He is emeritus Professor, former head of the Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion at the Leiden University Medical Center,[1] and Chief Scientific Officer at ISA Therapeutics in Netherlands.
He grew up in the South of the Netherlands, in the town of Zevenbergschen Hoek [nl] and from 11 years of age onwards in Amsterdam.
In 1973 and 1974 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the New England Medical Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
From 1970 to 1972, Melief served as an MD Lieutenant as part of compulsory Army conscription in the Netherlands.
In 1975, he joined the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, as Head of Department of cell-mediated immunology.