Felix NaefFelix Naef studied theoretical physics at the ETHZ and obtained his PhD from the EPFL in 2000. He then received postdoctoral training at the Center for Studies in Physics and Biology at the Rockefeller University (NYC) under the guidance of Prof. Magnasco. His research focuses on the modeling and interpretation of high-throughput functional data and the study of biomolecular oscillators. He joined ISREC as an associate scientist in early 2004 and is currently Associate Professor in the Institute of Bioengineering (IBI).
Grégoire CourtineGrégoire Courtine was originally trained in Mathematics and Physics, but received his PhD degree in Experimental Medicine from the University of Pavia, Italy, and the INSERM Plasticity and Motricity, in France, in 2003. From 2004-2007, he held a Post-doctoral Fellow position at the Brain Research Institute, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) under the supervision of Dr. Reggie Edgerton, and was a research associate for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF). In 2008, he became Assistant Professor at the faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich where he established his own research laboratory. In 2012, he was nominated Associate Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) where he holds the International paraplegic foundation (IRP) chair in spinal cord repair at the Center for Neuroprosthetics and the Brain Mind Institute. He published several articles proposing radically new approaches for restoring function after spinal cord injury, which were discussed in national and international press extensively. He received numerous honors and awards such as the 2007 UCLA Chancellors award for excellence in post-doctoral research and the 2009 Schellenberg Prize for his innovative research in spinal cord injury awarded by the International Foundation of Research in Paraplegia.
Horst VogelHorst Vogel est né en 1948 à Würzburg, Allemagne. Après ses études en chimie, il obtient le diplôme de chimie en 1974 de l'Université de Würzburg.Il entreprend ensuite un travail de doctorat au Max-Planck Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie de Göttingen, et obtient en 1978 le grade de docteur ès sciences de l'Université de Göttingen. De 1978 à 1983 il effectue des recherches au Max-Planck Institut für Biologie à Tübingen et en 1984, il rejoint le Biocentre à Bâle où il travaille jusqu'en 1989, effectuant une année au Karolinska Institute à Stockholm. En 1989, Horst Vogel rejoint l'institut de chimie physique de l'EPFL où il dirige un groupe travaillant dans les domaines de la biophysique et de la bioélectronique.
Depuis le 1er octobre 1994 il est profeseur en chimie physique des polymères et membranes au Département de chimie de EPFL. Ses intérêts de recherche sont l'étude de la structure et de la dynamique de récepteurs membranaires et l'auto-assemblage des biomolécules aux interfaces pour développer de nouveaux biocapteurs dans le domaine de micro- et nanotechnologie. Il enseigne les sciences du vivant, la biophysique et biochimie, et des chapitres concernant la biotechnologie.
Dipl. in Chemistry1974-Univ. Würzburg, DE
Ph.D.-1978-MPI für Biophys. Chemie, Göttingen, DE
Jean-Jacques MeisterA Swiss citizen, Jean-Jacques Meister was born in 1950. He received a diploma in electrical engineering, then a diploma in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). He joined the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and obtained a PhD in1983. From 1984 to 1990, he worked in different areas of biophysics and biomedical engineering. His main contributions concern novel noninvasive methods for the prevention and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases: mechanical properties of the arterial wall, arterial hemodynamics, and Doppler ultrasonography. In 1990, he was recruited as a full professor of experimental physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He was director of the laboratory of biomedical engineering until 2001, then director of the laboratory of cell biophysics. His fields of research are cellular biophysics: cytoskeleton dynamics, motility & adhesion of cells and calcium dynamics in smooth muscle cells. He spent a sabbatical leave in 2000 at the famous Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts -USA to improve his skills in molecular and cellular biology. His teaching activities include courses in general physics, Newtonian mechanics, biomedical engineering and biophysics presented to undergraduate and graduate EPFL students in physics and engineering. He is author or co-author of more than 230 scientific papers & book chapters and 8 international patents.
Matthias LütolfMatthias Lutolf is Full Professor at EPFL’s Institute of Bioengineering, with a cross appointment in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering. Lutolf was trained as a Materials Engineer at ETH Zurich where he also carried out his PhD studies (with Jeffrey Hubbell) that were awarded with an ETH medal. He continued his research training as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Stem Cell Biology (with Helen Blau) at Stanford University. He has served as the Director of the Institute of Bioengineering from 2014 to 2018. Lutolf is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of stem cell bioengineering and tissue engineering. His research program uniquely combines stem cell biology with engineering principles and quantitative thinking. His team, composed of engineers, chemists, physicists, cell and developmental biologists, strives to develop technologies that have true biological and medicinal function and applicability. Lutolf’s work has led to more than 110 peer-reviewed scientific publications, many of which published in highly reputed journals, more than 25 patents, and the commercialization of several products. Current research in the Lutolf lab is focused on the bioengineering of miniature tissues, termed organoids, that are generated from self-organizing stem cells.
