Marco Baggiolini

Marco Baggiolini (born August 1, 1936) is a Swiss immunologist and biochemist known for the discovery and the analysis of the first chemokines (or chemotactic cytokines). Chemokines act as chemoattractants to guide the migration of cells. Some control cells of the immune system, some promote the growth of new blood vessels, some cause inflammation in response to bacterial infection and viruses, for example, to activate cells to initiate an immune response or promote wound healing.

Baggiolini's lab has produced highly cited publications on this topic.

Education and career Baggiolini was born on August 1, 1936, in Bellinzona. He studied medicine at the University of Basel, graduating in 1962. He was a member of the editorial boards of American and European scientific journals, as well as several scientific societies and scientific and cultural foundations. In 1996, he became the founding president of the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI).

Awards For his work he has received awards including the prize of the Society for Leukocyte Biology (1988), the Emil von Behring Prize (1998), and the Robert Koch Medal (2000).