as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Student Research Fellow at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology between his second and third years. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 2003 with an MD summa cum laude, becoming one of only 15 medical students in Harvard's 237-year history to achieve the highest honors.[1]
