At any one time, the various universities and research institutes in the Lake Geneva BioCluster area are engaged in hundreds of different projects. However, one pattern that does emerge from this relentless activity is one of multi-disciplinary and collaborative work. For example, a successful programme in biomedical engineering initiated in 1999 brings together teams from all of these five institutions to work on six different projects. The subjects range from basic brain research to early detection of cancer-prone cells in vivo. And a particularly pioneering project, led by Richard Guy of the University of Geneva in close collaboration with the University hospitals and the EPFL, is seeking to create an automatic monitoring device the size of a large watch, able to 'read' the concentration of a substance in the blood, directly through the skin. Another major biotechnology project headed by Florian Wurm at the EPFL, in collaboration with laboratories at the University of Lausanne and the Red Cross Central Laboratory in Bern, has successfully produced anti-Rhesus antibodies in vitro (mammalian cell cultures). They will be used to help prevent miscarriages of Rh(-) mothers pregnant with an Rh(+) child. Currently, antibodies are isolated from human donor blood, a limited source that may potentially be contaminated with pathogens. This promising research has already yielded three patents, and clinical trials are in progress. AT A MORE FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL The subtle tri-dimensional structure of DNA has no secrets for Jacques Dubochet and his team at the University of Lausanne who enjoy bridging the gap between molecular and cell biology. Using novel electronic microscopy techniques on wet and dry samples, as well as complex mathematical modeling, they have succeeded in showing how DNA forms knots in vivo! Regarding infectious diseases, one should also recall that the Lake Geneva BioCluster area is a world centre for basic AIDS research, thanks in particular to Giuseppe Pantaleo of the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and Didier Trono of the University of Geneva, who coordinate the Lemanic Centre for AIDS Research. After pioneering work on the reconstitution of immune-cell populations (CD4) in HIV-infected patients, Pantaleo has now taken up co-leadership of a European project aiming to find a vaccine against the disease. While Didier Trono and his team have made major advances on the molecular mechanisms of HIV replication. An offshoot of these studies was the development of a novel gene delivery system derived from the lentivirus. It is hoped that his new system will enable gene therapy for a wide range of disorders including hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and AIDS itself. BRIDGING THE GAPS In Lausanne, Patrick Aebischer, a biomedical researcher considered as a world leader in novel therapeutic approaches (he pioneered plastic membranes that shield transformed cells from immune attack), has recently been appointed as President of the EPFL. This appointment is widely viewed as an encouragement for biotechnology in the area, as well as a guarantee for continued academic excellence in an engineering-oriented institution rooted on solid scientific foundations. New priority programmes at the EPFL include development of new tools for imaging, bio informatics, artificial intelligence and micro- and nano-technologies. A strong impetus has been given to the development of genomics of higher brain functions, including cellular differentiation and metabolic control.Now that the complete human genome has been sequenced, the area capitalizes on its long-term investment: proteomics, i. e. the characterization of complete sets of expressed proteins, on a scale used up to now only in genetic analysis. Following his invention of a two-dimensional protein 'molecular scanner' that can identify proteins with unmatched speed and accuracy, Prof. Denis Hochstrasser of the University of Geneva has thus signed an important collaboration agreement with the American-based company, PE Bio Systems. PROTEOMICS, HERE WE COME ! Together with other researchers in the Lake Geneva BioCluster area, Hochstrasser has gone on to create a start-up named Geneva Proteomics (GeneProt), whose prime objective is to analyze human proteins on a large scale. GeneProt already hosts the largest private computing facility worldwide through a major investment by Compaq. Locally and globally, proteomics is reaching a turning point, and will soon be investigated at a level similar to that already attained by genomics. These two fields, combined with electron microscopy, new materials research and numerous medical applications, should form a solid basis for the intellectual and industrial development of the Lake Geneva BioCluster area. |