Exciting minds – groundbreaking research

As a comprehensive research university, UZH benefits from its own diversity. But how is this reflected in day-to-day research? As a representative of the numerous outstanding researchers at the University of Zurich, Elisabeth Stark, Vice President Research, selected one excellent researcher from each faculty, along with their respective research topic.

Faculty of Arts:
Prof. Dr Philipp Theisohn's research interests range from German and European literature from the Middle Ages to the present day, including science fiction and popular culture. In addition to his academic work, Theisohn regularly publishes as a literary critic in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He is also co-editor of various journals and publications. He is the editor of the Zurich Gotthelf reading edition, which has been published since 2023 and will eventually comprise 15 volumes. With his innovative and unconventional research approaches, he is bringing a breath of fresh air to the literary scene.

Faculty of Science:
Prof. Dr Greta Patzke is a professor of chemistry and heads the research program "Conversion of sunlight into chemical energy" at the University of Zurich. Hydrogen holds great promise in our future energy system. In her research, Greta Patzke is further developing a technology that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The professor has already received several awards for her research and teaching.

Faculty of Law:
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina is a professor of legal history at the Faculty of Law, University of Zurich. She obtained her Master's degree in law at the University of Milan and her doctorate in legal history at the University of Genoa. Her main research areas include the history of international law, the dissemination of natural law and international law theories between the 18th and 19th centuries, the history of water law, and the history of land ownership and land registry (19th and 20th centuries).

Faculty of Medicine:
Prof. Dr Ana Guerreiro Stücklin is a senior physician in pediatric neuro-oncology at the University Children's Hospital Zurich. In 2018, she founded her own research program in the field of translational pediatric brain tumor research. In their research into congenital brain tumors in infants and small animals, Guerreiro Stücklin's team discovered a new group of pediatric gliomas that differ from the gliomas of older children and adolescents in terms of their molecular biology. The discovery of new tumor entities and oncofusions in pediatric gliomas opens up new possibilities for targeted therapies, and offers new treatment options, for a particularly vulnerable group of patients.

Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies:
Prof. Dr. Beth Singler is an assistant professor in the University Research Priority Program "Digital Religion(s)". This program focuses on how the dynamics of digitalization influence, shape and transform the religious practices of individuals and institutions. The term "Digital Religion(s)" indicates a focus on, on the one hand, the plurality of the most diverse religious traditions and institutions and, on the other hand, religious practices and community building outside of established religious formations.

Faculty of Economics:
Prof. Dr. David Dorn is UBS Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on the interplay between global trends and labor markets. In 2014, his research was honored with the Excellence Award in Global Economic Affairs from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. David Dorn's research interests also include technological change and innovation, and inequality and social polarization. He is among the top 2 per cent of economists registered with IDEAS/RePEc, which measures research output.

Vetsuisse Faculty:
Prof. Dr Michael O. Hottiger is a molecular biologist who specializes in cell signaling in inflammatory diseases. He is also a co-founder of DUALSYSTEMS Biotech AG, a provider of proteomics services for industry and academia. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression in inflammation. Hottiger is committed to standardizing laboratory processes and procedures to offer a kind of "one-stop shop" for research, i.e. a single-source platform to obtain everything necessary for research , thus avoiding the need to rely on various service providers. His infrastructure project "SI3D" was included in the Swiss Roadmap for Research Infrastructures in 2023.

Read the interview with Elisabeth Stark in our annual magazine