News & Events

Five students and 24 hours of intense teamwork: the Future of Health Hackathon by HerCode in Zurich challenged us to apply our knowledge from the Biotechnology curriculum at D-BSSE, iterate quickly, and computationally design proteins to inhibit the function of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2, a cell growth and differentiation receptor that is often misregulated in cancer. The shared goal strengthened our team and enabled inspiring exchanges with participants from across Europe.

The partnership between CSCS, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre, and the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE) has led to a promising new approach to drug discovery: a novel AI model architecture that appears capable to predict antibody-antigen binding with unusually high data efficiency. Should the results be confirmed experimentally, the approach could accelerate not only antibody development, but also the discovery of small-molecule drugs.

Researchers across Europe will benefit from Swiss expertise in secure sharing and analysis of health data, with the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) and ETH Zurich joining the EOSC-ENTRUST project of the European Open Science Cloud.

Researchers from D-BSSE, institutions in Basel and their international collaborators show how mechanobiology is evolving – from studying individual molecules to understanding complex cellular systems. This shift helps reveal how physical forces such as pressure and stiffness shape tissues in development, health and disease.

After moving from Australia to Basel, the molecular biologist joined D‑BSSE’s Bioanalytics Lab to advance rapid sepsis diagnostics. Working on portable microfluidic technologies within the RADIANT‑Dx project, the researcher not only has a passion for biology and engineering, but also for the outdoors – setting sights on Switzerland’s via ferrata routes.

On 9 June, the Multicellular Systems lab of Prisca Liberali opened its doors to the public, offering insights into the organisation and regeneration of intestinal organoids (“mini-guts”) and their significance for the future of biomedical research. After a short introduction by Prisca, three of her team members took the visitors onto a guided lab tour.

The latest Scientific Staff Survey at ETH Zurich – broken down to the level of departments – offers insights into doctoral and postdoctoral experiences. Despite moderate participation rates, the survey remains an important tool for shaping future improvements and guiding institutional priorities.

On 29 May, the D-BSSE community came together for the very first edition of “Flavours of D-BSSE”, a vibrant culinary event that marked the end of the semester and the start of the summer season in the most delightful way.

The Swiss medical doctor expected excellence at ETH Zurich – and got a genuine spirit of collaboration as a bonus. In this interview, Tanay reflects on arriving at D‑BSSE, crossing academic boundaries and balancing lab work with life on two wheels.