Team - Zampieri Lab

The Zampieri Lab

Mattia Zampieri

Lab Head
Mattia studied Bioengineering in Padova before doing a PhD in Bioinformatics at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste and Boston University. During his PhD, he worked on mathematical modelling of microbial metabolism and reverse engineering transcriptional regulatory networks from expression profiles. In 2011, he moved to ETH, as a Post-Doc in the lab of Prof. Uwe Sauer where he stepped in the shoes of an experimentalist and developed novel high throughput metabolomics frameworks and quantitative models to study regulation of metabolism and its role in mediating the response to perturbations. First as a junior PI at the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology (ETH) and now as a group leader in the department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel, he encourages and mentors other people who want to explore interdisciplinary research at the interface between computational biology and wet lab experimentation.

Tobias Fuhrer

Senior Scientist
Tobias obtained his PhD in 2008 from ETH Zürich working in the lab of Prof. Uwe Sauer on bacterial central carbon and redox metabolism by using 13C flux analysis and GCMS. He then did his Postdoc at the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology (ETH) developing and applying both targeted and untargeted high-throughput mass spectrometry methods to various research areas ranging from genome-wide associations studies to clinical samples and in vitro assays. He has worked for many years as staff scientist and lab manager at the IMSB and then switched gears for a short time joining a start-up in the field of mass spectrometry based biomarker self-tests. He then returned to academia joining the Zampieri lab in January 2023 to take care of the lab management and mass spectrometry work and also to focus on in-vitro drug metabolism assays and metabolomics on individual cell populations. In his free time, he is leaning new languages, passionate about photography and travelling, and enjoys discovering new restaurants.

Laurentz Schuhknecht

Postdoc
Laurentz received a PhD in Systems Biology from ETH Zürich in 2023 and joined the Zampieri lab in August 2023 as a Postdoctoral fellow. His work focuses on unravelling, understanding and eventually targeting novel cancer vulnerabilities. To achieve this, he utilizes high-throughput metabolic profiling of large chemical and genetic libraries or limiting culturing conditions in cell systems from 2D cell cultures to 3D and in vivo models. Aside his work, Laurentz is a passionate cook, enjoys the remoteness of nature during hikes, ski tours and sailing as well as different countries and cultures during travels.

Benjamin Demarco

Postdoc
Benjamin earned his PhD in 2021 from the University of Lausanne, where he worked with Prof. Petr Broz, focusing on inflammasomes, necrotic cell death, and inflammation. Following this, he pursued a postdoctoral position at the University of Oxford, investigating the mechanism that trigger inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis in Bezbradica laboratory. Subsequently, he gained industry experience at Novartis, by leading a clinical study of an autoimmune diseases. Joining our laboratory in March 2024, he now directs his efforts toward identifying novel antibiotic molecules and elucidating their mechanisms of action. He is very happy to have scientific discussions on microbiology and immunology over a cup of coffee. During his free time, he enjoys traveling, playing the piano, and skateboarding.

Terezia Dorcakova

PhD student
Following her Master's in Bioinformatics at Charles University in Prague, Terézia joined our lab in October 2023. In her master thesis, she worked on cancer transciptomics and now, she is expanding her omics knowledge with us. Terézia’s research interests are fueled by the excitement of what her field of study holds for advancing drug development and human disease research. She loves to explore both topics and places - her free time is often spent with a good cup of coffee, taking leisurely walks, immersing in the world of books, and catching up on the latest TV shows and movies.

Sebastian Bors

PhD student
Sebastian joined the lab in February 2023. Previously, he studied Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He is interested in how transcriptional regulatory networks are able to drive cancer by reprograming cellular metabolism. That is why he is investigating the individual impact of all human transcription factors on metabolism using CRISPRa/-off cancer cell lines. Building on this, he aims to explain how and why metabolism is reprogrammed in patient tumor samples. When Sebastian is not in the lab, he is probably doing some kind of sport - anything from chess to boxing. Alternatively, he is diving down an obscure rabbit hole he deemed interesting this month.

Alexandra Huber

PhD student
Alexandra’s fascination with Systems Biology – especially how microbes thrive in ever-changing environments - sparked during her studies at ETH Zurich. In her PhD, Alexandra explores molecular mechanisms that help bacteria to physiologically adapt to different environments. Specifically, Alexandra investigates the interplay between transcriptional regulation and metabolism in Escherichia coli facing harsh environments. Her project aspires to bridge the gap for translational application to identify pathogenic transcription factors and metabolic changes crucial for host infection. When not in the lab, Alexandra enjoys exploring the Alps; in the warmer months during hikes and bivouac trips, and in the winter hitting the ski slopes and snowshoe trails.

Yannick Revaz

PhD student
Yannick completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Neuchatel. For his bachelor project, he explored methods to monitor the development of B. malayi parasite within its host using bioluminescence, aiming to improve treatment efficacy by identifying precise target locations. Subsequently, he earned his degree from the University of Zürich. During his one-year master's project in the lab of Sylvain Bischoff, he investigated epigenetic mechanisms in A. Thaliana to contribute to the development of innovative breeding methods. This experience provided him with extensive training in molecular biology. With the desire to orientate his career towards human health research and to develop his computational biology skills, he started his PhD in Zampieri’s Lab in April 2024 working with E.coli; clinical strain responsible for urinary tract infection. His aim in the years ahead is to unravel mechanisms driving bacterial drug tolerance through the prism of metabolic plasticity, focusing on the role of central metabolism. Apart from science, he loves sports and spending time outdoors. He does rock climbing, CrossFit and volleyball, and in summer he likes to spend time on the banks of the Rhein with friends and watch the sunset.

Martina Bläsi

Intern
In 2018, Martina completed a one-year internship in the lab of Prof. Dr. Urs Jenal, contributing to the research on multidrug tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during chronic infections in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. She then pursued her BSc and subsequently her MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Basel. She obtained her MSc in Molecular Biology in 2023 while working in the lab of Prof. Dr. Knut Drescher. Her research focused on characterizing the spatiotemporal stress response in Vibrio cholerae biofilms through comparative analyses of stress tolerance, confocal microscopy and transcriptomics. In April 2024, she joined the Zampieri Lab as an intern, where she focuses on optimizing a high-throughput approach to generate a large volume of metabolic profiles in response to chemical perturbations across various cancer cell lines. In her free time, she finds enjoyment in skiing and biking in the mountains, as well as playing the trumpet.

Manh-Nhi Chiem

Intern
Manh-Nhi joined the Zampieri Lab as an intern in June 2024. She focuses on high-throughput methodologies to monitor metabolic response and growth inhibition of clinical E. coli isolates exposed to a phytochemical natural compounds library. By identifying drug metabolic fingerprints and analyzing growth data she aims at discovering novel antimicrobials. Manh-Nhi has a professional background as a Biomedical Scientist working in hospital labs. She pursued her BSc in Bioanalytics and Cell Biology at the FHNW. In her bachelor thesis at Perseo Pharma she established a cell model of the human intestinal barrier to assess the in vitro safety profile of a drug candidate. She obtained her MSc in Bioanalytics in spring 2023 while working in the stem cell technologies group of Matthias Müller at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. She generated and characterized a CRISPR activation system in a hiPSC line to establish it as a functional tool for targeted gene overexpression. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and eating, going out with friends and spending time with her adorable cat. She loves to go “rhyschwümme” in summer and to snow shoe in winter time.

Valeria Buoli Comani

Visiting PhD Student
Valeria is a PhD student at the University of Parma. She graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, completing an experimental thesis in the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology focused on the functional characterization of the enzyme phosphoserine phosphatase (PSP). Currently, her PhD project is centered on validating new molecular targets in Staphylococcus aureus, with a particular focus on proteins involved in iron acquisition. In Italy, her research focuses on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between human hemoglobin and bacterial hemophores, with the ultimate goal of identifying small molecules capable of disrupting this complex formation and inducing iron starvation in the bacterium. Valeria joined the Zampieri Lab to apply metabolomics in targeting S. aureus. By comparing the metabolites produced by the bacterium under different growth conditions, she aims to uncover new potential antibiotic targets. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and dancing.