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Olivier Pertz, Professor

Olivier received a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from the Biocenter of the University Basel. He then performed his Postdoc at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, where he developed new technologies to image signaling dynamics in single living cells. Before joining the Institute of Cell Biology at the University of Bern, he was a Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel. In the lab, he tries to convince people to produce ever more images of cellular signaling, and to setup new computational approaches to make sense of these complex datasets. In his free time, as a good swiss person, he has interests as diverse as climbing, bouldering, mountaineering, and ski-mountaineering, as well as educating two teenagers.

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Paolo Armando Gagliardi, Postdoc

Raised between vineyards in south-Piedmont in Italy, Paolo studied biology in Torino where he later received a PhD in molecular medicine. During his Master, PhD and first postdoc, Paolo worked in the Candiolo Cancer Institute, a research hospital close to Torino in Italy. His expertise ranges from cell biology and biochemistry to advanced and super resolution microscopy. Among his major achievements, Paolo discovered a new signalling pathway that connects the kinase PDK1 to myosin contraction through the activation of MRCKα. By studying the latter protein, he found that its cleavage by caspases is an important event in the control of actomyosin cytoskeleton during apoptosis and epithelial extrusion. Paolo joined the Pertz lab in 2017, aimed at deciphering the mechanisms of collective signalling dynamics events in epithelia and the effects of oncogenic mutations on such behaviour. Here, he found the right environment, technologies and expertise to carry on his project. Paolo has perfectly integrated in the Swiss atmosphere and in his free time he enjoys trail running, hiking and snowboarding.

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Maciej Dobrzyński, Postdoc

Maciej grew up in the North of Poland. In 2003 he earned master’s degree in physics in the field of theoretical biophysics at the Warsaw University. A year later, he went on to purse a PhD in the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI) in Amsterdam. There, he worked on modelling spatial stochastic biochemical networks. He employed first-passage theory to model gene expression and diffusion-limited reactions. In 2010, he joined Systems Biology Ireland at UCD Dublin to work with Boris Kholodenko on the effect of cell-cell heterogeneity on signalling networks. Thanks to a vibrant Dublin start-up scene he also became a data scientist for TickerFit – a digital platform that assists patients in cardiac rehabilitation. As a graduate of SFI Industry Fellowship, he joined AstraZeneca in Cambridge UK where he worked in R&D department with Claus Bendtsen analysing and modelling single-cell data from drug screens. Since June 2016, Maciej has been working in Bern in the group of Olivier Pertz. He has set up computational infrastructure and developed software pipelines to analyse images and data from single-cell time-lapse experiments. He is developing statistical approaches to quantify and extract features from time series to identify distinct dynamic behaviours that emerge in cancer cell populations. When away from a computer, he enjoys playing piano and keeps active by swimming, biking, hiking, and skiing.

Agne Frismantiene, Postdoc

Agne was born and grew up in Dzukija - south-eastern Lithuania, known for its songs, pine forests, and beautiful landscape. She studied at Vilnius University and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry. After graduation from university in 2008, Agne worked as an R&D scientist for a biotech company, developing transfection reagents for mammalian cell cultures. Fascinated by the robustness and complexity of cellular processes, Agne joined the group of Prof. Therese Resink at the Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel for doctoral studies in cell biology. Her PhD work focused on cadherin signalling and vascular (patho)biology. After another year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Biomedicine, Agne moved to Boston, MA, USA, where she did an internship in vascular biology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In September 2020 Agne joined the group of Prof. Olivier Pertz as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow to study the mechanisms of non-genetic cancer resistance to targeted therapies. Her research focuses on PI3K and MAPK signalling pathways in breast cancer and aims to identify vulnerabilities that might be targeted to break cancer resistance.

Outside of the lab, Agne is an admirer of modern art, an amateur flash fiction writer, and a passionate runner and tennis player.

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Judith Trüb, technician

Judith got her apprenticeship as laboratory technician in chemistry from a company in the eastern part of Switzerland. Since then she passed different labs at ETH Zurich and University of Bern. She worked in biochemistry, plant sciences and molecular biology labs. Judith has a wide experience of working with mice. In the group of Olivier Pertz she organisies the daily routine of the lab and trains students in molecular biology. In her spare time she likes gardening, outdoor activities, reading and singing in a choir..

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Benjamin Grädel, PHD StudenT

Benjamin grew up in Switzerland in a village close to Bern. He started studying biology at the University of Bern in 2015. In March of 2019 Benjamin began as a master student in Olivier Pertz's lab as part of the Master program in molecular life science which he finished in September 2020. During this time, he studied the dynamics and structure of Podosome like structures (PLS) in fibroblasts. For this purpose, he used super-resolution microscopy and live-cell imaging.

In October of 2020 he started as a PhD student in the lab to both continue the PLS project as well as to study Erk and other signalling dynamics.

In his free time away from the lab he enjoys reading, and spending time outside.

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Lucien Hinderling, PHD student

During my BSc thesis in computer science at the University of Fribourg, I worked on 3D terrain reconstruction and georeferencing of hyperspectral UAV images for the University of Göttingen. This project sparked my interest in applying computer vision and machine learning tools for solving biological research questions. From now on on a steady trajectory towards biology, I concluded my MSc degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology with a thesis in this lab, building a computer vision pipeline for segmenting and tracking MCF10A epithelial cells in real time. I’m now interfacing this pipeline for my PhD as part of an experimental platform, that allows real time control of cell signaling states at single-cell level using optogenetics. This will allow us to invoke synthetic behavior in selected cells of a tissue. Studying the response of surrounding cells to the stimulated cells, enables us to better understand emergent properties of cell ecosystems. By manipulating signaling pathways that are regulators of cell fate decisions, such as the MAP kinease ERK, we will be able to invoke cell fates such as proliferation, motility or death in specified cells, allowing us to grow cell tissues in arbitrary shapes.

Alex Landolt, PhD student

Born in Lucerne, Alex embarked on his scientific odyssey with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Bern. During this time, he crossed paths with the Pertzlab, developing LITOS. Taking a respite from Bern, he journeyed to the ETH Zurich for a Master's in Biotechnology, delving into electrochemical sensing and impedance measurements using CMOS-microelectrode arrays for his thesis project.

By day, Alex wears the mantle of a bioengineer, while at night, he embraces the world of programming. Returning to the esteemed Pertzlab for his PhD, he passionately aims to unite machine learning and optogenetics, orchestrating fully automated experiments to unveil the mysteries of epithelial systems.

When not in the lab, you may find him amidst nature, crafting electronic circuits, motorcycling, or gracefully skiing on winter's canvas.

 

Remo Hadorn, MSC Student

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2023 at the University of Berne. Thereafter, I continued with my Master’s in Molecular Life Sciences with a specializations in Cell and Molecular biology.

For my Master’s thesis I got the opportunity to work in the Pertz Lab. The goal of my thesis is to use optogenetic tools to study the link between directional cell motility and MAPK dynamics in the cell.

In my free time I enjoy fencing, running and biking as well as reading, watching movies and playing guitar.

 

Roman Schwob, MSc Student

Roman has completed a master's in Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Bern in 2011, writing a thesis about cell motility and related signaling pathways - involving a lot of manual microscopy image analysis. Since then, he explored different paths such as becoming a High School biology teacher, getting a diploma in Science Journalism, working for the Bern University for Applied Science BFH, but also spending a winter as a ski instructor and being part of the TSK team of dive instructors, which he has been enjoying for many years now. Roman also likes exploring the world - ask him about his days in jail in Indonesia, his private scuba dive with 6 whale sharks or the dog bite story in Bolivia if you're interested - and photography (IG/FB:@romanschwob.photo), he plays music instruments and football and is interested in sports in general. In 2022, he decided to start a second master's specializing on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. His main interests lie in programming (Python), image analysis, and AI-related topics. With these preferences, he found a great opportunity to do his master thesis in the Pertzlab - where he now aims to program machines to do the image analysis work.

 

Zhiwen Xu, MSc Student

Zhiwen has completed his first master’s degree in China. His major was Basic Medicine with a focus on Aging Biology. He utilized Y2H and CoIP to research the interaction between multiple protein complexes on telomeres and their functions. During that learning period, he was fascinated by the stem cell and organoid, which can be an important therapy method for aging related diseases. That why he decided to change his field and apply for his second master degree.

In his free time, he is a traveller and sportsman. He trained taekwondo for more than ten years and won the first prize of his province. Up to now, he has traveled for more than 200 cities in 23 countries. All these experiences make him a person who loves nature sciences and life.

 

Cédric Zahni, MSc Sudent

After completing my Bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Bern and being part of Olivier Pertz's group for my Bachelor's thesis, I came back for my Master's thesis to continue my research. The aim of my project is to develop optogenetic tools and create cell lines to explore the dynamics of the MAPK/ERK pathway and other related intracellular signalling pathways. In particular, I am interested in exploring the responses of FGF, EGF and NGF in mammalian cells through modified and light-activatable receptor tyrosine kinases.

Besides my studies, you can find me at concerts, in the football stadium or at home playing games or watching movies and tv series.

 

Moritz Kwasny, Msc student

Moritz grew up in the heart of Switzerland, close to the town of Lucerne. Growing up next to a forest and through being a scout he spent his childhood outdoors, developing a strong connection to nature. He moved to Bern to start his bachelor’s in biology, which he successfully finished in 2023.

As a Bachelors project Moritz tried to gain insight into C. difficile infections in mice, investigating natural resistance provided by commensal gut-bacteria.

After a gap-year working as a teacher Moritz started his master’s degree at the Pertz Lab. He is investigating cell motility and MAPK-signalling dynamics using optogenetic tools on a spatially controlled migration surface, created through micropatterning.

His free time Moritz likes to spend exploring the outdoors, listening to music or playing video games.

Moritz grew up in the heart of Switzerland, near the town of Lucerne. Growing up next to a forest and being a scout, he spent his childhood outdoors, developing a strong connection to nature. He moved to Bern to start his bachelor’s in biology, which he successfully completed in 2023.

For his bachelor’s project, Moritz aimed to gain insight into C. difficile infections in mice, investigating the natural resistance provided by commensal gut bacteria.

After taking a gap year to work as a teacher, Moritz started his master’s degree at the Pertz Lab. He is investigating cell motility and MAPK-signalling dynamics using optogenetic tools on a spatially controlled migration surface created through micropatterning.

In his free time, Moritz enjoys exploring the outdoors, listening to music, or playing video games.