MatLife – Materials for the Life Sciences

Switzerland has the potential to become world-renowned for biomaterials research and development. From tissue engineering and biosensors to more efficient and safer drug delivery, a wide range of potential applications lie in waiting. The vision of MatLife is to build an extensive research and education network around Swiss research groups as well as fostering strong industrial contacts.

A particular focus is on soft materials with molecular structure designed in consideration of their biological interactions and in the integration of novel enabling technologies in devices and systems, with application in fields such as implantology, tissue engineering, drug delivery and biosensing/diagnostics. Projects of two types are funded: enabling technology development, addressing major issues that limit progress in the field, and integrated projects for developing devices based on new concepts/enabling techniques and demonstrating their performance in first applications.

MatLife is also dedicated to advancing educational opportunities, particularly for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows through educational workshops. Another aspect of the educational programme of MatLife is to provide partial financial support for students from foreign countries to take part in the Master Programmes at ETHZ and EPFL.