Elga de Vries is a professor in Neuro-immunology and head of the Neuro-immunology research group within the department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology (MCBI) at the Amsterdam UMC. Her research focuses on the cross talk of the immune system and the brain and the barriers between them. Using state of the art techniques, she and her team aim to uncover in predominantly human in vitro systems, samples and post-mortem tissues such underlying mechanisms, with a focus on multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease.

Elga de Vries was trained in the field of neuroscience/neuro-immunology as a biomedical scientist at the University of Utrecht (1990-1995) and during her PhD at Leiden University (1990-1995) and post-doc (as Marie-Curie fellow; 1998-1999) at University College London. Since 2000 (2011 as full professor), she runs her Neuro-immunology research group at the MCBI. As a PI and co-PI, she manage(d) various projects of PhD students, post-docs and research technicians (supervision: 21 completed PhD projects, 9 ongoing PhD projects, 3 ongoing postdoc projects, 6 completed postdoc projects, 2 technicians). Her work is/has been funded by the Dutch MS Research Foundation, ZonMW, NWO (VIDI in 2004), Health Holland and the EU (i.e. Marie Cure ITN, IMI, H2020 program). Her work is internationally recognized by peers as evidenced by the high number of collaborative grants and invitations for keynote lectures. Her work is published in leading journals such as ACTA Neuropathologica, eLife, Nature Neuroscience and Fluids and Barriers of the CNS. Elga de Vries is also scientific director of the MSCA and task force member of the research program Neuro-infection and Neuro-inflammation of the research institute Amsterdam Neuroscience, in which her research is embedded. She also serves as president-elect of the International Brain Barrier Society (https://www.ibbsoc.org/) and as chair of BBBNedwork (http://www.bbbnedwork.nl/), and as an active member of the scientific advisory board of Alzheimer Nederland and of the editorial board of the journal Fluids and Barriers of the CNS.