Ute-Christiane Meier
Dr. med. habil., PhD (Oxon)
Neuroimmunologist and viral immunologist
Affiliations
- Privatdozentin, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Guest scientist, Institut für Laboratoriumsmedizin, LMU Klinikum
- Member, Steering Committee on Immunopsychiatry, World Psychiatric Association
Formerly: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London · Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London · University of Oxford
About
Ute-Christiane Meier is a neuroimmunologist and viral immunologist exploring the question: how does vitamin D affect the immune system, and what could this mean for human health.
She completed her doctorate at the University of Oxford, where she went on to work for 16 years in viral immunology and vaccine research. She then spent 13 years at the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University of London, leading research into neuroinflammation and psychoimmunology, while also being affiliated with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. She is currently Privatdozentin at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and serves on the World Psychiatric Association's steering committee for immunopsychiatry.
Her research has examined the role of vitamin D in immune regulation, the relationship between vitamin D status and inflammatory markers, and the role of hypovitaminosis-D and infections as environmental risk factors in neurological and psychiatric disease.
She holds patents in the United States and Europe covering the use of vitamin D alongside immune markers as a combined measure of low-grade inflammation.
Research focus
- Vitamin D, hypovitaminosis-D and immune regulation
- Low-grade inflammation and inflammatory biomarkers
- Neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration
- Immunopsychiatry
- Environmental risk factors in multiple sclerosis (vitamin D and Epstein-Barr virus)
- Viral immunology (HIV)
Selected publications
- Bond M, Moll N, Rosello A, et al. Vitamin D levels in children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders: a multicentre study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2022.
- Meier U-C, Ramagopalan S, Müller N. Environmental risk factors and inflammation in psychiatric and neurological disease. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2022.
- Kočovská E, Gaughran F, Krivoy A, Meier U-C. Vitamin-D deficiency as a potential environmental risk factor in multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and autism. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2017.
- Kuhle J, Disanto G, Dobson R, et al. Conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis: a large multicentre study. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2015.
- Meier U-C, Giovannoni G, Tzartos JS, Khan G. B cells in multiple sclerosis: drivers of disease pathogenesis and Trojan horse for Epstein-Barr virus entry to the central nervous system? Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 2012.
- Tzartos JS, Khan G, Vossenkamper A, et al. Association of innate immune activation with latent Epstein-Barr virus in active MS lesions. Neurology, 2012.
- Disanto G, Meier U, Giovannoni G, Ramagopalan SV. Vitamin D: a link between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis development? Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2011.
- Ramagopalan SV, Dobson R, Meier UC, Giovannoni G. Multiple sclerosis: risk factors, prodromes, and potential causal pathways. The Lancet Neurology, 2010.
- Meier UC, Klenerman P, Griffin P, et al. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte lysis inhibited by viable HIV mutants. Science, 1995.
Patents
- US 11,346,849 B2 — Methods for the prediction, prognosis, and/or diagnosis of an inflammatory response associated with schizophrenia (2022)
- EP 3 011 344 B1 — Biomarkers for inflammatory response
Disclosure: Dr. Meier holds patents in the United States and Europe relating to the measurement of vitamin D alongside inflammatory markers, and is pursuing commercialisation of this work. Her contributions to D3X are editorial. She receives no compensation from D3X and has no financial interest in the company.