Student Projects

If you are interest in a project in the laboratory, feel free to contact any member even if no project is posted in SiROP

ETH Zurich uses SiROP to publish and search scientific projects. For more information visit sirop.org.

Design of a transparent acoustofluidic device for biomedical application

Microtissues are multi-cellular 3D constructs that can mimic the structure and function of the native tissues, making them important 3D models for drug testing and personalized medicine. However, when embedded in hydrogels, their random placement makes it difficult to image them and have reproducible results. In this project, we aim to design, fabricate and test a transparent acoustofluidic device for precise patterning of live microtissues in photo-cross-linkable gel for high throughput imaging and analysis.

Keywords

Acoustofluidics, Medical device, Cell culture, Photo-cross-linkable gel

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Master Thesis

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Published since: 2025-10-10 , Earliest start: 2025-09-22 , Latest end: 2026-04-30

Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory

Hosts Joshi Saumitra

Topics Engineering and Technology

How Mechanical Forces Shape Cell Fate – and the Future of Regenerative Medicine

Project Summary We’re developing a powerful new in vitro model to untangle the complex mechanical cues—osmotic pressure and substrate stiffness—that skin cells experience every day. These signals are deeply intertwined in the body, but we’re building a system to decouple and precisely control them, for the first time. Why? Because understanding how cells respond to these forces is crucial for engineering functional tissues, guiding organ regeneration, and tackling mechanobiology-driven diseases like fibrosis.

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Key words: mechanical stresses, cell behavior, fibroblasts, immunostaining.

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Master Thesis

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Published since: 2025-10-07 , Earliest start: 2026-02-01 , Latest end: 2026-10-01

Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory

Hosts Cuni Filippo

Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology

Life cycle analysis on living materials for CO2 sequestration

Hey there! Do you know that bacteria can be powerful fighters for CO2 capture? (Not kidding, they are really useful). Recently, engineered living materials embedded with photosynthetic cyanobacteria has been designed to permanently store atmospheric CO2 in the form of stable minerals such as calcium carbonate [1]. While it is a promising alternative to industrial carbon capture and storage methods, the production of such living materials still incurs process-related CO2 emission. To better understand the bottleneck and the most emission-heavy part of the living materials, we plan to conduct life-cycle analysis (LCA) on the living materials. [1] Dranseike, D., Cui, Y., Ling, A. S., Donat, F., Bernhard, S., Bernero, M., ... & Tibbitt, M. W. (2025). Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials. Nature Communications, 16(1), 3832.

Keywords

life cycle analysis, living materials, carbon sequestration

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Semester Project , Internship , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)

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Published since: 2025-08-28 , Earliest start: 2025-05-30 , Latest end: 2026-06-30

Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory

Hosts Cui Yifan

Topics Engineering and Technology

PDMS-Based Bioreactor Investigating Cell Behavior in Response to Hydrostatic Pressure and Substrate Stiffness

Introduction and Background Skin cells dynamically respond to mechanical and biochemical stimuli, which influence critical processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and migration. By understanding this interplay, mechanical and biochemical stimuli may be used in the future to facilitate the growth of skin patches, tissue formation, and organ regeneration, enabling new therapies and benefiting patients. The study of these responses, mechanobiology, requires advanced in-vitro systems to emulate physiological conditions. This project utilizes a device designed for controlled manipulation of hydrostatic pressure (0.1–1.5 kPa) and substrate stiffness (0.1–100 kPa). The system facilitates isolated and scalable experiments to analyze how the interplay of these mechanical parameters affects cell behavior. In this thesis, the student will use this system to investigate how different stimuli affect cell behavior.

Keywords

Bioreactor, tissue engineering, organ regeneration

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Master Thesis

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Published since: 2025-08-05 , Earliest start: 2025-09-01 , Latest end: 2026-03-05

Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory

Hosts Binz Jonas

Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology

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