Anne O'Garra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne O'Garra
FRS FMedSci
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| Born | 1954 (age 70–71) |
| Website | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/a.ogarra  |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Adhesion of coagulase negative staphyloccoci to human ephithelial cells (1983) |
| Website | www |
Anne O'Garra is a famous British immunologist. She was born in Gibraltar in 1954. She is well-known for her important discoveries about how a special protein called Interleukin 10 works in our bodies.
Contents
Biography
Anne O'Garra was born to Louis and Theresa O'Garra. Even as a child, people noticed she had a very sharp mind.
Education and Early Career
From 1977 to 1980, Anne studied at Chelsea College, University of London. She earned a top degree in microbiology and biochemistry.
Later, she continued her studies at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). There, she earned her Ph.D. in microbiology. After that, she stayed at NIMR for four more years to do advanced research in immunology. This is called a post-doctorate.
Working in Science
In 1987, Anne O'Garra moved from England to Palo Alto, California. She started working at the DNAX Research Institute. By the year 2000, she had become a main scientist in their immunobiology department.
In 2001, she returned to London. She became the head of the Immunoregulation Division at the Medical Research Council NIMR. Since 2015, she has been a research director and group leader at the Francis Crick Institute. This institute took over from the NIMR.
Research Discoveries
Anne O'Garra is famous for helping us understand how our immune system works. She studied how different cells and special proteins called cytokines talk to each other. This communication helps control how our body fights off sickness.
Interleukin-10 and Immune Response
She was the first to find out that a protein called Interleukin-10 (IL-10) can actually slow down or stop immune responses. This is called an immunosuppressive function. IL-10 stops certain immune cells, like dendritic cells and macrophages, from showing harmful invaders to other immune cells. It also lowers the amount of proteins that cause inflammation.
IL-12 and Fighting Infections
Anne O'Garra also found that dendritic cells produce another important protein called IL-12. This IL-12 is key for activating T-cells. T-cells are like soldiers in our immune system that help get rid of intracellular pathogens. These are tiny germs that live inside our cells. She also discovered that IL-10 helps control how much IL-12 is made.
Awards and Honors
Anne O'Garra has received many important awards for her work.
- She is a fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group of scientists.
- She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- She is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
- She is an honorary member of the British Society for Immunology.
- In 2020, she received an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the International Cytokine and Interferon Society. This award was for her amazing and original contributions to the field of cytokines and interferons.
