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Our Cooperation with D-BSSE of ETH Zürich
Funding of Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy's chair at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel
Prof. Dr. Sai T. Reddy (*1980) has gained worldwide recognition with his scientific work and publications about the development of nanoparticles in new vaccines. He is regarded as one of the co-founders of system immunology research. He will continue to work on nanoparticle vaccines and the development of new therapeutic antibodies at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering and will constitute a crucial reinforcement to the field of medicine-oriented engineering sciences. His research group is focused on the interface of systems immunology and biomolecular engineering, which exploits high-throughput techniques such as bioinformatics, proteomics, and directed evolution-protein engineering to study the immune system in a quantitative manner. This research approach uses such technologies for the engineering of next generation vaccines and immunotherapeutics. Additionally fundamental questions related to pathogen-host immune responses are explored using a systems-based approach. Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy's chair is funded by the Misrock Foundation.
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News Reports
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April 15, 2021, Zürich
ETH-Zürich
Designing better antibody drugs with artificial intelligence
Machine learning methods help to optimise the development of antibody drugs. This leads to active substances with improved properties, also with regard to tolerability in the body.
Antibodies are not only produced by our immune cells to fight viruses and other pathogens in the body. For a few decades now, medicine has also been using antibodies produced by biotechnology as drugs. This is because antibodies are extremely good at binding specifically to molecular structures according to the lock-and-key principle. Their use ranges from oncology to the treatment of autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.
However, developing such antibody drugs is anything but simple. The basic requirement is for an antibody to bind to its target molecule in an optimal way. At the same time, an antibody drug must fulfil a host of additional criteria. For example, it should not trigger an immune response in the body, it should be efficient to produce using biotechnology, and it should remain stable over a long period of time.
Once scientists have found an antibody that binds to the desired molecular target structure, the development process is far from over. Rather, this marks the start of a phase in which researchers use bioengineering to try to improve the antibody’s properties. Scientists led by Sai Reddy, a professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, have now developed a machine learning method that supports this optimisation phase, helping to develop more effective antibody drugs.
Read the full news report in english (Website of ETH-Zürich) >
Ganzer Newsbericht auf Deutsch (Website der ETH-Zürich) >
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February 2019, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Impact Report 2018 Misrock Foundation
A professor soars to new heights
Professor Sai Reddy’s career reached a new peak with his appointment as Associate Professor at ETH Zurich in July 2018. The success story of this professorship at the Basel-based ETH Department of Biosystems is largely due to the generous donation of the Misrock Foundation. On behalf of ETH Zurich and the recipient, we would like to thank the Misrock Foundation most sincerely for its many years of loyal support.
The appointment as Associate Professor coincides well with a new phase in Sai Reddy’s professorship: after six years of establishing his group and developing new methods, Professor Reddy will now concentrate on translating research results into clinical applications, including possibilities for commercialisation. A particular focus of interest and growing activity is cancer immunotherapy.
Sai Reddy investigates the molecular and genetic basis of the immune system and has been instrumental in shaping the emerging field of systems immunology. A central area of research in this new field is the combination of highthroughput experimental techniques, computational biology and big data analysis. Professor Reddy is also helping to define the exciting new area of synthetic immunology, which aims to reprogramme immune cells using advances in genome engineering. His research results open up unprecedented possibilities for the development of personalised and precision vaccines and immunotherapies.
Read the full impact report in english (PDF; 1.3 MB) >
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12 December 2018, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Sai Reddy ist der neue Vizepräsident des Botnar Research Centre for Child Health
Die Erfolgsgeschichte von Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy geht weiter: Neben Prof. Dr. Georg Holländer wurde Sai Reddy kürzlich zum neuen Vizedirektor des Botnar Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) in Basel gewählt.
Sai Reddy hat seit Juli 2018 eine ausserordentliche Professur im Departement Biosysteme der ETH Zürich in Basel inne. Spezialisiert ist er auf Anwendungen in den Bereichen Biotechnologie, Impfung und Immuntherapie. Für seine Forschung hat er bereits eine grosse Anzahl an Preisen gewonnen – darunter auch den prestigeträchtigen ERC Grant des Europäischen Forschungsrats und den Grand Challenges Explorations Grant der Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Ermöglicht hat die Professur die 1981 in Basel gegründete Misrock Foundation. Die Stiftung des Amerikaners S. Leslie Misrock unterstützt den Lehrstuhl «Biomolecular Engineering» von Sai Reddy bereits seit 2010.
Ganze Mitteilung auf Deutsch (Website of ETH-Zürich Foundation) >
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19 July 2018, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Sai Reddy zum ausserordentlichen Professor ernannt
Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy (*1980), zurzeit Tenure-Track-Assistenzprofessor für System- und Synthetische Immunologie an der ETH Zürich, erhält neu eine ausserordentliche Professur. Dies gab der ETH-Rat im Anschluss an seine Sitzung Anfang Juli bekannt.
Sai Reddy erforscht die molekulargenetischen Grundlagen des Immunsystems und hat die Systemimmunologie mitbegründet und massgeblich gestaltet. Dieses neue Forschungsgebiet kombiniert Hochdurchsatz-Techniken mit der Datenanalyse von Immunrepertoires. Gleichzeitig entwickelt Professor Reddy neue Methoden, um durch Gentechnik Immunzellen neu zu programmieren. Seine Forschungsergebnisse eröffnen noch nie dagewesene Möglichkeiten für die Entwicklung von Impfstoffen und neuen Immuntherapien.
Die Professur von Sai Reddy ist der grosszügigen Schenkung der 1981 in Basel gegründeten Misrock Foundation zu verdanken. Die Stiftung des Amerikaners S. Leslie Misrock unterstützt den Lehrstuhl von Sai Reddy am Basler ETH-Department für Biosysteme seit 2010.
Ganze Mitteilung auf Deutsch (Website der ETH-Zürich Foundation) >
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6 July 2018, Zürich
ETH-Zürich
Fresh energy for teaching and research
At its meeting of 4/5 July 2018 and upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Lino Guzzella, the ETH Board appointed 9 professors. Among them is Sai Reddy.
Professor Sai Reddy (*1980), currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of Systems and Synthetic Immunology. Sai Reddy investigates the high-frequency DNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of adaptive immune repertoires. This work, which attracts worldwide attention, has enabled him to establish and decisively shape the new research area of systems immunology. His group recently invented the molecular amplification fingerprinting method, which offers almost complete error and bias correction for immune repertoire sequencing. Sai Reddy also shows a high commitment to teaching and is very popular with his students.
Read the full report in english (website of ETH Zürich) >
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May 2018, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Reporting Science & Technology For Health 2018
Highlight: An Evolving Professorship
The generous funding provided by the Foundation of S. Leslie Misrock not only enabled Sai Reddy to take up a professorship at ETH Zurich but also promoted the development of a group of highly talented young scientists. Over the past six years, the group of the Laboratory for Systems and Synthetic Immunology has been growing steadily and now includes 4 postdocs, 14 PhD students and 5 Master’s students.
Two young scientists from Professor Reddy’s group, Enkelejda Miho and Victor Greiff, started promising careers of their own in 2017 and 2018. Details of their activities can be found in a profile and a brief interview in the full report.
Sai Reddy’s professorship has itself entered a new phase. Having devoted the last six years to establishing his group and developing new methods, Professor Reddy will now concentrate on the translation of research results into clinical applications, including possibilities for commercialization. A particular focus of interest and growing activity is cancer immunotherapy.
Read the full report in english (PDF; 2.8 MB) >
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March 2017, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Reporting Science & Technology For Health 2017
Sai Reddy’s professorship was only made possible through the generous funding by the Foundation of S. Leslie Misrock, starting in 2010. Last year, Misrock Foundation increased its initial commitment for the second time. Since he started at ETH Zurich, Professor Sai Reddy achieved a large number of outstanding and highly recognized publications, presented his studies at more than 30 talks and applied for four patents. His contributions attracted keen interest beyond the academic community, leading to cooperation with several companies, such as Roche, Novartis, NBE Therapeutics, UCB-Celltech and Specifica. These collaborations with the industry indicate the relevance of his work to biotechnological drug development. Moreover, he is also very active in the wider Swiss and international scientific environment, serving on various committees and leading the organisation of the first conference on “Systems Biology of Adaptive Immunity”, to be held this spring in Ascona. In view of this track record, he was able to attract substantial third-party funding amounting to over 5 Mio. CH F since 2012.
Read the full report in english (PDF; 3.3 MB) >
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28 November 2016, Zürich
ETH-Zürich Foundation
Misrock Foundation continues funding of ETH-professorship for Biomolecular Engineering
The Foundation of S. Leslie Misrock supports Sai Reddy’s professorship at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel since 2010 and recently increased its initial commitment for the second time. Reddy’s professorship was only made possible through the generous funding by Misrock Foundation.
For Jean-Marc Joerin, President of Misrock-Foundation, the partnership between Misrock, ETH Zurich and ETH Zurich Foundation has been a win-win situation from the start: “I’m delighted that Professor Sai Reddy, whose professorship is funded by the Misrock Foundation, is so successful. Our donation is bearing fruit. Sai Reddy and his research team are a gain not only for the ETH Department of Biosystems in Basel, but also for us.”
Read the full ETH news report in english (website of ETH Foundation Zürich) >
Ganze Mitteilung auf Deutsch (Website der ETH Foundation Zürich) >
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26 May 2016, Zürich
ETH Zürich D-BSSE News Report
Prof. Sai Reddy receives Grand Challenges Explorations grant
Sai Reddy from the ETH Zurich Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering receives the prestigious Grand Challenges Explorations grant for innovative research in global health and development.
Sai Reddy is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In collaboration with Prof. Bruno Correia of EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Sai Reddy will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled “Measurement of Somatic Hypermutation Induced by C3d Adjuvants”. As Sai Reddy explains more precisely: “The goal of this project is to use advanced methods of analysing immune responses to characterise a molecular vaccine adjuvant that targets immune cell receptors. Prof. Correia will work closely with my group to produce and engineer our molecular vaccine adjuvants so that they stimulate immune responses with greater efficiency.”
Read the full news report in english (D-BSSE website) >
Read announcement on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website >
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February 2016, Zürich
Reporting Science & Technology for Health
«The generous donation from the Misrock Foundation allowed me to establish a new laboratory in Basel and to focus entirely on research and education. My group and I have now taken a major step forward in our efforts to investigate systems and synthetic immunology. Our research has led to several academic publications, collaborations with industry, and a patent application.»
Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy,
supported by Misrock Foundation
Sai Reddy was awarded the ERC Grant
Professor Sai Reddy is one of seven researchers from ETH Zurich who received the prestigious Starting Grant of the European Research Council ERC in 2015. Europe’s main funding pot supports talented young researches with a CHF 1.5 million-grant, enabling them to make significant advances in their academic careers.
Good prospect for a tenure procedure
Professor Sai Reddy has been reappointed as assistant professor from 1 February 2016 for another three years. This reappointment paves the way for the tenure procedure. In the coming two years, the tenure procedure of Professor Reddy will be introduced, thus enabling the transformation of the assistant professorship into an associate professorship in 2017 or 2018.
Read the full report – text in English (PDF; 6.8 MB) >
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14 December 2015, Zürich
ETH-Press Release
European Research Council (ERC) awards grant to Sai Reddy
As one of 7 researchers from ETH Zurich Professor Sai Reddy is to receive an ERC Starting Grant. The European Research Council (ERC) awards these grants to promote independent young scientists of any nationality, with two to seven years of experience following completion of their doctorate and who have highly promising scientific careers. The decisive criterion for awarding the grant is the submission of an outstanding research project undertaken at a public or private research organisation in an EU member state or an associated country. Up to CHF 1.5 million in funding is awarded over five years.
How exactly the body reacts with antibody production to vaccinations is of central importance for vaccine efficacy and immunodiagnostics. However, this antibody response is still not known in detail. In his ERC project, Sai Reddy, Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, is using the methods of high-throughput DNA sequencing and computational biology in order to profile the molecular network of antibody responses. Building on this, Reddy hopes to improve the rational design of vaccines and develop new bioinformatics tools for immunodiagnostics.
Read the full ETH press release in English (PDF; 41 KB) >
Ganze ETH-Medienmitteilung in Deutsch (PDF; 41 KB) >
Online News ETH Foundation Zürich in English (ETH website) >
Online Bericht der ETH Foundation Zürich in Deutsch (ETH Website) >
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March 2015, Zürich
Reporting Science & Technology for Health
The Laboratory for Systems and Synthetic Immunology and the professorship of Sai Reddy is made possible by the generous endowment of the S. Leslie Misrock Foundation.
Professor Reddy’s group conducts research in the emerging fields of systems and synthetic immunology, which is at the intersection of genomics, molecular biotechnology, and immunology. Systems immunology is focused on gaining a more comprehensive and quantitative understanding of the immune response. This includes the use of high-throughput technologies such as next-generation DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and proteomics. Synthetic immunology uses molecular and cellular engineering methods to reprogram immune cells and subsequently control immune response. The team’s core mission is to use immunogenomics and immune cell reprogramming for applications in biotechnology, vaccination, and cellular immunotherapy.
Within only two years after set-up, Reddy’s group today counts 13 staff members, including five postdoctoral researchers, three PhD students, three students and one staff member. The group has made substantial gains in developing and building the core technology related to the next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of antibodies. This technology is applied for therapeutic antibody discovery, characterization of immune responses following vaccination, and studying basic immunobiology. Furthermore, Reddy’s group has recently established a new focus area of research related to engineering immune cells for applications in biotechnology and immunotherapy.
Read the report – text in English (PDF; 1.4 MB) >
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Dezember 2014, Zürich
Mit vereinten Kräften gegen HIV
Virologen der Universität, Infektiologen des Universitätsspitals und Biologen der ETH Zürich, sie alle haben ein gemeinsames Ziel: die Antwort des Immunsystems gegen HIV besser verstehen. Dabei legen sie ihren Fokus auf die Abwehr mit Antikörpern.
In einer aktuellen Studie untersucht Annette Oxenius, Professorin für Mikrobiologie an der ETH Zürich, gemeinsam mit anderen Forschungsgruppen die Antikörperantwort des Immunsystems bei chronischen Virusinfektionen. Die Fragestellung wird sowohl bei Patienten mit einer HIV-Infektion, als auch im experimentellen Tiermodell untersucht. Das Projekt AntibodyX läuft seit gut einem Jahr. Alle beteiligten Forschergruppen werden ihren Puzzlestein zur interdisziplinären Studie beitragen. «Schon jetzt zeichnet sich ab, dass wir sehr voneinander profitieren können», zieht Oxenius eine erste Bilanz.
Sai Reddy entwickelt mit seinem Team neue Methoden, um die Evolution des Antikörperrepertoires mittels der so genannten Next-Generation-Sequenzierung erforschen zu können.
Read the news report – text in German (PDF; 791 KB) >
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April 2014, Zürich
Reporting Science & Technology for Health
«The generous donation of the Misrock Foundation has enabled me to build a research group at the interface of bioengineering and immunology. We have rapidly expanded our group and developed our goals towards applications in biotechnology, vaccines, and immunotherapy. For example, we have ongoing collaborations with a local Basel biotech company (NBE Therapeutics) for the discovery of cancer-specific antibody drug candidates.»
Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy,
supported by Misrock Foundation
Professor Reddy’s group conducts research in the emerging fields of systems and synthetic immunology, which is at the intersection of genomics, molecular biotechnology, and immunology. Systems immunology is focused on gaining a more comprehensive and quantitative understanding of the immune response. This includes the use of high-throughput technologies such as next generation DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and proteomics. Synthetic immunology consists of using molecular and cellular engineering methods to reprogram immune cells and subsequently control immune response.
The team’s core mission is to use immunogenomics and immune cell reprogramming for applications in biotechnology, vaccination, and cellular immunotherapy.Within only two years after set-up, Reddy’s group today counts 16 staff members, including six postdoctoral researchers, three PhD students, four students and two administrative and technical support staff.
The group has made substantial gains in developing and building the core technology related to the next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of antibodies. This technology has applications spanning from therapeutic antibody discovery to characterization of immune responses following vaccination to studying basic immunobiology. Furthermore, Reddy’s group has recently established a new focus area of research related to engineering immune cells for applications in biotechnology and immunotherapy.
Read the report (PDF; 2.1 MB) >
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November 16, 2013, Zürich
Sai Reddy erhält Goldene Eule des VSETH
Die Goldene Eule ist ein Sympathiepreis der Studierenden an die Dozierenden der ETH Zürich. Er wird jährlich vom Verband der Studierenden an der ETH Zürich (VSETH) besonders engagierten Lehrpersonen für deren exzellente Lehre verliehen. Pro Departement wird jeweils eine Lehrperson ausgezeichnet.
Die Studierenden können alle Lehrpersonen bewerten, bei denen sie eine Vorlesung besucht haben. Dabei zählen weder Titel, Herkunft, Ausbildung noch Forschungsqualität, sondern einzig Qualität und Einsatz der Dozierenden für die Lehre. Basierend auf diesen Bewertungen bestimmen die Fachvereine die Preisträger. Dabei berücksichtigen sie unter anderem die von der Lehrkraft verwendeten Unterrichtsmaterialien, ihr Engagement ausserhalb der Lehrveranstaltung und die Qualität der Studierendenbetreuung.
Read the report (PDF; 594 KB) >
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May 2013, Zürich
Report Misrock Foundation – Fruits of your commitment
Report on the highlights from Professor Dr. Sai Reddy's group, communication activities, research lighthouse for Basel and financials...
Read the report (PDF; 155 KB) >
Visit website of D-BSSE (ETH website) >
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November 20, 2012, Zürich
Introductory Lecture by Sai Reddy
Development of Next Generation Immunotherapeutics by Systems Immunology
Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy gives a lecture on immunotherapy past and present as well as future research, immune logic, antibody discovery by bioinformatics, immuno-proteomics and molecular profiling.
Website of the Laboratory for Systems and Synthetic Immunology (ETH website) >
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September 2012, Globe-Issue No. 3
Donations – Giving a boost
Thanks to donations from private donors, ETH Zurich has been able to set up various new professorships very quickly in recent years. One topic that keeps arising as a result of these contributions is the university’s research freedom.
...One example of this is the start-up funding of the Biomolecular Engineering Chairat the Department of Biosystems Science (D-BSSE) in Basel by the foundation of S. Leslie Misrock, who passed away in 2001. This chemist and patent attorney from New York was so impressed by the research location on the elbow of the Rhine that he established his foundation therein 1981. It supports research in molecular biology, biotechnology and similar fields... (Roland Baumann, Globe-Issue No. 3)
Read the entire article in Globe No 3, 2012 (PDF; 2.1 MB) >
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December 2, 2011, Zürich
Sai Reddy's chair is funded by the Misrock Foundation
Prof. Dr. Sai T. Reddy (*1980), formerly Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering. With his scientific work and publications about the development of nanoparticles in new vaccines, Sai Reddy has gained worldwide recognition. He is regarded as one of the co-founders of system immunology research. He will continue to work on nanoparticle vaccines and the development of new therapeutic antibodies at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering and will constitute a crucial reinforcement to the field of medicine-oriented engineering sciences...
Read the ETH-news release (ETH website) >
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March 23, 2011, Basel
Vernetzung im Dienste der Gesundheit
Dass der ETH-Präsident zum Lokaltermin der ETH Zürich ausgerechnet nach Basel einlud, machte offenbar neugierig. Jedenfalls war der Hörsaal des ETH- Departements «Biosystems Science and Engineering» (D-BSSE) in Basel im März 2011 zum Bersten voll. In Basel gelinge die Vernetzung zwischen Life-Science-Unternehmen, Spitälern und Hochschulen im Dienste der Gesundheit, waren sich die Referenten aus der ETH, der Industrie und der Basler Regierung einig. Dazu habe auch die ETH Zürich mit der Gründung ihres Basler Departements vor wenigen Jahren beigetragen. Dort forschen Ingenieure und Naturwissenschaftler in Systembiologie, Bio-Engineering und Computer-Biologie Hand in Hand und dank der Förderung der Basler Misrock-Stiftung bald auch ein zusätzlicher Professor im Bereich «Biomolecular Engineering»...
Read the annual report – text in German (PDF; 504 KB) >
Read ETH local news – text in German (PDF; 287 KB) >
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March 23, 2011, Basel
Amerikaner stiftet in Basel eine Professur
Die 1981 gegründete Misrock Foundation fördert die Biotechnologie
Den Forschungsplatz Basel wollte S. Leslie Misrock mit einer Stiftung bedenken. Jetzt finanziert diese eine Professur am Basler ETH-Departement für Biosysteme. Wenn am heutigen Mittwoch der in Basel aufgewachsene ETH-Präsident Ralph Eichler offiziell das Basler ETHDepartement für Biosysteme zu einem Lokaltermin besucht, dann wird er Mitarbeitende und Gäste in einem neu nach S. Leslie Misrock benannten Hörsaal begrüssen. Mit dem Namenszug wird die grosszügige Spende eines seit zehn Jahren verstorbenen Amerikaners und Freundes von Basel verdankt, mit der eine neue Professur für Biomolekulares Engineering errichtet werden kann... (Martin Hicklin, baz)
Read the news article – text in German (PDF; 864 KB) >
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