News & Events
Combatting infant malnutrition
Bioengineer Randall Platt engineers bacteria that can assess the state of our guts. It is hoped this non-invasive technique could eventually be used to develop more effective interventions against malnutrition among children in the Global South.
Full house at Personalised Health Conference
Today, we are hosting the Personalised Health Conference with an excellent lineup of keynote speakers: Adrian Egli, Director of the UZH-Institute of Medical Microbiology, Emma Slack, ETH-Professor for Mucosal Immunology, and Jacques Fellay, EPFL-Professor of Genomics and Precision Medicine. Scientists from the D-BSSE and the EU-funded network Machine Learning Frontiers in Precision Medicine also share their latest findings and perspectives on translational research and personalised health.
Designed for bold visions
The idea of ETH Zurich establishing a Department of Biosystems in Basel once seemed unachievable. Today, the department occupies a new building where the dividing lines between biology, computer science and engineering are blurred – and researchers increasingly focus on medical applications.
Niko Beerenwinkel now distinguished fellow of ISCB
The International Society for Computational Biology ISCB welcomes Niko Beerenwinkel, head of the Computational Biology Group, in its 2024 class of fellows. Honouring distinguished scientists who advanced the frontiers of computational biology and bioinformatics, the jury highlighted Niko’s groundbreaking contributions to cancer research and viral genomics. Congratulations, Niko!
Ride a PubliBike!
We are happy to announce that the successful partnership of ETH Zurich with PubliBike from Zurich will now be extended to Basel. Staff and students of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering can rent the Velospot bikes or e-bikes in Basel-Stadt free of charge for the first 15 minutes (each ride) for a period of 100 days from purchase.
D-BSSE spinoff BioVersys teams up with GSK and successfully reaches clinical milestone
Developing novel antibacterial products for life-threatening infections, BioVersys announced on 5 March that in partnership with the pharma and biotech company GSK they have successfully completed the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI2) funded programme and reached a key milestone of delivering a Phase 2-ready tuberculosis clinical candidate. The funding scheme is an EU public private partnership programme.
Studying the mechanosensitivity of neurons at nano-scale
Right from the early developmental stages to fully grown adults, brain cells continuously rely on mechanical cues to migrate to the correct locations in the body, form connections with other neurons or other cell types and communicate with them in a unique language of electrical impulses. In a new study, researchers from the Biophysics group of Daniel Müller and the Bio Engineering Lab of Andreas Hierlemann reveal how neurons sense the magnitude and temporal features of physical forces.
Understanding the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD) are difficult to study in vivo. A study led by the University of Zurich in collaboration with the Lab of Andreas Hierlemann, now identifies potential targets that may cause these diseases and their progression. The scientists developed a novel human-derived in vitro cell-culture model and methods for testing that the cells are functional, paving the way for new therapies.
"It's okay to take your time."
Damla Ortac already had a job as a software engineer when she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science. But she began to have doubts about her chosen career and decided to do something totally different. Today she is a second-year Master's student in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics.
2023 in Review
Last year was a very exciting year for the D-BSSE: we moved into our new building on campus Schällemätteli in Basel, celebrated many awards, prizes and scientific highlights, launched major partnerships such as the Next-gen Bioengineers programmes with Roche and the Engineering Translational Medicine initiative - and hosted a fantastic welcome retreat. See what was going on at D-BSSE in 2023!