Anne O'Garra

Early life and education

O'Garra was born in Gibraltar. From 1977 to 1980, she studied at Chelsea College, University of London, and graduated with a B.Sc. (First Class Honours) in Microbiology and Biochemistry.

Biography

She received her bachelor's degree in microbiology and biochemistry at the University of London. At the NIMR, she earned her Ph.D. in microbiology, staying on there for a four-year post-doctorate in immunology.

In 1987, O'Garra left England for Palo Alto, California, to work for the DNAX Research Institute, where by 2000 she had become a principal staff scientist in the department of immunobiology. In 2001, O'Garra became the Head of the Division of Immunoregulation at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in London. Since 2015, she is Associate Research Director at the Francis Crick Institute, the successor institute to the NIMR.

Research

O'Garra is known for her contributions to the understanding of the intricate network of cell-cell and cytokine interactions regulating the induction and suppression of cellular immune responses. She was the first to discover the immunosuppressive functions of Interleukin-10 (IL-10), which inhibits antigen presentation by dendritic cells and macrophages and reduces their production of proinflammatory cytokines. She also discovered that dendritic cells produce the interleukin essential for activation of T-cells (IL-12) and subsequent eradication of intracellular pathogens and that IL-10 regulates this production.

Awards and honors

She is a fellow of the Royal Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Academy of Medical Sciences.