Anne O'Garra

Anne O'Garra is a Research Professor and Principal Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute, London. Her work focuses on cytokine regulation and immune responses to infections, particularly tuberculosis (TB) and pathobionts. She leads the Immunoregulation and Infection Laboratory, studying mechanisms of immune protection and immunopathology in mucosal sites like the lungs and gut.

Education: PhD in Microbiology (MRC National Institute for Medical Research, 1983) followed by postdoctoral training in immunology. Key career milestones include leadership roles at DNAX Research Institute (1987–2001) and founding the Division of Immunoregulation at NIMR (2001).

Research interests include cytokine-driven pathways in myeloid cells and T cells, TB immune response modeling, and systems biology approaches to transcriptomics (e.g., RNA-Seq, single-cell analysis). Her lab collaborates with clinical scientists to bridge human disease studies and molecular immunology.

Recent articles highlight advances in TB lesion transcriptomics, IL-10 regulation in mucosal immunity, and host-directed therapies. Awards include Fellowships from the Royal Society and Academy of Medical Sciences, and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2024.

Advising and grants: Supervises postdocs, PhD students, and computational biologists. Grants support projects on TB immunopathology and cytokine signaling. Advocacy: Chaired Athena Swan initiatives to promote women in science at NIMR.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Crick’s Genomics, Bioinformatics, and Flow Cytometry facilities. Active on scientific advisory boards for the Keystone Symposia and as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.