Guided by D-BSSE researchers Niko Beerenwinkel and Tanja Stadler and other steering group members from the University of Basel, the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) opens a dedicated centre for computational pathogen research and surveillance. The new Centre for Pathogen Bioinformatics offers expertise and services to the Swiss federal authorities and global research community, contributing to global pandemic preparedness and response in realtime.
At the last meeting of the ETH Executive Board, Na Cai, currently Principal Investigator at Helmholtz Pioneer Campus and at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, was appointed as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computational Medical Genomics at the D-BSSE. She will strengthen the department’s expertise in medical genomics and bioinformatics. A warm welcome, Na!
A warm welcome to our 71 new Master students at D-BSSE in Basel, enrolled in our Biotechnology and Computational Biology & Bioinformatics Master-level programmes. Have a great start!!!
On 11 September, D-BSSE spinoff BioVersys announces the investment of US$6m by investment firm Guangzhou-Israel Biotechnology Fund. This investment aligns with BioVersys’ strategic decision to expand its BV100 clinical programme in China. BV100 is a novel formulation of rifabutin suitable for intravenous administration which is targeting specific Acinetobacter baumannii - bacteria, an opportunistic pathogen in humans, typically infecting critically ill and immunocompromised patients.
Honouring her “extensive contribution to the field of evolution which open new lines of investigation”, Tanja Stadler, Head of the Computational Evolution group, is being awarded the Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza Prize by the Italian Society of Evolutionary Biology SIBE. Congratulations, Tanja!
On 30 September, the next public seminar organised by the ETH Zurich-Roche partnership Next-gen Bioengineers will take place at the ETH Basel premises. Professor Bart Deplancke from the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, EPF Lausanne, will talk about 'Advancing biology through single cell phenomics'. The seminar will start at 11:30am and will be live-streamed.
Sylke Poehling, first Professor of Practice at D-BSSE, Senior Vice President for Therapeutic Modalities at Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), becomes the Chief Executive Officer of Spark Therapeutics, a Philadelphia-based company specialised in developing gene therapies. Spark is a member of the Roche group. Congratulations, Sylke!
On 18 September, the next 'Bench meets Bedside' seminar organised by the Engineering Translational Medicine (ETM) initiative will take place on Campus Schällemätteli. Speakers include Viola Heinzelmann-Schwarz (USB/UniBas), Julia Bielicki (UKBB) and Mustafa Khammash (ETH/D-BSSE). This seminar series builds a platform for researchers and clinicians to connect and collaborate. Please register.
Succeeding Sai Reddy, Daniel Müller is now Co-Director of the Basel Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH). Together with Georg Holländer, also professor at D-BSSE, he will help guide the strategic orientation and initiatives of the 2018-founded BRCCH as it transitions to a digital health hub in Basel.
Researchers around Andreas Moor, head of the Systems Physiology group, have uncovered how colorectal cancer cells colonise the liver. Their findings could open up new ways to suppress this process in the future.
From the Theory of Biosystems to Understanding and Engineering Cells and Organisms
Research in life sciences is central to overcoming the challenges of human health and disease, production processes in industry and their impact on the environment. The magnitude and complexity of these challenges call for a paradigm shift towards holistic, systems-based and interdisciplinary approaches. At the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), experimental and computational biologists and engineers work together in an interdisciplinary team in order to conduct comprehensive analysis of complex processes in cells and organisms. They develop strategies and techniques for the programming and rational design of cell functions, and implement these in complex biological systems. D-BSSE research is driven by open scientific questions and unmet societal needs in biotechnology and life sciences. The mission of D-BSSE is the understanding, rational design and programming of complex biological systems from the nanoscale up to whole organisms.
