معرفی
Melody Swartz is the William B. Ogden Professor of Molecular Engineering and Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME), with a joint appointment in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research. She holds a BS from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from MIT, both in chemical engineering, and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Previously, she served as a professor and director of the Institute of Bioengineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Her research focuses on lymphatic physiology, cancer immunotherapy, and immunobiology. She integrates engineering, physiology, and immunology to study how lymphatic systems regulate immunity in health and disease, particularly in cancer and chronic inflammation. Key projects include developing lymph node-targeted vaccines and in vitro tumor models like the Tumor-Immune Circuit (TIvatar) platform, which evaluates immunotherapy responses in complex tumor microenvironments. Her lab collaborates across disciplines, including immunology, biophysics, and clinical oncology.
Swartz has been recognized with prestigious awards: election to the National Academy of Engineering (2023), National Academy of Medicine (2020), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2018), and the MacArthur Fellowship (2012). Her work bridges fundamental science and translational applications, addressing challenges in cancer therapy and immune regulation.
Current students include PhD candidates Trevor Ung (lymphatic vaccine delivery), Calixto Mateo-Salles (T cell priming in lymph nodes), Kristen Shema (TIvatar applications in ovarian cancer), Emily Liu (CAR-T therapy optimization in lymphoma), Lorenzo Netti (T cell fitness analysis), and Vibha Sheshadri (myeloid cell interactions in tumors). Her lab also oversees projects on tumor lymphangiogenesis in melanoma and breast cancer, emphasizing immune infiltration and therapeutic synergy.
Administratively, she leads faculty affairs at PME, fostering academic excellence and diversity. Her research has generated over 200 publications and numerous patents, advancing tools like collagen-binding cytokines and engineered immunotherapies.
