Alumni News

Coral reefs around the world are under severe threat from ocean exploitation, climate change and environmental pollution. How can destroyed coral reefs be rebuilt? This is the mission of "rrreefs", a company founded by ETH alumna Dr. Ulrike Pfreundt. Around 40 members of the VESUV, the Bio and Environment Alumni attended Dr. Pfreundt's lecture, where they were also able to examine a specimen of the coral reef building block.

Isabella Sedivy studied biology at ETH, graduating with a Master’s in the subject. An experienced journalist, she worked for Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (the Swiss radio and television broadcasting company) for several years and has produced films on natural history. She is now the co-owner of the environmental agency “Plan Biodivers”, which campaigns for greater biodiversity in Switzerland.

Annika Hausmann obtained her PhD in microbiology and immunology at ETH. She now works as an immunologist at the University of Copenhagen and is researching an intestinal disease which an increasing number of people suffer from. As one of the founders of the Swiss Young Immunologists’ Society, she is committed to the visibility and networking of young immunologists in Switzerland.

The 2020 General Assembly of the Bio Alumni took place virtually due to Corona. Prior to the meeting, all members had the opportunity to vote on the agenda items by letter: Acceptance of the last AGM’s minutes, the annual report and accounts for 2019 and 2020 as well as board elections. Around a dozen alumni took the opportunity to participate in the virtual AGM. The president gave a review of the activities of the last two years.

Sarah-Maria Fendt completed her PhD in molecular systems biology at ETH Zurich. Afterwards, she worked for three years in the USA at the Harvard Medical School and at MIT. For the last few years she has been undertaking research into the metabolism of metastasising cancer cells at the VIB-KU Leuven Centre for Cancer Biology in Belgium. Together with her team, she hopes to find ways to reduce metastasis formation to improve the survival rate of patients.

On July 6, 2019, the Environment Alumni, Bio Alumni, VECS Chemistry and VEPS Pharmacy Alumni celebrated the 150th anniversary of the ETH Alumni Association. The day kicked off with a tour of the waste incineration plant Zürcher Oberland and finished with a social dinner at the lake of Pfäffikon.

On May 14, 2019, a group of 21 ETH Bio-Alumni was able to visit the forensic laboratory of the MSD Werthenstein BioPharma where they learned more about the methods and institutions used to investigate possible counterfeit drugs. The guided tour involved a general presentation in English and a subsequent tour through the laboratory. The laboratory is run by three specialized scientists.

On September 1, 2018, 25 members of the Bio Alumni took the opportunity to attend a tour through the waste incineration plant Hagenholz Zürich.

On July 11, 2018, roughly 30 Bio Alumni met at the Villa Hatt in Zurich for their annual Get-Together. It takes place every year in summer.

Big Data, Data Science, Machine Learning: More and more such terminology is used in today’s job ads and company portraits. Such topics were part of the Career Events 2018 for biologist.  

On Saturday 27 January 2018, the Bio Alumni group visited the Paul-Scherrer-Institut (PSI) in Villigen AG. A focus of the excursion was the viewing of the new large-scale research site Swiss Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL).

„Teile Lebensmittel, anstatt sie wegzuwerfen“ – Unter diesem Motto trafen sich am 24. September Mitglieder der Bio Alumni in der RiffRaff-Bar im Kreis 5. Dort erfuhren sie mehr über die 2012 entstandene Initiative gegen Lebensmittelverschwendung von foodsharing Schweiz, welche Lebensmittel „rettet“, die ansonsten weggeworfen würden.