Melanie Greter facts for kids

Melanie Greter is a scientist from Switzerland who studies the brain's immune system. She is a professor at the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich. Dr. Greter's work focuses on special brain cells called microglia and other immune cells called macrophages. She wants to understand how these cells develop and how they keep the brain healthy. She also studies their role in brain diseases.

Becoming a Scientist

Melanie Greter studied biology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. After getting her first degree, she decided to continue her studies. She earned a master's degree and then a PhD. A PhD is a very high degree that allows scientists to do their own research.

Studying for Her PhD

In 2003, Dr. Greter started her PhD studies at the University of Zurich. She joined a lab led by Professor Burkhard Becher. In this lab, she studied how certain molecules called cytokines (which are like tiny messengers) cause inflammation. Inflammation is how your body reacts to injury or infection.

One of her first big projects looked at microglia. These are the main immune cells in your brain. Her team found that if they removed microglia, it stopped inflammation from developing in the brain. This was an important discovery!

She also found that special cells in the brain, called dendritic cells, help start inflammation. These cells act like "presenters," showing harmful things to other immune cells called T cells. This helps the T cells get into the brain and start fighting, which can sometimes lead to disease.

Postdoctoral Research

After finishing her PhD in 2007, Dr. Greter moved to New York City. She worked at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the lab of Dr. Miriam Merad.

One interesting discovery she made was about T cells. She found that T cells can become active in places other than lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are like meeting points for immune cells. She showed that the liver could also activate T cells, which was a new idea at the time.

In Dr. Merad's lab, Dr. Greter also studied macrophages, especially microglia. In 2010, she was part of a major study. This study showed that microglia, the brain's immune cells, actually come from very early immune cells in a part of the embryo called the yolk sac. This was a huge step forward! It helped scientists understand that microglia are special and different from other immune cells in the body. This discovery helps us learn more about how microglia work and how they are involved in brain diseases.

Her Work and Discoveries

In 2011, Dr. Greter returned to the University of Zurich. She continued her research on immune cells. In 2012, she published a paper showing that a molecule called IL-34 is important for keeping microglia healthy in the brain.

In 2013, Dr. Greter was given the chance to start her own research lab at the University of Zurich. She became a professor supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. This funding helped her explore how to target specific immune cells in the body, even though there are many different kinds.

Since starting her lab, Dr. Greter has continued to be a leader in the field of microglia research. Her work helps explain how microglia are unique and different from other immune cells. She also helps other scientists use the right terms and tools for their research.

Her first paper as a professor came out in 2016. In this paper, published in Nature Immunology, her team found that a special gene called Sall1 is very important for microglia. It helps define what microglia are and how they work. They found that if Sall1 didn't work correctly, microglia changed from a calm state to one that caused inflammation. This showed how important Sall1 is for keeping microglia healthy in the brain.

In 2020, Dr. Greter's lab made another big discovery. They found that microglia and other immune cells near the brain's borders (called border-associated macrophages) actually come from different early cells in the yolk sac. This means they are distinct from the very beginning of development. They also found that a molecule called TGF-beta is needed for microglia to develop, but not for the border-associated macrophages. This new finding helps scientists understand these cells better and how they might play different roles in brain diseases.

Besides her research, Dr. Greter is also involved in important scientific groups. She helps guide scientific journals and is on the board of the International Society of Neuroimmunology.

Awards and Recognitions

• 2018 European Research Council Consolidator Grant - "Development and Function of Brain Scavenger Cells"
• 2013 Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grant

Select publications