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SUMMARY:EPFL Space Center – Seminar series: Exploring the Uncommon for t
 he Common Good – Space Biology\, Medicine and Technology
DTSTART:20260331T130000
DTEND:20260331T141500
DTSTAMP:20260430T025559Z
UID:be4b572c610363724ab94689d7c7d34225d5c72787ca488ce36ab0f8
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Ullrich\nProf. Dr. Marcel Egli\nDr. Cora 
 Thiel\nDr. Lorenz Herrmann\nA presentation by the Center for Space and Avi
 ation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA)\n\nThe Center for Space and Avia
 tion Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) is an alliance born in 2024 from 
 11 large space and aviation institutions across two countries\, including 
 a Civil Research Flight Facility with aircraft handling and operations. Co
 nnected to the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf\, it forms
  an end-to-end ecosystem for space research and technology operations.\n 
 \n\nOverview of the Presentation\n\nOliver Ullrich will introduce the CSA 
 and its institutional foundations.\n\nMarcel Egli will cover the major phy
 siological changes in the human body under microgravity\, highlight relate
 d research conducted at partner institutions\, and introduce the newly est
 ablished ESA ground-based facility SHARF\, dedicated to space farming rese
 arch. He will also describe the ESA User Support and Operations Centre BIO
 TESC and its role in enabling scientific activities aboard the Internation
 al Space Station.\n\nCora Thiel will present how human cells can sense and
  adapt to changes in gravity within seconds\, pointing to a possible "geno
 mic code of gravity." She will also highlight her research on patient-deri
 ved organoids in microgravity\, which enabled the first scalable productio
 n process for functional human tissues in space — with strong potential 
 for translational and personalized medicine.\n\nLorenz Herrmann will give 
 an overview of space-related research activities at Empa\, closing with an
  outlook on future collaboration opportunities based on Empa's core compet
 ences.\n \n\nAbout the Presenters\n\nProf. Dr. Marcel Egli serves as Head
  of the Institute of Medical Engineering at the Lucerne University of Appl
 ied Sciences and Arts and of the National Center for Biomedical Research i
 n Space at the University of Zurich. He directs ESA's User Support and Ope
 rations Centre BIOTESC and leads the ESA ground-based facility SHARF\, an 
 analogue platform dedicated to research in space farming and bioregenerati
 ve life-support systems. His scientific work focuses on the cellular and m
 olecular mechanisms of mechanosensation under microgravity conditions\, em
 ploying platforms including parabolic flight campaigns\, sounding rockets\
 , and the International Space Station.\n\nDr. Cora Thiel is Vice Director 
 at the University of Zurich's Institute of Aerospace Medicine and Director
  of International Relations at the CSA. Her expertise spans cell and molec
 ular biology\, neuroscience\, immunology\, and gravitational biology. She 
 serves on several national and international boards\, is an elected Academ
 ician of the International Academy of Astronautics\, and a board member of
  the Swiss SkyLab Foundation. With 18 years of experience in parabolic fli
 ght\, suborbital rocket\, and ISS missions\, she has also served as an ESA
  Astronaut Candidate\, a Mars analogue astronaut\, and the first female pa
 rabolic flight instructor. She led the UZH-Airbus project "3D Organoids in
  Space."\n\nDr. Lorenz Herrmann has been Head of the Department of Advance
 d Materials and Surfaces at Empa and a member of Empa's directorate since 
 2022. He studied physics at the University of Regensburg and the École No
 rmale Supérieure in Paris\, completing a binational PhD in solid state ph
 ysics in 2010. After joining ABB Corporate Research\, he worked as scienti
 st\, group leader\, and department head on technology development projects
 . His personal research field is material development and characterization
  for electrical engineering applications.\n\nProf. Dr. Dr. Oliver Ullrich 
 is Full Professor of Aerospace Medicine and Director of the Institute of A
 erospace Medicine at the University of Zurich\, as well as Chairman of the
  Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein. A physician 
 and biochemist specialized in anatomy\, cell biology\, immunology\, and ae
 rospace medicine\, he also holds a post-graduate diploma in Theology from 
 the Pontifical Lateran University. He is Ambassador of the Greater Zurich 
 Area\, an active supporter of entrepreneurship and public-private partners
 hips\, and the initiator of the Swiss Parabolic Flight program. He has rec
 eived numerous national and international research and teaching awards\, i
 ncluding the International Academy of Astronautics Award for the Life Scie
 nces.
LOCATION:BC 420 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==BC%20420 https://epfl.zoom.us/
 j/65411562957
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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