Gerald Schwank PhD

Dr. Gerald Schwank is a Professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, specializing in translational genome editing. He completed his PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich, after which he moved to the Netherlands for his postdoctoral training at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research. During this time, he developed genome editing strategies to correct pathogenic mutations in patient-derived stem cell organoids. In 2015, he returned to Switzerland to establish his laboratory at ETH Zurich, where his team developed CRISPR-based screening methods to investigate key molecular mechanisms involved in cancer progression.

Furthermore, his lab utilized DNA double-strand break-independent genome editing techniques, such as base- and prime editing, to develop novel therapies for genetic disorders. Following his appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of Zurich in 2019, his lab started integrating protein engineering and machine learning approaches to further refine genome editing tools for therapeutic applications. His ongoing research initiatives receive support from various organizations dedicated to fighting rare diseases, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and the European Research Council (ERC).