In Ticino with an International Team: The Story of Greta Guarda

After gaining her education and professional experience at various universities in Switzerland, Greta Guarda – Associate Professor, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Univeristà della Svizzera italiana (USI), and Laboratory Director at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) – decided to return to Ticino. She recounted the journey that brought her back home in an interview published in La Domenica.

Professor Greta Guarda grew up in the Locarno region. She began her university studies in Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich. She later earned her doctorate at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Lausanne in 2007. In 2018, she decided to return to Ticino after being offered the position of Laboratory Director at IRB. Since 2019, she has also served as a Professor at USI, and in 2021, she took on the role of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences.

The current research of the IRB Laboratory Director centres on immunology and molecular biology. However, her journey into biology began with a deep passion for animals, which she developed during her childhood and adolescence. During those formative years, she spent many hours observing the numerous bird species flying over the skies of the Bolle di Magadino with her father: "Initially, I wanted to study biology to follow in the footsteps of the famous founding father of modern ethology: Konrad Lorenz," Professor Guarda recounted.

It was due to a summer internship during her studies that the USI professor made contact with IRB, which had recently opened at that time: "It was such an exciting and enriching experience that after graduation and a diploma work at the Federal Institute of Technology, I decided to return to IRB for my doctorate. I was lucky because I was able to do it under the guidance of two research giants on a global level: Professors Antonio Lanzavecchia and Federica Sallusto," Professor Guarda recalled.

During her postdoctoral research, the researcher spent four years in the laboratory of Jürg Tschopp, a prominent figure in the field of immunology, who unfortunately passed away suddenly during Professor Guarda's research work: "His death was a very hard blow, which marked the abrupt end of my post-doctorate just as I had started to look around for funds for my laboratory and my research lines." Despite the difficult circumstances, the researcher successfully secured funding and guided a small group of Lausanne students who were left without a mentor following the death of Professor Tschopp: "The two grants I received—one from Switzerland and the other from the European Union—enabled me to establish my own research group and to secure the assistant professor title necessary for advancing my academic career." However, research grants have a time limit. Therefore, after five years, the need to seek new funds became apparent: "I began to explore: Lausanne, Basel, and Tübingen. Returning to Ticino wasn't necessarily on my mind.."

The return home happened somewhat by chance, thanks to a meeting with Professor Lanzavecchia, who invited her to Bellinzona for a seminar: "I accepted the offer, and as often happens in these situations, one thing led to another. Eventually, I secured a position here at IRB as the Laboratory Director. Since I am passionate about teaching, I also wanted to maintain an academic profile." Precisely for this reason, Professor Guarda made herself available to teach at the newly established Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at USI.

Today, looking back, the Professor says she is very happy to have returned home: "As a Ticino native, I feel fortunate to have returned to this splendid Canton, where the quality of life is exceptional. I appreciate that chance has allowed me to lead a research group at IRB, even though working in Ticino was not initially part of my plans. Here, I discovered a vibrant academic environment and cutting-edge research opportunities. If we can further open the doors to collaboration and innovation, I believe we can ensure continued growth for this Canton."

According to the IRB Laboratory Director, the winning strategy to make Ticino a cutting-edge research location is to attract quality researchers from all over the world, creating a diverse hub. And the team of her collaborators is an example: "To make the leap in quality,Ticino needs to adopt a broader perspective and attract more 'brains and hearts' not only from within the Canton but also from around the globe. The academic and research sectors play a crucial role in drawing in new talent, both locally and internationally. A prime example to emulate is ETH Zurich, Switzerland's leading federal polytechnic, which successfully attracts some of the brightest minds worldwide, providing economic benefits to the entire region."

The full interview with Professor Greta Guarda, by Prisca Dindo for La Domenica, is available at the following link and in the attached PDF. (Italian only)