About us

 

The D-BSSE is a new ETH department dedicated to interdisciplinary research and development in the area of life sciences.

It currently includes 13 professors with expertise in experimental Biology, Theory, Biotechnology, Biophysics, and Microelectronics. The department is still expanding to its full capacity of 17 professors and research groups.

 

Our Mission

Research in the area of life sciences has moved beyond simply describing plants and animals. As more detailed information and new technologies become available, the gained knowledge will lead to scientific discoveries, but it also will be used to improve the world as we know it. The D-BSSE aims to be at the forefront of this development, which exploits biological findings and uses them as a basis for development in areas such as medicine, pharmacology, and improvement of public health.

In order to achieve this goal the D-BSSE is committed to educating the next generation of life scientists. The most important task here is to expose young scientists to all relevant scientific and technological disciplines to be innovative and productive. This includes exposing the students to more than Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics. All of these classical disciplines remain important, but must be complemented with, e.g., Engineering, Computer Science, or theoretical disciplines to provide the foundations for tackling complex scientific questions and problems. Moreover, the whole spectrum of disciplines is needed to make use of the acquired findings and to develop the respective applications.

 

Objectives

• To provide an interdisciplinary research environment of the highest quality and foster collaborations with academic groups and industry worldwide
• To develop novel approaches and technologies with scientific, economic or social impact
• To educate the next generation of scientists that are internationally competitive after completion of their studies and research projects at D-BSSE