Greta Guarda

Greta Guarda is a Full Professor at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and Vice-Dean of Research in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. She leads an independent research group at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Her work focuses on understanding the interplay between MHC class I molecules, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells in immunity against infections and cancer. Key research areas include immunometabolism, inflammasome regulation, and the molecular mechanisms governing lymphocyte function.

Education: Molecular Biology studies at the University of Zurich, PhD at the IRB (2007), postdoctoral training at the University of Lausanne (2007–2010) where she became Senior Lecturer. Established her independent research group in 2012 after receiving a Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship and ERC Starting Grant.

Research Interests:

• MHC class I antigen presentation pathways
• Innate and adaptive cytotoxic immune responses
• Immunometabolic regulation of lymphocytes
• NLR family proteins (NLRC5, NLRP3) and inflammasome activation
• Therapeutic targeting of NK and T cell effector functions

Awards:

• Premio Fondazione Dr. Ettore Balli (2018)
• Pfizer Research Prize (2019)
• Friedrich Miescher Award (2020)

Advising & Grants: Leads an internationally recognized research group funded by SNSF and ERC grants. Active in training early-career scientists in immunology and molecular biology. Serves on the SNSF Evaluation Panel (Biology/Medicine) and as President-Elect of the Swiss Society for Allergology and Immunology (SSAI).

Labs/Teams: Directs the Immune Mechanisms Group at IRB, focusing on translational immunology with a strong emphasis on clinical applications in oncology and infectious diseases.