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Projects

Blueprint Bio
We aim to develop a next-generation enzymatic DNA synthesis technology that enables rapid, low-cost, and sustainable production of complex nucleic acids. This platform will empower synthetic biology, drug discovery, and vaccine development. We have developed a novel engineered enzyme capable of template-independent DNA synthesis that can incorporate reversibly blocked nucleotides. Initial validation experiments confirmed its activity. We are optimising reaction conditions to further improve synthesis efficiency. Our goal is to demonstrate the enzymatic synthesis of a small gene using blocked nucleotides and further engineer the enzyme to enhance performance. The project started at the end of Paola’s PhD on polymerase engineering for xenobiotic nucleic acid (XNA) synthesis, when she explored the idea of engineering a novel polymerase for de novo DNA, RNA, and XNA synthesis. Early experiments showed promising results. During her postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich, she met Jelmi and Jan-Phillip, and together they decided to further develop the project and explore its potential....
Cellx
CellX is developing bacteria-based solutions for cost-efficient and sustainable treatment of industrial chemical waste.Industries producing hazardous chemical waste do not have access to adequate disposal methods. Conventional disposal methods are either filtering or concentrating recalcitrant pollutants to ultimately incinerate them. This incineration step is costly and and harmful as it emits large amounts of CO2.We provide a sustainable alternative to incineration. We create high-performance bacterial products to effectively degrade industrial chemicals. To find the right bacteria against specific pollutants, we use our patent-pending micro-techology to attract and capture bacteria in water environment. These bacteria are then scaled into waste treatment products capable of treating PFAS, pharmcaeuticals, pesticides and micro-plastics....
Helena.ai
We aim to improve drug-candidate selection by predicting the effect of drug perturbations on a virtual cell based on single-cell sequencing data. If successful, this should enable the development of more and better drugs.We are currently iterating on several models (autoencoders, drug embeddings, flow matching models) that work together to predict the effect of drug perturbations. Over the next months, we aim to scale up these approaches by several orders of magnitude both in data and compute.We met as students of the computational biology masters @ ETH and bonded during long, shared hours of exam preparation. We both care deeply about improving the grossly inefficient drug discovery process....
Hephaistos
At Hephaistos, we are revolutionising the chemical, agricultural, and pharmaceutical industries with our innovative approach to enzyme catalysis. In today's rapidly evolving industries, the demand for efficient and sustainable processes is greater than ever. Conventional chemical synthesis, which is at the core of many industrial processes today, often relies on harsh conditions, toxic reagents and requires substantial energy, making it both environmentally and economically inefficient. However, nature itself presents a solution: enzymes. These natural biocatalysts operate under mild conditions, with high specificity and precision, create minimal by-products, while catalysing the same reactions used in conventional chemical synthesis. Despite their immense potential, suitable enzymes for all industrial applications are not always already found in nature. To solve this problem, we have created Hephaistos, a machine-learning (ML) model that learns from atomistic 3D structure data of existing enzymes. By using cutting-edge tools in protein engineering and bioinformatics, our model will be able to generate novel catalytic cores for any desired reaction – even on substrates not found in nature. We do not compete with existing enzymes, but instead create entirely new ones....
Octaris
We built an open-source 3D bioprinter to connect the Life Science Lab and Makerspace. Starting with tie-dye bacteria printing on fabric, we aim to make bioprinting accessible, inspire experimentation, and design another printer🧫🐙✨ We have built our 3D bioprinter following an open-source protocol and validated it with some first test prints. Our next step is to establish a reliable workflow by printing tie-dye with bacteria on fabric to better understand the system. As we gain experience, we aim to explore additional bioengineering applications and ultimately use our insights to design a more advanced next-generation bioprinter. Our project began after several setbacks with previous ideas, when we decided we wanted to build something tangible and came across an open-source protocol for a 3D bioprinter. Since we’re all interested in bioengineering, we saw it as the perfect chance to get hands-on experience. ...
The Student Biolab
The Student Biolab is a platform and a community for students to design, prototype, and implement their life science research and product ideas. We are a group of motivated students, sharing biology and biotechnology as common passion. Our team is extremely interdisciplinary: we are biologists, engineers, computer scientists. We were born last February but we have already achieved an important milestone: having our own wet lab. Here we run experimental workshops, build startup prototypes and, in general, meet with passionate people to share thoughts and ideas. Our lab is a place where to work on your own project; we are equipped with modern biology instrumentation that can be freely used. But that’s not all. We are building a strong network with corporate Industry partners, to transform the lab in a space where we can answer to the need and demands of the market. We are progressively growing, and we are open to welcome new passionate people. Are you ready to join us?...
Versarys Bioscience
We develop co-culture devices that let microbial and mammalian populations interact via secreted metabolites while remaining separable to track each population individually, enabling controlled, scalable, high-throughput studies. Our MVP is already in use by 40+ labs worldwide. We’re expanding our product range to serve microbiology, immunology, and host–pathogen research across diverse use cases. The project originated during a PhD, where early prototypes were developed to overcome limitations in studying complex microbial interactions. The team was formed through the Business Concept course at StartUp Campus, combining scientific and entrepreneurial expertise....