One community, many research topics

After finishing her MD and specialization in internal medicine and diabetology at the University of Geneva, Francesca obtained her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh in the lab of Bret Goodpaster. Her Aging and Muscle Metabolism lab performs translational research projects covering multiple metabolic diseases in human and non-human models, to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying altered muscle metabolism with aging.

https://www.unil.ch/dsb/francesca-amati

Giovanni D’Angelo graduated in 2003 with a MSc in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Naples, Italy and obtained his PhD in Cell Biology in 2008 from the Consorzio ‘Mario Negri’ SUD, Santa Maria Imbaro, Italy. For his postdoctoral training, he moved to the Telethon Institute for Genetics and Medicine in Naples, Italy to study sphingolipid metabolism and intracellular lipid trafficking. In 2012, Giovanni moved to the Institute of Protein Biochemistry, at the National Research Council of Italy in Naples as a principal investigator.

In 2018 Giovanni moved to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) where he is now Assistant Professor and Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Chair on Metabolism. Giovanni’s main interest is understanding the meaning of compositional variability in cell membranes by studying the mechanisms by which the lipid composition is determined.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/dangelo-lab/

After graduating in Biochemistry at the University of Barcelona, Carles Canto performed his doctoral work in the laboratory of Prof. Anna Gumà and Prof. Antonio Zorzano, studying the influence of growth factors in skeletal muscle glucose uptake and metabolism. During this time, he also did a stay in the laboratory of Prof. Juleen R. Zierath at the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) to evaluate how growth factors interacted with the molecular signals triggered by muscle contraction. Trying to understand the nature of transcriptional adaptations to metabolic challenges, Carles Canto joined as s post-doctoral fellow the laboratory of Prof. Johan Auwerx, first at the Institut de Génétique et de BIologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC, Strasbourg, France) and later at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland). After his postdoctoral work, he joined the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences as group leader, where he further pursued his research in relation to metabolic sensing mechanisms, mitochondrial biology and NAD+ metabolism. Since 2022, Carles Canto is back at EPFL as Senior Researcher to follow his passion for understanding the molecular machineries by which cells understand and adapt to the metabolic environment.

https://people.epfl.ch/carles.canto

Ping-Chih Ho grew up in Taiwan and obtained his basic biomedical training, including bachelor degree (Life Science) and master degree (Biochemical Science), at National Taiwan University. He then obtained his PhD in Department of Pharmacology at University of Minnesota. Ping-Chih then did postdoctoral training with Susan Kaech at Yale University, where he demonstrated how cancer cells evade T cell immunosurveillance by depriving infiltrating T cells of glucose, which is consumed in large amounts by malignant cells. In September 2015, he relocated to Switzerland as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and act as an adjunct scientist at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Ping-Chih was promoted as a tenured associate professor at the University of Lausanne in August 2019 and promoted to Associate Member at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in January 2020. Since 2023 he is full professor at UNIL.

His research centers on deciphering how nutrients affect immune responses of an array of immune cells through the unexplored metabolic regulations and to investigate how metabolic reprogramming and targeting can be harnessed to fine-tune immune responses in diseases, especially tumor immunity and autoimmune.

https://www.unil.ch/dof/ho

Alexis Jourdain received his PhD in 2013 from the University of Geneva for his work on mitochondrial gene expression and mitochondrial RNA granules under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Claude Martinou, as a fellow of the Roche Research Foundation. In 2015, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Vamsi Mootha, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital. During his postdoctoral training as a fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Alexis used systems biology approaches to discover nuclear genes involved in energy metabolism, including genes encoding mitochondrial and pre-mRNA splicing subunits. In spring 2021, Alexis joined the Department of Immunobiology (formerly Biochemistry), at the University of Lausanne as a tenure-track Assistant Professor.

His group studies mitochondria & energy metabolism and their regulation in immunity, cancer and metabolic disorders. 

http://www.jourdainlab.org

Marlen Knobloch has been trained as a neurobiologist, obtaining her PhD with Prof. Nitsch at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where she developed a novel mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease and contributed to a novel immunization approach. Her postdoctoral work with Prof. Jessberger at ETH/ University of Zürich focused on the metabolic requirements of adult neural stem cells. Her work has uncovered an important mechanism how lipid metabolism controls neural stem cell activity. In 2017, Marlen Knobloch joined the University of Lausanne; since 2023 she holds a chair as associate professor.

Her lab studies how metabolism regulates stem cell behaviour, with a primarily focus on neural stem cells, and specifically interested in lipid metabolism and how the build-up and break-down of lipids, as well as their external availability, affects neural stem cells.

https://wp.unil.ch/knobloch-lab/

Our laboratory was using systems approaches to map the signaling networks that govern mitochondrial function and as such regulate organismal metabolism in health, aging and disease.

https://web.archive.org/web/20211016121250/https://www.epfl.ch/labs/auwerx-lab/

The Pediatric Metabolic Disease Unit of the CHUV cares for newborns, children and adolescents with inborn metabolic diseases. These are rare genetic diseases that can occur at any age and can affect all organ systems.

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/dfme/dfme-home/enfants-famille/specialites-medicales/maladies-metaboliques/

Keywords

• metabolic programming
• human milk
• lactation
• infant nutrition
• development origins of health and disease
• genetics
• epigenetics
• body composition
• lifelong metabolic health

https://www.nestlenutrition-institute.org/aristea-binia

Our lab is involved doing research into the epidemiology of cardio-metabolic diseases and risk factors, as well as in the field of nutritional and genetic epidemiology.

https://www.unisante.ch/fr/propos-dunisante/unisante-bref/direction/membre/bochud-murielle

Our laboratory is involved in research into pancreatic islet transplantation.

https://www.unige.ch/ufa/biologie/formateurs/unige/bosco

Our lab focuses on understanding physiological and metabolic mechanisms at the level of the whole organism, with the ambition of translating this knowledge into concrete applications for human health, particularly in the fields of obesity, diabetes and cancer.

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/diabetescentre/membres/roberto-coppari

Development and Plasticity of Hypothalamic Circuits

https://dnf-unil.ch/group/development-and-plasticity-of-hypothalamic-circuits

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian-Darimont

The central research focus of the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics (LSBG) is to understand genome organization, regulation, and variation and is broadly partitioned according to three major research pillars:

• Adipo
• Chrono
• Techno

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/deplanckelab/

Translational Chronobiology and Chronomedicine

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/chiru/groupes-de-recherche/charna-dibner

Research in our group combines two scientific themes, circadian clocks and RNA biology.

https://www.unil.ch/cig/en/home/menuinst/research/prof-gatfield.html

We study lipid metabolism and cell membrane homeostasis mechanisms. We integrate biochemical, mass spectrometry (lipidomics) and bioinformatics methods to map protein-lipid interactions.

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/phym/fr/groupes/anne-claude-gavin

With their Janus-faced property of being at once dynamic and stable, we hypothesize that epigenetic mechanisms harbor the potential to better explain the molecular processes that govern learning, memory and memory loss. Our particular interests in the lab are memory consolidation/reconsolidation, Alzheimer’s disease, and long-lasting traumatic memories.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/graefflab/

Interests and expertise:

– Metabolism and puberty
– Newborn endocrinology
– Diabetology

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/edm/edm-home/le-service-en-bref/collaborateurs-edm/hauschild-michael

In the Laboratory of Psychophysics, we investigate visual information processing in human observers with psychophysical methods, TMS, EEG, and mathematical modelling. Main topics of research are: feature integration, contextual modulation, time course of information processing, and perceptual learning. In clinical studies, deficits of visual information processing are investigated in schizophrenic patients.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lpsy/

François Jornayvaz is particularly interested in the link between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance. To this end, he is developing translational research ranging from cell culture to clinical research, from a patient-oriented perspective.

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/diabetescentre/membres/francois-jornayvaz

We are interested in the development of statistical methodologies in order to decipher the genetic- and causal network architecture of complex human traits. To do so, we combine Genome-Wide Association Studies and various omics data sets.

Zoltán Kutalik

Our overall research focus is to understand the mechanisms by which metabolic cues, e.g. nutrients and hormones, interact with the mediobasal hypothalamus to control energy balance and physiology. More precisely, our team aims to decipher the anatomical and functional interactions between glia and neurons in this brain region by combining neuroanatomical, molecular, and physiological approaches.

https://www.unil.ch/dsb/en/home/menuinst/groupes-de-recherche/fanny-langlet.html

Insects possess efficient mechanisms for detecting and neutralising microbial infection. The application of Drosophila genetics to deciphering these mechanisms has generated insights into insect immunity and uncovered similarities with mammalian innate immune responses. Our research focuses on understanding mechanisms of microbial infection and corresponding host defence responses in Drosophila using genetic and genomic approaches.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lemaitrelab/

Our projects aim to contribute understanding the crosstalk between metabolism and proliferation.

https://www.unil.ch/cig/en/home/menuinst/research/prof-fajas-coll.html

Our research focuses on the roles of two particular RNA binding proteins of the SR protein family, SRSF1 and SRSF2, in metabolism and adipose tissue biology. We particularly focus on how these proteins participate in the onset and development of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.

https://www.unil.ch/cig/home/menuinst/research/prof-lopez-mejia.html

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lutolf-lab/

Prof. em.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jean-Claude-Martinou

Our overall goal is to understand how our cells integrate environmental cues and how they respond by adapting gene transcription. In this purpose, we study how the skin, our largest interface with the environment, responds to insults like mechanical injuries, allergens or sunlight Ultra Violet (UV) rays (a major environmental cue and a complete carcinogen). Notably, we explore how the nuclear hormone receptors PPARs control gene expression and skin cell responses to these environmental insults.

https://www.unil.ch/cig/en/home/menuinst/research/prof-michalik.html

Research axes:

– Neuromuscular plasticity in response to exercise and disease

– Modulation of mitochondrial function by variation of oxygen levels

https://www.unil.ch/dsb/en/home/menuinst/groupes-de-recherche/place-millet.html

Contact Us

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/braintumour/about-us/staff/mauro-oddo

Our main research interests are the mechanisms of tissue- and disease-specific functions of lymphatic and blood vessels. To study this question, our group combines expertise in advanced animal models with high resolution imaging, diverse cellular models and analyses of human patient samples.

https://www.unil.ch/dof/en/home/menuinst/research-labs/petrova.html

Research Interests :

• Human genetics
• Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH – Kallmann syndrome)
• GnRH neuron ontogeny
• Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) signaling and associated diseases
• Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) & Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Metabolic disorders & insulin resistance
• Diabetes & MODY

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/edm/edm-home/recherche/our-research-groups/nelly-pitteloud-md

Research axes:

– Neuromuscular plasticity in response to exercise and disease

– Modulation of mitochondrial function by variation of oxygen levels

https://www.unil.ch/dsb/en/home/menuinst/groupes-de-recherche/place-millet.html

Our group is interested in
– Mental and metabolic health and lifestyle of adults and children in a transgenerational approach
– Interdisciplinary management of diabetes and pregnancy
– Therapeutic education

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/dfme/dfme-home/recherche/femme-mere/interdisciplinary-gdm-unit-lausanne/our-team

The Rebsamen laboratory studies the signaling pathways and metabolic processes that allow immune cells to detect and respond to invading pathogens, and their implication in autoimmune diseases.

https://www.unil.ch/ib/en/home/menuinst/research/rebsamen-manuele.html

Our research is mainly focused on linking patterns from animal Evo-Devo (evolution of development) to evolutionary processes on the genome. We develop databases for evolutionary biology, especially Bgee.

https://www.unil.ch/dee/robinson-rechavi-group

Role of non-coding RNAs in the control of pancreatic β-cell functions and development of diabetes mellitus

https://dnf-unil.ch/group/role-of-non-coding-rnas-in-the-control-of-pancreatic-%ce%b2-cell-functions-and-development-of-diabetes-mellitus

We investigate the impact and mechanisms whereby stress and personality affect brain function and behavior, with a focus on motivation and the social domain.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lgc/

By investigating the molecular basis by which bile acids and other signaling molecules act as controllers of energy homeostasis, our laboratory aims to identify novel mechanisms and strategies to target a wide range of metabolic disorders.

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/schoonjans-lab/

Role of odixative stress in thyroid pathophysiology.

https://www.chuv.ch/fr/edm/edm-home/le-service-en-bref/collaborateurs-edm/sykiotis-gerasimos

Adipose tissue and gut microbiota in metabolic diseases

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/diabetescentre/membres/mirko-trajkovski

Immunosenescence and stem cell metabolism

https://www.unil.ch/dof/vannini

Cell adhesion, migration and extracellular matrix remodeling

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/phym/groupes/645wehrle-haller

Mitochondrial research

NHI Lausanne

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-wiederkehr-163775111/?originalSubdomain=ch

We are using a translational approach to coordinate multidisciplinary team members around a shared vision with a main goal to improve lifespan and develop muscle-targeted treatments.

https://www.unil.ch/issul/fr/home/menuinst/membres/membres-issul-fbm.html