Melody is a professor of the Institute of Bioengineering and a professor of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research at the EPFL, and a professor at the Institute of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on the interplay between lymphatic biology, immune cell trafficking, cancer metastasis, and immune tolerance. Melody is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a 2012 MacArthur Fellow.
Swartz's research focuses on how lymphatic vessels, and their transport functions, contribute to adaptive immunity. Biomedical scientists currently regard the fluid-drainage function of the lymphatic system as mostly important for maintaining tissue fluid balance. The cell transport functions, which regulate immunity, are considered separately.