Anne-Laure Mahul MellierExpertise
Cellular Biology: Cell culture of mammalian cell lines (U2OS, N2a, M17, SH-S5Y5, Cos, HeLa, HEK, MCF7), Astrocytic and neuronal primary cultures (hippocampus, cortex, striatum, midbrain) from P0 mouse or rat pups or from E16-E19 mice embryos, iPSC neuronal cultures (proliferation, passaging, differentiation in iNeurons or iDopaminergic neurons), Cellular transfection (DNA plasmid, siRNA, shRNA), Lentiviruses production and infection of neuronal primary cultures or mammalian cell lines, Samples pre
Graham KnottGraham Knott received his degree in physiology from the University of Southampton, UK, in 1990, and his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Tasmania, Australia, in 1995. He moved to the University of Lausanne in Switzerland in 1999 where he researched the plasticity of neuronal connectivity in the adult brain, developing correlative light and electron microscopy methods for the analysis of in vivo imaged neurons. In 2006 Graham joined the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, establishing the Bio Electron Microscopy Facility and has continued his research interests in brain plasticity and 3D electron microscopy.
Henry MarkramHenry Markram started a dual scientific and medical career at the University of Cape Town, in South Africa. His scientific work in the 80s revealed the polymodal receptive fields of pontomedullary reticular formation neurons in vivo and how acetylcholine re-organized these sensory maps.
He moved to Israel in 1988 and obtained his PhD at the Weizmann Institute where he discovered a link between acetylcholine and memory mechanisms by being the first to show that acetylcholine modulates the NMDA receptor in vitro studies, and thereby gates which synapses can undergo synaptic plasticity. He was also the first to characterize the electrical and anatomical properties of the cholinergic neurons in the medial septum diagonal band.
He carried out a first postdoctoral study as a Fulbright Scholar at the NIH, on the biophysics of ion channels on synaptic vesicles using sub-fractionation methods to isolate synaptic vesicles and patch-clamp recordings to characterize the ion channels. He carried out a second postdoctoral study at the Max Planck Institute, as a Minerva Fellow, where he discovered that individual action potentials propagating back into dendrites also cause pulsed influx of Ca2 into the dendrites and found that sub-threshold activity could also activated a low threshold Ca2 channel. He developed a model to show how different types of electrical activities can divert Ca2 to activate different intracellular targets depending on the speed of Ca2 influx an insight that helps explain how Ca2 acts as a universal second messenger. His most well known discovery is that of the millisecond watershed to judge the relevance of communication between neurons marked by the back-propagating action potential. This phenomenon is now called Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP), which many laboratories around the world have subsequently found in multiple brain regions and many theoreticians have incorporated as a learning rule. At the Max-Planck he also started exploring the micro-anatomical and physiological principles of the different neurons of the neocortex and of the mono-synaptic connections that they form - the first step towards a systematic reverse engineering of the neocortical microcircuitry to derive the blue prints of the cortical column in a manner that would allow computer model reconstruction.
He received a tenure track position at the Weizmann Institute where he continued the reverse engineering studies and also discovered a number of core principles of the structural and functional organization such as differential signaling onto different neurons, models of dynamic synapses with Misha Tsodyks, the computational functions of dynamic synapses, and how GABAergic neurons map onto interneurons and pyramidal neurons. A major contribution during this period was his discovery of Redistribution of Synaptic Efficacy (RSE), where he showed that co-activation of neurons does not only alter synaptic strength, but also the dynamics of transmission. At the Weizmann, he also found the tabula rasa principle which governs the random structural connectivity between pyramidal neurons and a non-random functional connectivity due to target selection. Markram also developed a novel computation framework with Wolfgang Maass to account for the impact of multiple time constants in neurons and synapses on information processing called liquid computing or high entropy computing.
In 2002, he was appointed Full professor at the EPFL where he founded and directed the Brain Mind Institute. During this time Markram continued his reverse engineering approaches and developed a series of new technologies to allow large-scale multi-neuron patch-clamp studies. Markrams lab discovered a novel microcircuit plasticity phenomenon where connections are formed and eliminated in a Darwinian manner as apposed to where synapses are strengthening or weakened as found for LTP. This was the first demonstration that neural circuits are constantly being re-wired and excitation can boost the rate of re-wiring.
At the EPFL he also completed the much of the reverse engineering studies on the neocortical microcircuitry, revealing deeper insight into the circuit design and built databases of the blue-print of the cortical column. In 2005 he used these databases to launched the Blue Brain Project. The BBP used IBMs most advanced supercomputers to reconstruct a detailed computer model of the neocortical column composed of 10000 neurons, more than 340 different types of neurons distributed according to a layer-based recipe of composition and interconnected with 30 million synapses (6 different types) according to synaptic mapping recipes. The Blue Brain team built dozens of applications that now allow automated reconstruction, simulation, visualization, analysis and calibration of detailed microcircuits. This Proof of Concept completed, Markrams lab has now set the agenda towards whole brain and molecular modeling.
With an in depth understanding of the neocortical microcircuit, Markram set a path to determine how the neocortex changes in Autism. He found hyper-reactivity due to hyper-connectivity in the circuitry and hyper-plasticity due to hyper-NMDA expression. Similar findings in the Amygdala together with behavioral evidence that the animal model of autism expressed hyper-fear led to the novel theory of Autism called the Intense World Syndrome proposed by Henry and Kamila Markram. The Intense World Syndrome claims that the brain of an Autist is hyper-sensitive and hyper-plastic which renders the world painfully intense and the brain overly autonomous. The theory is acquiring rapid recognition and many new studies have extended the findings to other brain regions and to other models of autism.
Markram aims to eventually build detailed computer models of brains of mammals to pioneer simulation-based research in the neuroscience which could serve to aggregate, integrate, unify and validate our knowledge of the brain and to use such a facility as a new tool to explore the emergence of intelligence and higher cognitive functions in the brain, and explore hypotheses of diseases as well as treatments.
Didier TronoAfter obtaining an M.D. from the University of Geneva and completing a clinical training in pathology, internal medicine and infectious diseases in Geneva and at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Didier Trono embarked in a scientific career at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research of MIT. In 1990, he joined the faculty of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to launch a center for AIDS research. He moved back to Europe seven years later, before taking the reins of the newly created EPFL School of Life Sciences, which he directed from 2004 to 2012. He is now actively engaged in the efforts of Switzerland to integrate new technologies in the fields of precision medicine and personalized health.
Priscilla TurelliPositions
2005-now: Research associate, Federal School of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Virology and Genetics, Lausanne, Switzerland
2001-2004: Research associate in Pr D. Tronos laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Geneva School of Medicine, Switzerland
1997-2001: Post-doctoral research fellow in Pr D. Tronos laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Geneva School of Medicine, Switzerland
Honors and fellowships
2004: Bristol-Myers Squibb AIDS AWARD
1997-1999: Human Frontier Science Program fellowship
Education
June 1997:
PhD in cellular biology.
Final mark:jury congratulations.
Université de la Méditerranée, France.
June 1993:
Post-graduate diploma in cellular biology and microbiology.
INSERM U372, Marseille-Luminy, université de Provence, France.
June 1992:
Master in cellular biology Specialty: genetic.
Final mark: Best master student of this year.
Université de la Méditerranée, France.
June 1987:
Scientific baccalaureate, France.
Teaching experience
2009-now: phD thesis co-director, School of Life Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland.
2002: Tutor in virology for medical students, 2nd year, Geneva School of Medicine, Switzerland.
1996-1997: Tutor in molecular biology and biochemistry for under-graduate students,
Université de la Méditerranée, Aix Marseille II, France.
Johan AuwerxJohan Auwerx is Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he occupies the Nestle Chair in Energy Metabolism. Dr. Auwerx has been using molecular physiology and systems genetics to understand metabolism in health, aging and disease. Much of his work focused on understanding how diet, exercise and hormones control metabolism through changing the expression of genes by altering the activity of transcription factors and their associated cofactors. His work was instrumental for the development of agonists of nuclear receptors - a particular class of transcription factors - into drugs, which now are used to treat high blood lipid levels, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Auwerx was amongst the first to recognize that transcriptional cofactors, which fine-tune the activity of transcription factors, act as energy sensors/effectors that influence metabolic homeostasis. His research validated these cofactors as novel targets to treat metabolic diseases, and spurred the clinical use of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, as modulators of these cofactor pathways.
Johan Auwerx was elected as a member of EMBO in 2003 and is the recipient of a dozen of international scientific prizes, including the Danone International Nutrition Award, the Oskar Minkowski Prize, and the Morgagni Gold Medal. His work is highly cited by his peers with a h-factor of over 100. He is an editorial board member of several journals, including Cell Metabolism, Molecular Systems Biology, The EMBO Journal, Journal of Cell Biology, Cell, and Science. Dr. Auwerx co-founded a handful of biotech companies, including Carex, PhytoDia, and most recently Mitobridge, and has served on several scientific advisory boards.
Dr. Auwerx received both his MD and PhD in Molecular Endocrinology at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium. He was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics of the University of Washington in Seattle.
Olexiy KochubeyTeaching & PhD PhD Students Nishant Jana Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Aiste Baleisyte, Denys Osypenko Courses Neural circuits of motivated behaviors BIO-499 Motivated behaviors fulfil the basic physiological needs of animals and enable their safety. In this course, you will learn about the neuronal circuits that sense and regulate internal states, detect dangers in the environment, and organize appropriate behavioral responses.
Bernard SchneiderTeaching & PhD PhD Students Yesica Gloria, Christian Schellhaas Past EPFL PhD Students Vanessa Laversenne, Sameer Mohammad Khaleel Nazeeruddin, Emma Charlotta Källstig Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Philippe Guillaume Coune, Emilda Pino, Elisabeth Anne Dirren, Aurélien Lathuilière, Wojciech Janusz Bobela, Lu Zheng, Cylia Cloé Rochat Courses Methods: from disease models to therapy BIOENG-518 This course will describe methods underlying translational approaches from disease modeling an
Kristina SchoonjansExpertise
Bile acid signalingNutrient sensingIntermediary metabolismMetabolic disorders
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Adrien Faure Past EPFL PhD Students Pan Xu, Ece Yildiz, Nadia Bresciani, Yu Sun, Francesca Pontanari, Alejandro Alonso Calleja Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Mitsunori Nomura, Pan Xu, Katyayanee Neopane, Lucie Camille Chanvillard, Jakob Josef Langer, Bilge Sen Elçi Courses General Biology BIOENG-110 The purpose of the course is to provide a general overview of the biolo
Christian IseliTeaching & PhD Courses Bioinformatic Analysis of RNA-sequencing (Fall) BIO-693(a) Bioinformatic Analysis of RNA-sequencing (Spring) BIO-693(b) This course will take place at EPFL in June 2026, from 8th to 12th, in room AAC 137.It introduces the workflows and techniques that are used for the analysis of bulk and single-cell RNA-seq data. It empowers students to understand and analyze their own data. Methods: omics in biomedical research BIOENG-519 High-throughp
Nicolas Jean Philippe GuexTeaching & PhD Courses Bioinformatic Analysis of RNA-sequencing (Fall) BIO-693(a) Bioinformatic Analysis of RNA-sequencing (Spring) BIO-693(b) This course will take place at EPFL in June 2026, from 8th to 12th, in room AAC 137.It introduces the workflows and techniques that are used for the analysis of bulk and single-cell RNA-seq data. It empowers students to understand and analyze their own data. Methods: omics in biomedical research BIOENG-519 High-throughp
Pierre MagistrettiPierre J. Magistretti is an internationally-recognized neuroscientist who has made significant contributions in the field of brain energy metabolism. His group has discovered some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the coupling between neuronal activity and energy consumption by the brain.
This work has considerable ramifications for the understanding of the origin of the signals detected with the current functional brain imaging techniques used in neurological and psychiatric research (see for example Magistretti et al, Science, 283: 496 497, 1999). He is the author of over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
He has given over 80 invited lectures at international meetings or at universities in Europe and North America, including the 2000 Talairach Lecture at the Functional Mapping of the Human Brain Conference. In November 2000 he has been a Mc Donnel Visiting Scholar at Washington University School of Medicine.
Pierre J. Magistretti is the President-Elect (2002 2004) of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) which has a membership of over 15000 European neuroscientists. He has been first president of the Swiss Society for Neuroscience (1997-1999) and the first Chairman of the Department of Neurosciences of the University of Lausanne (1996 1998).
Pierre J. Magistretti is Professor of Physiology (since 1988) at the University of Lausanne Medical School. He has been Vice-Dean of the University of Lausanne Medical School from 1996 to 2000. Pierre Magistretti, is Director of the Brain Mind Institute at EPFL and Director of the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience of the University of Lausanne and CHUV. He is also Director of the NCCR SYNAPSY "the synaptic bases of mental diseases".
POSITIONS AND HONORS
MAIN POSITION HELD
1988-2004 Professor of Physiology, University of Lausanne Medical School
1996-2000 Vice-Dean for Preclinical Departments, University of Lausanne Medical School
2001-2004 Chairman, Department of Physiology, University of Lausanne Medical School
2004-present Professor and Director, Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University of Lausanne Medical School and Hospitals (UNIL-CHUV) (Joint appointment with EPFL)
2005-2008 Professor and Co-Director, Brain Mind Institute, Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne (Joint appointment with UNIL-CHUV)
2007-present Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Centre dImagerie Biomédicale (CIBM), an Imaging Consortium of the Universities, University Hospitals of Lausanne and Geneva and of Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2008-present Professor and Director, Brain Mind Institute, Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne Joint appointment with UNIL-CHUV)
2010-present Director, National Center for Competence in Research (NCCR)
The synaptic bases of mental diseases of the Swiss National Science Foundation
2010-present Secretary General, International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)
MAIN HONORS AND AWARDS
1997 Recipient of the Theodore-Ott Prize of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences
2001 Elected Member of Academia Europaea
2001 Elected Member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences, ad personam
2002 Recipient of the Emil Kraepelin Guest Professorship, Max Planck Institute für Psychiatry, Münich
2006 Elected Professor at Collège de France, Paris, International Chair 2007-2008
2009 Goethe Award for Psychoanalytic Scholarship, Canadian Psychological Association
2011 Camillo Golgi Medal Award, Golgi Fondation
2011 Elected Member of the American College of NeuroPsychopharmacology (ACNP)
Patrick Daniel BarthProfessor Patrick Barth is Associate Professor at EPFL and Adjunct Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. He received training in Physics, Chemistry and Biology (University of Paris, ENS) in France and performed his PhD at the Commissiariat a l'Energie Atomique in Saclay, France on structure/function studies of membrane proteins (photosystem I) using biochemical and biophysical experimental techniques. He carried out postdoctoral studies at University of California at Berkeley with Tom Alber on computational development for calculating protein electrostatics and designing de novo selective peptide inhibitors of cellular protein interactions. He then went to the University of Washington as a postdoctoral fellow and instructor in David Baker's laboratory to develop computational techniques in the software Rosetta for predicting and designing membrane protein structures. He started his independent career and received tenure at Baylor College of Medicine. He will continue at EPFL to marry computation and experiment for understanding the molecular determinants of signal transduction, as well as modeling and designing membrane proteins with novel functions for various synthetic biology and therapeutic applications.
Rolf GruetterAwards:
1999 Young Investigator Award Plenary Lectureship
, International Society for Neurochemistry
2011 Fellow
, ESMRMB
2011 Teaching Award
, Section Sciences de la Vie, EPFL
Bruno LemaitrePersonal Webpage
http://brunolemaitre.ch
Personal Webpage http://brunolemaitre.ch
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Blandine Ribotta, Yao Tian, Désirée Popelka, Prince Kumar Sah, Siqi Wang, Kenan Krakovic, Nathan Alexandre Klotz Past EPFL PhD Students Sveta Chakrabarti, Olivier Binggeli, Jeremy Keith Herren, Juan Camilo Paredes Escobar, Alfred Chng, Maroun Bou Sleiman, Jan Paul Dudzic, Mario Gonzalo Garcia Arraez, Claudia Melcarne, Alice Marra, Bianca Marie Petrignani, Mark Austin Hanson, Alexia Laurie Carboni Friedhelm Christoph HummelExpertise
Stroke recovery Healthy Aging Motor Control Motor Learning Cognitive Control Neuroplasticity Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Structural and functional Neuroimaging Connectivity
Postal Address Campus Biotech
Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering Brain Mind Institute, SV Neuro X Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL Campus Biotech Rm H4.3.132.084, 9, Chemin des Mines 1202 Geneva
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Maria Ploumitsakou, Simona Losacco, Fabienne Windel, Andrea Protani, Sta
