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.
Yujia ZhangExpertise
Dropletronics: microscale droplet-based modular iontronics (e.g., batteries, diodes, transistors, memristors and circuits)Bioiontronics and bioelectronicsFunctional synthetic, cellular and hybrid tissuesBioengineering and human-machine interfaceAdvanced manufacturing of soft and living matter across multiple scales
2026 Masters Semester Project/Thesis, PhD and Postdoc Positions
Many opportunities exist in microengineering, bioengineering, materials science, microrobots, programming and AI; please
Sylvia HoTeaching & PhD Courses Practical - D'Angelo Lab BIO-639 Cells produce thousands of lipids that impact biological processes in ways we are only starting to characterize. In this course we will introduce MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to study lipid composition in a space resolved fashion.
Giovanni D'AngeloTeaching & PhD PhD Students Mélissa Ruiz, Gary Domeniconi, Irmak Kaysudu, Alessandro Valente, Surayyo Akramkhanova, Jean Andrea Maillat, Linda Wedemann, Manel Leila Nadia Boussouf, Jiayan Lin, Nika Gorsek, Christina Ulrich, William Daniel Chan-Ha Verdier Past EPFL PhD Students Laura Capolupo, Jaipreet Singh Loomba, Halima Hannah Emilie Schede Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Muhammad Umair Anwar Courses Biological chemistry II BIO-213 Biochemistry is a key discipline in the Life Scienc
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)
Agostina Crotta AsisTeaching & PhD Courses Practical - D'Angelo Lab BIO-639 Cells produce thousands of lipids that impact biological processes in ways we are only starting to characterize. In this course we will introduce MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to study lipid composition in a space resolved fashion.
Demetri PsaltisResearch group
Teaching & PhD PhD Students Victoria Fay, Colin Nikhil Christian Past EPFL PhD Students Wuzhou Song, Alexandre Goy, Julien Cuennet, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Xin Yang, Grégoire Pierre Jean Laporte, Thomas Jean Victor Marie Lanvin, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Hashemi, Nicolino Stasio, Morteza Hasani Shoreh, Marilisa Romito, Pooria Hadikhani, Eirini Kakkava, Joowon Lim, Giulia Panusa, Ahmed Bassam Sayed Ayoub Mohamed Ayoub, Amirhossein Saba, Niyazi Ulas Dinç Past EPFL PhD
Kumar Varoon AgrawalExpertise
Prof. Kumar Varoon Agrawal leads research at EPFL on advanced membrane materials and processes for energy-efficient molecular separations. His work focuses on atomically thin porous graphene film, and two-dimensional zeolite & metal–organic framework membranes that enable selective transport of gases and ions, with applications in carbon capture, hydrogen purification, ammonia separation, and resource recovery. By combining materials chemistry, nanofluidics, transport phenomena, atomistic simulati
Shaik Mohammed ZakeeruddinTeaching & PhD Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Magdalena Anna Marszalek, Jiyoun Seo, Marko Stojanovic, Natalie Flores Diaz, Anwar Qasem M Alanazi, Thomas Paul Baumeler, Essa Awadh R Alharbi, Masaud Hassan S Almalki
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.
Giovanni De MicheliExpertise
Design technologies for integrated systems on silicon, such as synthesis, hw/sw codesign and low-power design, as well as systems on heterogeneous platforms including electrical and biological components.
Scientific Director of EcoCloud Center at EPFL
Directing activities towards creating sustainable computation including AI.Designing energy-savvy data centers and edge devices.
More information
Please read http://si2.epfl.ch/~demichel/
Giovanni De Micheli is a research scientist in electronics and Andrzej KulikExpertise
Experimental Biophysics,nanomechanics,nanomanipulation in 2D and 3D,nanotribology,Atomic Force Microscopy,Optical Tweezers,Photonic Force Microscopy,nano Infrared Spectroscopy (nanoIR),Acoustics,Ultrasound,
Expertise
Experimental Biophysics,nanomechanics,nanomanipulation in 2D and 3D,nanotribology,Atomic Force Microscopy,Optical Tweezers,Photonic Force Microscopy,nano Infrared Spectroscopy (nanoIR),Acoustics,Ultrasound,
Mohammad Khaja NazeeruddinDr. Md. K. Nazeeruddin received M.Sc. and Ph. D. in inorganic chemistry from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. He joined as a Lecturer in Deccan College of Engineering and Technology, Osmania University in 1986, and subsequently, moved to Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, as a Research Associate. He was awarded the Government of Indias fellowship in 1987 for study abroad. In 2014, EPFL awarded him the title of Professor. His current research at EPFL focuses on Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, Perovskite Solar Cells, CO2 reduction, Hydrogen production, and Light-emitting diodes. He has published more than 509 peer-reviewed papers, ten book chapters, and he is inventor/co-inventor of over 50 patents. The high impact of his work has been recognized by invitations to speak at over 130 international conferences, and has been nominated to the OLLA International Scientific Advisory Board. He appeared in the ISI listing of most cited chemists, and has more than 49'000 citations with an h-index of 105. He is teaching "Functional Materials" course at EPFL, and Korea University; directing, and managing several industrial, national, and European Union projects. He was awarded EPFL Excellence prize in 1998 and 2006, Brazilian FAPESP Fellowship in 1999, Japanese Government Science & Technology Agency Fellowship, in 1998, Government of India National Fellowship in 1987-1988. Recently he has been appointed as World Class University (WCU) professor by the Korea University, Jochiwon, Korea (http://dses.korea.ac.kr/eng/sub01_06_2.htm), Adjunct Professor by the King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Eminent Professor in Brunei. Rudolf HoviusExpertise
•Protein structure, expression & purification•Molecular interaction & receptor activation•Fluorescence imaging & spectroscopySignalling & sensing
Mission
=> Teaching: Lecture courses, tutorials and practicals in biochemistry, biophysical chemistry of membranes and signalling processes. Participating to the Commission d'Enseignement and Commission de l'Ecole Doctorale of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.=> Research interests: Protein function and structure, Membrane protein (especially recepto
Herbert SheaExpertise
soft robotics, wearable haptics, electrostatic actuators, EHD
Mission
My lab develops flexible polymer-based actuators for a wide range of applications including haptics and soft robotics. More info at https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lmts/
Links from EPFL-LMTS Lab webpage People Research ActivitiesPublications TeachingPublications and Conference papers Link to my lab Education PhD | Physics 1997 – 1997 Harvard University MA | Physics 1993 – 1993 Harvard University Hatice Altug2020-current Full Professor at the Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Switzerland2013-2020 Associate Professor (with tenure) at the Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Switzerland 2013 Associate Professor (with tenure) at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Boston University, USA 2007-2013 Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Boston University, USA 2007 Post-doctoral Fellow at Center for Engineering in Medicine of Harvard Medical School, USA 2000-2007 PhD. in Applied Physics at Stanford University, USA 1996-2000 B.S. in Physics at Bilkent University, Turkey
Lesya ShchutskaCurrent Work
Our research is focused on testing the boundaries of the Standard Model of particle physics and on looking for new phenomena which might explain unanswered puzzles in the fundamental description of the Universe. The examples of such puzzles would be dark matter nature, matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe or very small but non-zero neutrino masses.The main instrument for these tasks is the LHCb detector at CERN, where the analyses of the data collected in the LHC proton-proton collisions
