Papanastasiou completed his undergraduate degree in engineering for the life sciences at the University of Cambridge, where he also earned a master’s degree in computer and information engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in management science and operations at the London Business School. Following his studies, he was appointed as an assistant professor and later as an associate professor with tenure at the Haas School of Business of UC Berkeley.

Yiangos Papanastasiou's main research interests include operations management, pricing and revenue management, and business analytics. He has made significant contributions to our understanding of the operations of online platforms and marketplaces, in particular with regards to optimal information provision, social learning and the economics of misinformation. His work is published in Management Science. At Rice Business, Papanastasiou teaches MBA courses on business analytics, data analysis and statistics.