University of Zurich

Open Opportunities

Spin diffusion in nanoparticles ETH Zurich Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance The aim of this project is to study the nuclear spin diffusion in semiconducting nanoparticles as a potential next generation hyperpolarized imaging agent Biomaterials, Biosensor Technologies, Condensed Matter Physics-Electronic and Magnetic Properties; Superconductivity, Condensed Matter Physics-Structural Properties, Heat and Mass Transfer Operations, Nanotechnology, Physical Chemistry Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Reinforcement Learning for Drone Racing University of Zurich Robotics and Perception Reinforcement Learning for Drone Racing Engineering and Technology, Information, Computing and Communication Sciences Semester Project

Master Thesis: Pitch tracking of killer whale calls ETH Zurich Institute of Neuroinformatics Be part of an interdisciplinary team and contribute to a signal processing project about pitch tracking of killer whale calls. The goal is a publication about the new method that we develop and test in various example cases. Acoustics and Acoustical Devices; Waves, Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Signal Processing Master Thesis

Multi-agent Drone Racing via Self-play and Reinforcement Learning University of Zurich Robotics and Perception Drone racing requires human pilots to not only complete a given race track in minimum-time, but also to compete with other pilots through strategic blocking, or to overtake opponents during extreme maneuvers. Single-player RL allows autonomous agents to achieve near-time-optimal performance in time trial racing. While being highly competitive in this setting, such training strategy can not generalize to the multi-agent scenario. An important step towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) is versatility -- the capability of discovering novel skills via self-play and self-supervised autocurriculum. In this project, we tackle multi-agent drone racing via self-play and reinforcement learning. Engineering and Technology, Information, Computing and Communication Sciences Master Thesis

Co-occurrence of Interictal Epileptiform Discharges (IEDs) and High Frequency Oscillations (HFOs) in intracranial EEG. University of Zurich Department of Neurosurgery Epilepsy is characterized by seizures. Therapy aims for seizure freedom or seizure reduction. Since seizures are rare events, diagnostic tools analyze the time between seizures, the interictal period. Interictal Epileptiform Discharges (IED) are a traditional and sensitive marker for epileptogenic brain tissue, which are, however, not very specific. More recently, High Frequency Oscillations (HFO) were defined as a more specific marker, which is, however, hard to detect The combination of IED and HFO is thought to improve diagnostic accuracy. In a recent publication that analyzed scalp EEG, the combined presence of IED and HFO enhanced the localization of epileptogenic brain tissue (Cai et al. , 2021). We have published data where intracranial EEG was recorded in patients that were candidates for epilepsy surgery (Fedele et al. , 2017). In the proposed project, we analyze intracranial EEG that was recorded while patients were in deep sleep (Fedele et al. , 2017). We test whether the combined presence of IED and HFO improves the prediction accuracy of postoperative seizure freedom. Baud MO, Kleen JK, Anumanchipalli GK, Hamilton LS, Tan YL, Knowlton R, Chang EF. Unsupervised Learning of Spatiotemporal Interictal Discharges in Focal Epilepsy. Neurosurgery. 2018;83:683-91. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuros/nyx480 Cai Z, Sohrabpour A, Jiang H, Ye S, Joseph B, Brinkmann BH, Worrell GA, He B. Noninvasive high-frequency oscillations riding spikes delineates epileptogenic sources. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2011130118 Fedele T, Burnos S, Boran E, Krayenbühl N, Hilfiker P, Grunwald T, Sarnthein J. Resection of high frequency oscillations predicts seizure outcome in the individual patient. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:13836. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13064-1 Neurology and Neuromuscular Diseases Internship, Master Thesis, MD, Semester Project

Optimising a biosensor of cellular age University of Zurich Laboratory of Neural Plasticity Ageing is commonly defined as the time-dependent deterioration in organismal fitness. However, variability in ageing kinetics has led to the hypothesis that each cell type possesses its own ageing trajectory. We currently develop novel ageing biosensors to characterize the progression of cellular age across different murine cell types and tissues. The aim of the project is to modify the existing sensors allowing for real-time analysis of cellular age in diverse cell types. Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Biotechnology Internship, Master Thesis

Development of Novel Lateral Flow Assay Compatible with Electrochemical Readout ETH Zurich Biosensors and Bioelectronics (LBB) You will optimize a lateral flow assay (LFA) to make it compatible with our novel highly sensitive electrochemical readout that will form a cornerstone for the ground-breaking point-of-need diagnostics device. You will be working on assay development with a focus, amongst others, on decreasing the non-specific binding of analyte and detection nanoparticles to the LFA membrane matrix, increasing sensitivity by optimizing the chemical environment of the immune-sandwich formation, nanoparticle/receptor conjugation or capillary flow optimization. You will work on an interdisciplinary project in collaboration with ETH spin-off Hemetron (https://www.hemetron.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemetron/). This fast pace project is ideal for highly motivated students. Biology, Chemistry, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences, Physics Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Gravity line based surgical planning for spinal deformity corrections ETH Zurich Snedeker Group / Laboratory for Orthopaedic Biomechanics This project is about the implementation of an algorithm based on the patient's gravity line to help plan spinal deformity corrections. Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Semester Project / Master Thesis: Priming of mesenchymal stem cells for immunomodulatory cell therapy University of Zurich Department of Rheumatology Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have an exceptional clinical potential, with possible applications in various inflammatory and degenerative diseases such as in osteoarthritis or disc degeneration. Preconditioning of MSCs (also known as priming) is a commonly used method to enhance the efficacy of MSCs. Various priming strategies exist, including pro-inflammatory priming and 3D culture priming. Little is known about how well MSCs can preserve this priming effect over time. Biochemistry and Cell Biology Master Thesis, Semester Project

Postdoctoral Position in Systems Neuroscience University of Zurich Institute of Neuroinformatics UZH And ETHZ In vivo Imaging of Hippocampal Ensemble Coding, Memory Consolidation and Sleep Disturbances in Neurodegenerative Diseases Cellular Nervous System, Central Nervous System, Sensory Systems, Systems Biology and Networks Post-Doc Position