Meet the Startup Experts

Key Focus Areas: Pharma & Biotech Industry, Strategy, Operations, Product Launches, Diabetes, Obesity, Haematology, Cardiology, Rare Diseases

Renate is a curious pharmacist and has over 30 years of cross-functional leadership experience in the healthcare industry with a proven global, regional and local brand and portfolio launch track record across numerous therapeutic areas and geographies. She gained broad functional experiences internationally during her tenure at Eli-Lilly, Sanofi, Zydus, Novo Nordisk and Takeda while living in various countries.

Key Focus Areas: Startup law, corporate set-up and financing instruments, IP strategy

Ramona has worked for 10+ years at Walder Wyss, currently as a partner. She achieved her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from King’s College London and Master of Law (MLaw) at University of Zurich. She provides legal advice to start-ups at all stages, from the first agreements among founders to the exit and beyond.

Key Focus Areas: Funding strategy, investor relations, strategic partnerships Martyna Wroblewska is a Manager of Innovation & Sourcing at BaseLaunch. BaseLaunch works with scientists and entrepreneurs and helps them build exceptional biotech ventures from scratch. She studied at the UZH, and before joining BaseLaunch in 2021 worked for a Zurich-based biotech start-up as a Project Leader, where she was responsible for the design, development, and management of projects focused on oncology and vaccine development.

Key Focus Areas: Entrepreneurship, funding, sales & marketing, business development

Céline is the founder of LANE Digital Consulting SARL in 2021, is a Swiss entrepreneur specializing in digital transformation. She began her academic journey by earning a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from EPFL that she started at the young age of 15, followed by a bachelor's degree in management from HEC Lausanne. In 2022, Céline took on the role of CEO at Woodwelding, where she played a pivotal role in leading the company towards greater success. Beyond her entrepreneurial pursuits, she actively engages in the startup ecosystem as a member of the UNIL's 100 Entrepreneurs and coaches students participating in accelerators.

Key Focus Areas: Lab automation, Microfluidics, Additive manufacturing,

Tom Valentin is the Group Leader for the Automated Sample Handling group (15 people) at CSEM, focusing on microfluidics, lab automation, and sorting & handling of biological organisms. Tom has a background in mechanical and biomedical engineering, with a background in microfluidics, additive manufacturing, biomaterials, and tissue engineering. He received his BSc and MSc from Tufts University, PhD from Brown University, and worked as a postdoc at ETH Zürich.

Key Focus Areas: Single cell analysis, Electronics, Sensing

Felix Kurth is group leader at CSEM for the group biosystems engineering (14 people) focusing on printed electronics, hydrogel and polymer systems, and single cell technologies. Felix has a background in bioengineering and bioanalytics with relevant experience in microfluidics, single cell analytics, and optical and electrochemical sensing modes among others. He received his degree in bioengineering from the Technical University of Dortmund and KTH Stockholm, PhD from ETH Zürich (D-CHAB), and worked as a postdoc at ETH Zürich in Basel (D-BSSE).

Key Focus Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computational Biology

Tim Heinemann is a Senior Computational Biologist in the AI for Life Sciences group at CSEM. He earned his degree in Systems Biology from the University of Heidelberg and completed his PhD at the German Cancer Research Center. Following his doctoral studies, he held Postdoctoral positions at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. and ETH Zurich. With expertise in theoretical biology, machine learning, and precision medicine, Dr. Heinemann is committed to advancing robust and explainable AI solutions.

Key Focus Areas: Financing, pitching, fundraising strategy

Andrei Kiselev is a Senior Equity Analyst at 2Xideas AG - an independent, partner-owned investment firm based in Zurich, Switzerland. Prior to joining 2Xideas, Andrei was a portfolio manager at Aegon Asset Management in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he co-managed the Global Sustainable Equity fund, as well as being involved with a number of regional and global strategies. Andrei started his investment career with Baillie Gifford in Scotland. After completing the initial training period, he spent several years first as an analyst on global equity products, and subsequently as an investment manager on the US equity fund. Andrei holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.

Key Focus Areas: Fluid dynamics, Biofluidynamics, Microbes & Bacteria

Dr. Eleonora Secchi is an SNSF PRIMA Group Leader at ETH Zürich & Professur Grundwasser & Hydromech. She has published numerous works investigating Biophysics, Microfluidics and Biofilms.

Key Focus Areas: Genomics, structural biology, biochemistry, experimental planning in biolab space

Dr. Ulrich Karl Genick is a Senior Scientist & Lecturer at ETH Zürich. He has broad experience in cross-disciplinary research (genomics, biophysics, structural biology and biochemistry) in both academic and corporate settings. Further, Dr. Genick has a strong interest in teaching with focus on techniques that promote active learning and student engagement. He has experience organizing large-scale, multi-institution, cross-disciplinary research projects and research teams and is a founding member of the MIDATA.coop health data cooperative that allows individuals to manage and use their personal health and lifestyle data for their personal benefit and for the benefit of society at large.

Key Focus Areas: Visual communication of Science, Plant microbiology, Plant physiology

Eva Marina Stirnemann received her PhD in Plant Sciences. During her studies, she focused on the role of transporters and phytohormones in plant physiology. Additionally, she gained expertise in effective visual communication of science and scientific poster design. Now, Marina is part of a group studying plant-microbe interactions at the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (UZH). She enjoys sharing her knowledge and providing feedback about the scientific content as well as its visual communication.