LS2: Life Sciences Switzerland
· New composition of the LS2 presidency. At the LS2 General Assembly on 19 January 2023 the LS2 members voted positively for Prof. Mario Tschan (University of Bern) as the new LS2 president and Prof. Simon Sprecher (University of Freiburg) as the new vice-president. Prof. Didier Picard (University of Geneva) assumed the position of past president.
· 40 prizes were given in LS2 conferences to young researchers.
· 13 travel grants to PhD students supported by SCNAT.
· 9 scientific conferences organized by our sections and collaborators.
· 2 National Awards were given under the umbrella of LS2: Friedrich Miescher Award 2023 (supported by FMI and Novartis Foundation) to Prof. Barbara Treutlein (ETH Zurich) and Lelio Orci Award 2022 (supported by Lelio Orci Found and UNIGE) to Prof. Wanda Kukulski (IBMM, University of Bern).
· LS2 Annual Meeting 2023, Zurich, 16 – 17 February 2023: “Life on Earth, coping with Challenges”.
· 32nd Cytomeet, 17 January, Bern. Organized by board members of the LS2 Section Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.
Co-organized meeting with the Section Molecular & Cellular Biosciences. The Cytomeet is a one-day meeting for the Swiss scientific community interested in mechanisms of cell polarity, cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell migration, where PhD students in particular, but also young postdocs and outstanding Master students, are given the opportunity to present their own research projects and exchange ideas in an informal setting. The conference has been organized for more than 30 years and it is still a success and an important point of networking and career develop for young researchers in the field. The best presentation by a junior scientist is honored with the "best junior presentation award". This activity received support from SCNAT.
· Theory Across Biology, 27 January, Bern. Organized the board members of the LS2 Section Systems Biology.
The "Theory across Biology" workshop focused on mathematical approaches to biology. It highlighted shared concepts and mathematical principles that underly the complexity of biological systems from molecular scale to the scale of entire ecosystems. All presentations were given as chalk talks. In addition, flip chart presentations, replaced the traditional poster session. This format fostered facilitated cross-disciplinary exchange and created an interactive atmosphere of mutual learning. This activity received support from SCNAT.
· Rigi Workshop: Infectious diseases as drivers of change, 29 – 31 January, Rigi-Kulm. Main organizers SCNAT & SSTMP. Co-organizers: LS2 & SGM-SSM.
The 3-days workshop took place at Rigi-Kulm from 29th to 31st of January 2023, with 30 PhD-students, post-docs and even one Master Student. The 8 different speakers covered many aspects of infectious diseases, from history to biology and technology offering new perspectives for the young researchers.
· LS2 Annual Meeting 2023: “Life of Earth: Coping with Challenges” and the Young Scientists’ Satellite (YSS) –16-17 February, Zurich. Chaired by Prof. Thomas Lutz (UZH).
The LS2 Annual Meeting brings together scientists from all nationality and backgrounds to explore the large spectrum united under the umbrella of Life Sciences. The chair of the meeting was Prof. Thomas Lutz (Institute of Veterinary Physiology. University of Zurich). Prof. Lutz is Vice-President and Borad member of our sections Physiology.
The meeting again included physical posters, which was well accepted by the participants. Additionally, we had short talks selected from abstracts in plenary session and many student volunteers helping on site. These actions benefited young researchers.
The meeting had 3 plenary lectures, a symposium organized by and for young scientists (https://annual-meeting.ls2.ch/2023/specials/young-scientists-satellite) with a discussion panel and short talks selected from abstracts, our already famous PIs of Tomorrow session (https://annual-meeting.ls2.ch/2023/specials/pis-of-tomorrow, the lectures from 3 Swiss awards (Prix Schläfli, Lelio Orci Award and Friedrich Miescher Award), 11 scientific symposia with 17 international invited speakers (https://annual-meeting.ls2.ch/2023/program/symposia) organized by our sections and partners and 96 posters.
The conference and its satellite gathered 340 participants and exhibitors. More details can be read on its website: https://annual-meeting.ls2.ch/2023
· Swiss Proteomics Meeting, 11-12 May, Unterägeri. Organized by board members of the LS2 Section Proteomics.
The Swiss Proteomics meeting is an annual event gathering proteomic / life science researchers from Switzerland and neighbouring countries. In 2023, more than 90 participants enjoyed a program with Prof. Chris Tape from UCL Cancer Institute (UK) and Prof. Tami Geiger from Weizman Institute of Sciences (Israel) as keynotes and 20 selected talks from abstracts. Justine Epiney (EPFL) won the best oral presentation, sponsored by Dualsystems Biotech. Tatjana Sajic (University Hospital Lausanne) worn the best flash talk, sponsored by Shumadzu.
· Cardiovascular Research Meeting, 4 July, Bern. Organized by board members of the LS2 Intersection Cardiovascular Biology.
The Annual Cardiovascular Research Meeting was organized this time in a one-day format, with two sessions on Cardiac Physiology and Vascular Physiology. The best oral presentation was awarded to Saranda Nimani (University of Bern), sponsored by Nikon. The second-best oral presentation was awarded to Valentina Zollet (University of Bern), sponsored by the Swiss Cardiology Society.
· DNA Topology and Topoisomerases in Genome Dynamics – Satellite to EMBO Conference. 2-3 September, Villars-sur-Ollon.
The 2-half-day satellite meeting aim to give doctoral students an insight into the workshop topic and an opportunity to exchange ideas in an informal setting and with a reduced audience. In 2023, the meeting was organized in collaboration with Jon Baxter (University of Sussex, UK) and Caroline Austin (Newcastle University, UK). Chaired Alice Pyne (University of Sheffield UK) and Roketa Sloane Henry (St Judes Hospital , Memphis, US). The meeting was attended by 37 international PhD students.
· Physiology & Ion Channels and Membrane Transporters joint meeting, 6 September, Bern. LS2 Sections Physiology and ICMT.
For the first time the Section Physiology and the section Ion Channels and Membrane Transporters organized a joint meeting, and it was focused on science exchange among the scientists of the two LS2 sections. With a one-day meeting format and two keynotes, the highlight of the event was the Young Investigator Competition.
· Swiss Apoptosis & Autophagy Meeting. 7-8 September, Bern. LS2 Section Autophagy.
The Swiss Apoptosis & Autophagy Meeting 2023 took place in Bern and gathered 170 participants. All of them could participate in this meeting for free. The highligts were conference BBQ dinner and
Prizes – Best Talk and Best Poster. 55 researchers presented their posters and 13 were selected for oral presentations.
· Cell Migration Retreat. 5-6 October, Schwarzsee. LS2 Section Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.
The Cell Migration Retreat is a two-day meeting for PhD students and their PIs with one overnight stay. The meeting is intended as a network for the Swiss scientific community working on molecular mechanisms of cell migration in immune cells, lymphomas and mesenchymal tumors (metastases). The meeting is opened by an international keynote speaker. Each student gives a talk on his/her PhD project and receives personal feedback on presentation and research and can build up and extend her/his scientific network. Traditionally, this retreat facilitates exchange of ideals, lab rotations and collaborations.
· Patenting in Life Sciences & Chemistry. Workshop for PhD students and Postdocs. Murten 12-13 June
Organized together with the Swiss Chemical Society and Dr. Christian Moser and Prof. Heinz Müller from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, Bern. This course was dedicated to patents and their implementation in the field of life sciences. At the end of this two-day workshop, the participants mastered basic knowledge in intellectual property and had answers to the following questions: How does patenting in life sciences affect – my career? – academic research? – the society? We had 48 participants and 7 speakers. This course partnered with 3 graduate schools: Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences – UNIBE; Life Sciences Zurich Graduate School UZH; CUSO with 3 programs. The workshop was sponsored by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and got funs from SCNAT.
· On behalf of SNCAT Platform Biology, LS2 is the national contact point for the following International Unions:
o The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - IUBMB. Representative: Prof. Torsten Ochsenreiter (UNIBE), board member of the LS2 MCB Section.
o International Union of Physiological Sciences – IUPS. Representative: Prof. Christine Peinelt (University of Bern), president of LS2 Physiology Section.
o International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB). Representative: Prof. Beat Fierz (EPFL), president of LS2 Biophysics Section.
· EuPA General Council Meetings. Michal Bassani-Sternberg, president of section Proteomics, attended the EuPA general council meeting online on 6 February 2023 and the National/Regional Society Presidents Breakfast Meeting during HUPO2023 in Busan, South Korea, on 18 September.
· FEBS 63rd Council Meeting. Marcus Thelen, board member of MCB section attended the meeting online on 12 July.
· Didier Picard was elected member of the FEBS Education Committee during the 63rd Council Meeting in Lisbon on 12 July.
· 14th European Biophysics Conference (EBSA meeting), Aleksandra Radenovic, president of LS2 Section Biophysics attended the EBSA meeting on 30 July – 4 August in Stockholm.
· 2023 Biophysical Society Meeting (IUPAB), 19 February. Beat Fierz, LS2 Section Biophysics attended as LS2 representative.
· 102nd Annual Meeting of the German Physiological Society. 21 – 23 September, Berlin. Joint meeting with the Austrian Physiological Society (APS) and LS2 Section Physiology. Christine Peinelt & Nicolas Demaurex attended.
· Young Scientists’ Satellite as part of the LS2 Annual Meeting 2023 – Zurich. 15 February 2023.
The YSS aims to promote the participation of young researchers to the e-meeting, and the networking among young, non-professorial scientists. With the support from SCNAT.
· PIs of Tomorrow – Postdoc Competition. as part of the LS2 Annual Meeting 2023 – Zurich. 16 February 2023.
This session offers an opportunity for postdocs and senior researchers interested in pursuing an academic career to present a talk similar in format to a professorship application interview. With the support from SCNAT.The winners of the 2023 edition were: Dr Rubén D. Manzanedo (ETH Zurich) and Dr Bernadette Stolz (EPFL & University of Oxford)
· Young investigator Award during the Swiss Physiology Meeting. Fribourg 6 September 2023.
This Award is supported by the Stiftung für Physiologie and includes 6 awards: 3 for PhD students and 3 for junior Postdocs in 3 different categories, Bets oral presentation, 2nd Best oral presentation and Bets poster. In 2023, we did not receive applications for the Best poster in the category of Postdocs. Winners’ category PhD students: Saranda Nimani (University of Bern) - Best oral presentation; Lucilla Giammarino (University of Bern) - 2nd best oral presentation; Matteo Caretti (University of Fribourg) - Best poster. Winners’ category Postdocs: Andras Horvath (University of Bern) - Best oral presentation; Duilio Michele Potenza (University of Fribourg) - 2nd best talk.
· LS2 PhD travel grants to visit conferences abroad and online. 13 travel grants supported by SCNAT: https://www.ls2.ch/funding/travel-grants
· LS2 Sonderpreise
Supported by SCNAT, LS2 sponsored 6 “Sonderpreis” to the winners of Geneva Biochemistry Days 2023 winners of Swiss Biology Olympics 2023 and the winner of the “Nationalen Wettberwerb” 2023 of “Schweizer Jungend Forscht”. The prize was to attend the LS2 Annual Meeting 2023, travel and accommodation.
· Swiss Microscopy Core Facility Day – ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg campus. 14 September 2023.
The Swiss Microscopy Core Facility Day aims at bringing together researchers related to microscopy, image analysis and of particular interest to core facilities. It is a meeting point of staff of Swiss Core Facilities to network and exchange of ideas. This was a yearly occurring event concentrating on the actual trends and latest developments in microscopy but at the same time discussing important practical aspects of operating microscopy core facilities. With kind support from SCNAT.
· Mailchimp-based newsletter. With all relevant info of LS2 and general life sciences events and activities, newsletter archive at: https://www.ls2.ch/about-us/ls2-newsletter-archive
· Supporting calendar on website: https://www.ls2.ch/events/other-events with a focus on scientific conferences in Life Sciences
· Job board: Window on our website where members of LS2 and collaborators can post new open positions: https://www.ls2.ch/links/job-board
· Member database, open to all members, allows to enter areas of expertise and fosters exchange.
· Active social media channels: @LS2Switzerland
· Science Policy news ticker from ScienceGeist onto the ls2.ch homepage. (http://www.sciencegeist.com) ScienceGeist is a curated collection of over 3500 constantly updated science policy issues and supported by SNSF (subscription possible for everybody).