People
Group Leader
Joel Zindel
Group Leader · Professor, ETH Zürich
Joel Zindel trained as a surgeon (MD, University of Bern; FMH Chirurgie, with specialist training in Tanzania and Bern). His clinical encounters with post-surgical adhesions motivated a PhD in Immunology at Bern and a two-year SNSF research fellowship in Canada on macrophage biology and tissue repair. Supported by a Max Cloëtta Research Fellowship and an SNSF Starting Grant, he founded the lab in Bern in 2023 and moved to ETH Zürich in August 2025. Born in 1986, Joel is a Swiss citizen and a father of three.
Administrative Assistant
Corina Bühlmann
Administrative Assistant
Senior Research Associate
Tea Kocijan
Senior Research Associate
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 16.2
Research Technicians
Franziska Ampenberger
Research Technician
PhD Students
Marielle Airoldi
PhD Student
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 16.2
John Li Flores Alvarez
PhD Student
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 16.2
Alicia Halbach
PhD Student
Alicia completed her Undergraduate and Master degrees in London, and is now a PhD student working on the role of monocyte-derived macrophages in the development of peritoneal adhesions. She is interested in looking at this in the context of post-operative adhesions and endometriosis. Born in Spain, Alicia grew up abroad, moving to a new city every 3 years.
Agnes Huber
PhD Student
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 16.2
I work on the transcription factor GATA6, want to do a semester project on gene editing in bone marrow?
Brooke Slade
PhD Student
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 25.2
After completing her undergraduate studies at Florida State University, Brooke earned a master’s degree in Medical Biology at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Her PhD project explores the therapeutic potential of implantable materials in the peritoneal cavity, investigating how the foreign body reaction can be attenuated or modulated to extend the functional lifetime of biomaterials.
Alumni
Ivo Meli
Research Associate
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 16.2
Sophia Kühn
MD-Student
Semester Students
Shinta Schönenberger
Semester Student
Inst. f. Molecular Health Sciences, HPL F 25.2
Supervision of semester project by Brooke Slade.