School of Life Sciences

Fosters education, research and innovation at the interface of engineering and biology to advance the understanding of the living world and solve biomedical problems.

Group of Prof. Deplancke developed a "no-cell-left-behind" system that uses robotic control to efficiently pair particles in nanoliter droplets which serve as reaction chambers for studying gene expression one cell at a time. © EPFL - Deplancke lab — Group of Prof. Deplancke developed a "no-cell-left-behind" system that uses robotic control to efficiently pair particles in nanoliter droplets which serve as reaction chambers for studying gene expression one cell at a time. © EPFL – Deplancke lab

Brain ‘signature' could help to diagnose schizophrenia

Published:13.07.20 — People with schizophrenia and their healthy siblings share patterns of brain activity that are different from those seen in individuals with no family history of the disorder, scientists from EPFL have found. Because the siblings do not show schizophrenia symptoms, this brain ‘signature’ could serve as a marker for the early diagnosis of the disorder. The findings, published in Nature Communications, could open up avenues for developing new treatments for schizophrenia.

Transplantable lab-grown organs move a step closer

Published:10.07.20 — A liver organoid developed at EPFL offers new promise in transplantation and the study of liver disease.

Simon Gallo working at home. Credit: S. Gallo (EPFL)

Building virtual wellbeing in a living room

Published:10.07.20 — On March 12, 2020, COVID-19 restrictions shut down the EPFL campus. Simon Gallo, a postdoc with EPFL’s Brain Mind Institute and co-founder of robotics start-up Metaphysiks Engineering, got stuck at home with a prototype that needed upgrading. With commercial deadlines looming, Gallo knew that is was time for hands-on science at home.

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Our Mission

EPFL students working on portable biosensor

Education

We train engineers in Life Sciences with a solid polytechnic foundation. Our students acquire a multi-disciplinary education and study biology jointly with engineering, basic and computer sciences. We offer a Bachelor and Master program in Life Sciences Engineering, as well as four Doctoral programs in biotechnology and bioengineering, computational and quantitative biology, molecular life sciences and neurosciences.

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Research

Our research groups operate at the interface of biology, basic sciences, computer sciences and engineering. This interdisciplinary environment stimulates innovative research to address essential questions in biological sciences. Cutting-edge core facilities and infrastructure support our scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge in development, neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious diseases and bioengineering.

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Innovation

We cultivate a climate of exploration and translation of knowledge and technologies to a sustainable benefit of humankind. The life sciences flagship innovation encouragement program, Catalyze4Life, facilitates the advancement of scientific know-how towards applications. We maintain a constructive and open dialogue between science, industry and society.

Discover our innovation initiative