SV In extenso: from bachelor students to PhDs to professors

The associations of SV students (AESV), SV PhD students (ADSV) and SV Postdocs (SV Postdoc Association) are very happy to announce the first SV in extenso: from bachelor students to PhDs to professors. Everyone in SV faculty plays an important role in its success- thus we organised this common event to bring the whole SV community together and celebrate our achievements! 

So let’s all come together and celebrate our mutual collaboration on March 9th! 
At 5pm, in Aud. CO3- through fascinating talks, we can explore what kind of research is going on in our faculty (see details below).
At 7pm, in l’Ornithorynque- we can enjoy dinner, drinks and party together. For organisational purposes please fill in the doodle! http://doodle.com/poll/dxcn3c2rrvv44vcf.
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List of talks and speakers:

Prof. Melanie Blokesch- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology

Bacteria are extremely abundant on earth and humans wouldn’t exist without them. Unfortunately, we also frequently get in contact with bacterial pathogens, which can make us sick. I will discuss how a process known as horizontal gene transfer fosters bacterial evolution in general and how it contributes to the spread of pathogenic traits and antibiotic resistance.

Dr. Pamela Valdés- Neurodegenerative Disease Laboratory (Aebischer Lab)

Modeling tau pathology using viral vectors for the development of novel therapeutic approaches in Alzheimer’s Disease
The goal of our laboratory is to complement the development of new animal models with novel therapeutic approaches in neurodegenerative diseases. For Alzheimer’s disease we have developed a model of tau pathology in mice which allows us to evaluate the impact of tau protein in neuronal function. In addition we have been able to establish a reliable model of tau propagation aiming to test different therapeutic approaches such as immunotherapy and anti-aggregation compounds.

Dr. Nathalie Brandenberg- Laboratory of Stem Cell Bioengineering (Lutolf Lab)

Stem cells at the base of tissue engineering 2.0
It is only very recently that stem cells were shown to have an extraordinary capacity to self-organise into organ-mimicking structures when cultured in three dimensions. These “mini-tissues” grown in a dish or organoids represent key functions and can give rise to differentiated cells that could not, until now, be cultured in conventional platforms. However, organoids mature randomly and can thus far only be obtained in relatively ill-defined and clinically irrelevant native ECM-derived microenvironment. We, thus, developed innovative technologies to control and guide organoid growth and maturation using microfluidics and hydrogel microstructuring.

Dr. Quentin Barraud- Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute (Courtine Lab)

Locomotor prosthetics: Restoring locomotion after spinal cord injury
We have developed a neuroprosthetic program that reestablished voluntary control of paralyzed legs in rodent and primate models of spinal cord injury. The goal of our laboratory is to refine this intervention with next-generation neurotechnologies and translate these approaches into medical devices and therapeutic practices for accelerating and improving functional recovery after spinal cord injury in humans.

Prof. Denis Duboule- Laboratory of Developmental Genomics