The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) is excited to welcome Prof. Dr Urs Greber, Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, to the leadership team of FEMS Microbiology Reviews. Effective from 1st May 2026, he joins Prof. Karin Sauer and Prof. Bart Thomma as Co-Editors-in-Chief, working with the editorial board to continue publishing authoritative, high-impact reviews that shape the field.
He will be succeeding Prof. David Blackbourn, the outgoing co-Editor-in-Chief, whose seven-year tenure alongside Profs. Sauer and Thomma saw FEMS Microbiology Reviews continue to build on its previous successes and publish influential reviews that advance microbiology understanding worldwide.
FEMS and the wider microbiology community are deeply grateful for his leadership, contributions, and dedicated service to the journal.
As Professor of Molecular Cell Biology, and Principal Investigator in Virology, Prof. Greber’s research centres on viruses that cause respiratory disease, including adenovirus, rhinovirus, and coronavirus. His work examines how viruses reprogram host cells, and, in reverse, how the host cell state affects the susceptibility of cells to viruses. Investigation of these questions impacts on viral disease progression and prevention. His group combines system-wide analyses with targeted studies of molecules, organelles, cells, and micro-tissues to explore host and viral mechanisms that support or restrict infection. Prof. Greber has developed innovative methods to study viral genome delivery into cells, and release of progeny from cells. His group integrates live-cell microscopy with chemical and genetic perturbations, alongside computational modelling to generate predictive frameworks of infection processes.
“Having served as an editor on the journal for several years, I am pleased and honored to serve as co-Editor-in-Chief.. FEMS Microbiology Reviews is an important venue for leading publications in life sciences, since it comprehensively covers microbes of all kinds, agents that have massively shaped the way life manifests on earth,” said Prof. Greber.
Elise Kuurstra, FEMS Executive Director celebrated, “The strength of our journals, and the quality of science they publish rest on the dedication of our editorial leadership, who generously give their time and expertise to support the microbiology community. It is central to ensuring that FEMS journals remain rigorous, relevant, and truly community-driven. I am excited to welcome Urs to the team and look forward to the perspective he will bring.”
The FEMS journals are run by microbiologists, and for microbiologists. Every article published by us has been rigorously reviewed for soundness of science by our community of academic peer reviewers – and the not-for-profit journals support the microbiology community.