D-BSSE News
Precision light-controlled tissue engineering paves the way for advanced 2D and 3D cellular models
In two pioneering studies published in Nature Communications, researchers unveil novel light-based technologies to control cellular behaviour with unprecedented accuracy. Led by Mustafa Khammash, head of the Control Theory and Systems Biology Lab at D-BSSE, and Matias Zurbriggen at Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, these studies showcase a great advancement in synthetic biology by using light to guide cell behaviour in engineered two- and three-dimensional tissues.
Meet David Schnettler studying the origin of polymerases
The German biochemist is fascinated by the complexity of enzymes and their functionality as catalysts. Holding a NOMIS-ETH fellowship he chose the Bioprocess Lab (“great vibes!”) for his postdoctoral research on the origin and evolution of early enzymes. In his free time, he loves participating in races – on his two legs and on two wheels.
Karl-Heinz Hoffmann Prize for Tanja Stadler
At this year’s annual ceremony, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities honoured Tanja Stadler with the Karl-Heinz Hoffmann Prize. Founded by the German entrepreneur Ulrich L. Rohde, the prize awards distinguished research in applied mathematics. Tanja’s research in computational evolution combines mathematics, computer sciences, evolution, ecology, and epidemiology. Congratulations!
Paradigm shift in biological research: Cells turn into autobiographers
Led by researchers from the Computational Evolution group of Tanja Stadler in collaboration with colleagues at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and the US-institutions University of Washington and California Institute of Technology, a recently published Perspective in Nature Reviews Genetics explores a revolutionary concept in biology: using DNA to record the history and behaviour of individual cells over time.
Meet ESOP-fellow Thomas Zimmermann
Every year, up to thousand candidates apply for ETH Zurich’s Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP), between 50 and 60 applicants are awarded the prestigious grant depending on the availability of funds donated to ETH Foundation. Thomas Zimmermann from Switzerland studying Computational Biology | Bioinformatics is one of the 2024 excellent scholars. An interview.
Open Science rewarded
On 27 November, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences awarded the National Prize for Open Research Data to the Pathoplexus project led by Tanja Stadler and her group member, Software Engineer Chaoran Chan, as well as colleagues from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, and SwissTPH. Together they established the genome sequencing database for viruses of public health relevance. Congratulations!
Treating retina diseases more precisely
With more than 140 million nerve cells, the retina is a highly complex visual system, where it is challenging to treat diseases. A new study by researchers from the Biophysics group of Daniel Müller and colleagues from the Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) now present an innovative therapeutic approach. The treatment involves attaching viruses to nanoparticles, which are electromagnetically guided to deploy therapeutics exactly where they are needed.
Meet Kerstin Lenhof using machine learning techniques on single-cell level for personalised anti-cancer treatment recommendations
The German Computational Biologist will advance algorithms and statistical tools for drug development in oncology. During her postdoc in the Computational Biology group of Niko Beerenwinkel, Kerstin also plans to explore ethical and societal questions related to machine learning techniques. She enjoys hiking and likes (creating and admiring) art – passions for which Basel clearly is the perfect place.
Human Cell Atlas now enriched by integrated transcriptomic data on neural organoids
Neural organoids, tiny 3D brain-like structures, have a great potential for studying the development and diseases of the human brain. A key challenge is to relate specific brain regions or types of brain cells to organoid structures. D-BSSE researchers in partnership with scientists from Roche's Institute of Human Biology and Helmholtz Munich now present a comprehensive map of cells based on the integration of transcriptomic data across numerous methods.
Pioneer in synthetic biology receives ETH Honorary doctorate
On 16 November, ETH Zurich celebrated its 169th ETH Day. Upon the proposal of D-BSSE, Sven Panke, Head of the Department, presented this year’s ETH Honorary doctorate to Jason Chin, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the University of Cambridge. By encoding non-canonical amino acids and rewriting entire chromosomes into proteins he reimagined the biochemistry of living systems.