Holland Lab
Medicinal Radiochemistry
Prof. Dr Jason p. holland
Principal investigator
Jason is from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and received a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of York (MChem, 2004) followed by a doctorate from the University of Oxford (D.Phil, 2008). He trained as post-doctoral scholar with Jason S. Lewis in radiochemistry and translational molecular imaging at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (2008 – 2010). He was then awarded an ETH Fellowship and worked at ETH Zürich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (2010 – 2012). Following this he was appointed as Assistant in Chemistry in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, with a joint faculty appointment as an Instructor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School (2012 – 2014). In 2015, he worked in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital Freiburg as a Visiting Scientist. In April 2016, Jason began his research group as an SNSF Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Zurich, funded by the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the University of Zurich. Research activities focus on advancing radiochemical methods with various radionuclides (18F, 64Cu, 68Ga, 90Y, 89Zr, 111In, 177Lu etc), and developing molecular imaging agents that target oncogenic signalling pathways in cancer.
Outside the lab, Jason enjoys spending time with family, walking in the Alps, drinking wine and cooking spicy curries.
Dr Patrick A. Cieslik
Post-doc Chemistry (oct 2022 - present)
Patrick is from Offenburg, Germany and obtained a master’s degree in Chemistry from Heidelberg University (M.Sc. 2017), where he was working with Prof. Peter Comba on manganese(II) selective chelate systems. Following this, he started his doctoral studies in the same group, completing his PhD in Bispidine-chelate Chemistry for Therapy & Diagnosis. After defending his PhD thesis in March 2021, he continued working as a postdoctoral researcher at Heidelberg University before joining the Holland group in October 2022. During this time, he was awarded a mobility fellowship and joined Dr. Olivier Maury’s group for a short-term mission, developing lanthanide-based NIR-luminescent probes for cell-microscopy.
His current research focuses on the design & synthesis, bioconjugation and radiolabelling of bifunctional chelators for the development of new theranostic radiotracers.
Outside the lab, Patrick enjoys biking, climbing, snowboarding and drinking beers with friends.
Simon Klingler
Phd student (apr 2021 - present)
Simon is form Langenthal, near Bern and completed his bachelor`s and master's degree in chemistry at the University of Zurich.
His project focuses on developing new methods for radiolabelling proteins and peptides.
Outside the lab, Simon can often be encountered riding his gravel-bike. He is passionate about music and visits many concerts.
Jonas Genz
Phd student (Feb 2022 - present)
Jonas is from Potsdam, Germany and completed his undergraduate studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. During his Master Thesis with Pr. Ulrich Abram, he synthesized novel highly reduced Technetium-99g and Rhenium complexes in the oxidation state "-I" and mixed nitrosyl-carbonyl complexes.
His research focuses on the synthesis and preclinical evaluation of Technetium-99m and Rhenium-188 radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostics and therapy respectively.
Outside the lab, Jonas loves to ride his road bike, fight for animal rights, go hiking, skiing and going to the gym.
Fan Liu
Phd student (oct 2022 - present)
Fan is from Hunan in the mountainous southern China. She completed her Masters at Zhejiang University in 2022 where she worked on B–H activation and functionalization of carborane.
Her project focuses on the application of selectively functionalized carborane in radiochemistry.
Outside the lab, Fan likes photography, travelling and music.
Eda Nisli
Masters's student (Feb 2021 - present)
Eda is from Solothurn, Switzerland and she is currently studying for a Master's degree in chemistry.
Her Masters's thesis concentrates on the synthesis and characterisation of photochemically active dyes (PhotoTags) based on cyanines.
Outside the lab, Eda like traveling, swimming, scuba-diving and photography.
Alumni
Dr Amaury Guillou
Post-doc Chemistry
Amaury is from Brest, France and obtained a master’s degree in Molecular Chemistry from the University of Western Brittany (MSc. 2015). He then obtained a PhD in Azamacrocyclic Chemistry under the supervision of Pr. Raphaël Tripier and Dr. Véronique Patinec (PhD. 2015-2018). During this period, he was also awarded a mobility fellowship and joined Dr. Mark. D. Bartholomä’s group for a short-term mission where he developed different radiopharmaceuticals for prostate cancer diagnosis.
His current research focuses on the design, bioconjugation and radiolabelling of bifunctional chelators for the development of new PET imaging radiotracers.
Outside the lab, Amaury enjoys playing Football and Mölkky, travelling, drinking beers with friends and loves cooking.
Dr Daniel Earley
Post-doc Chemistry
Daniel is from Byron Bay, Australia and received his Bachelor (BSc.) and Honours (BBioMol Hons.) Degrees in Carbohydrate Chemistry in 2012 from Griffith University, Australia. Continuing his doctoral studies at the Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Daniel completed his PhD in Carbohydrate Chemistry in 2018 under the supervision of Prof. Mark von Itzstein and Dr. Robin Thomson.
His current research focuses on the synthesis of metal-based radiopharmaceuticals for imaging various biomarkers of cancer.
Outside the lab, Daniel enjoys traveling, photography, playing football and skiing the alpine backcountry.
Faustine d'orchymont
POST-DOC chemistry
Faustine is from Sedan in the North-East of France. She graduated with the equivalent of a ‘First Class’ degrees in Master of Science in Chemistry (MSc, 2016) from the École Normale Supérieure Ulm in Paris. As part of her master’s degree, Faustine spent two separate 6 month exchange visits studying in the labs of Prof. Robert Britton, Simon Fraser University (SFU), Canada in 2015, and Prof. Gilles Gasser at the University of Zürich (UZH) in 2016. Faustine received the Swiss Government Excellent Schorlarship PhD Award in September 2017.
Her project focuses on the development of non-covalently labelled PET radiotracers that target proteins involved in cancer signalling pathways.
Outside the lab, Faustine enjoys travelling, hiking, scuba-diving, playing badminton and playing the guitar.
Laura Nüesch
Bachelor's student (Feb 2020 - Apr 2020)
Laura is from Winterthur near Zurich. She is currently studying for her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry as her major and environmental sciences as a minor.
Laura's Bachelor’s project focuses on the synthesis of photoactivatable linkers for applications in the construction of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Outside the lab, she enjoys snowboarding, equestrian sport, going to the gym and riding my motorbike.
Melanie gut
Phd student (Aug 2018 - Sep 2022)
Melanie is from Schaffhausen near the Rhine Falls in Switzerland. She received her Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Sciences from the ETH in 2018. As a part of her Masters she joined the group of Prof. Matthew B. Francis at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) for a five month research project on oxidative coupling reactions. In her Master’s thesis she worked with Prof. Karl-Heinz Altmann at ETH and focused on total synthesis.
Her project focuses on PET imaging of oncogenic signalling in response to drug treatment.
Outside the lab, Melanie enjoys traveling, cooking and drinking wine with friends, and discussing about higher education politics.
Shamisa Behmaneshfar
Master's student (Feb 2020 - Dec 2020)
Shamisa Behmaneshfar was born and raised in Esfahan, Iran. She studied chemistry at the Isfahan University of Technology (2013). She then pursued her Master's degree at the University of Siegen in Germany in the group of Professor Heiko Ihmels in the field of synthesis of photoswitchable DNA binders.
Her Master's project involves investigations using photoactivatable complexes.
Outside the lab, Shamisa enjoys traveling, cooking, Pilates, playing piano, watching movies with her friends and she loves experiencing new adventures.
Jose Esteban Flores
Phd student (Feb 2018 - Mar 2022)
Jose is from San Sebastian in the North of Spain. He graduated from The University of Saskatchewan with a master’s degree in Chemistry (MSc, 2017). In his Master Thesis he focused on strained ferrocenophanes bridged by silicon for new metallopolymers.
His project focuses on the development of 68Ga-imaging of brain diseases.
Outside the lab, Jose enjoys travelling, cooking, reading, musicals, and martinis.
Rachael fay
Phd student (mar 2017 - apr 2021)
Rachael is from the Orkney Islands in Scotland. She received a First Class master’s in Medicinal and Biological Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh in 2016, and spent her Erasmus year at ETH Zurich in the group of Professor Karl-Heinz Altmann.
Her research is centred on radiolabelled proteins as PET imaging agents for detecting cancer biomarkers and monitoring oncogenic pathways.
Outside the lab, Rachael enjoys hiking, travelling, making gin basil smash, and procrasti-baking.
Florian gribi
Phd student (Aug 2017 - 2022)
Florian is from Baden near Zurich and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Zurich. In his Master Thesis he focused on photo-luminescent Au(III) complexes as possible candidates for emitter molecules in OLED displays.
His research focuses on the design and synthesis of theranostic radiotracers targeting enzymes which are active during cell proliferation.
Outside the lab, Florian likes to play volleyball, travelling, hiking, skiing, the DoBar, and he is a huge fan of caipirinha.
Dr Eliane Fischer
Senior scientist (Post-doc biochemistry)
Eliane is from Zurich, Switzerland and received a master's degree in Biochemistry from the ETH Zurich (2000). She continued doctoral studies at ETH and completed her PhD in metabolic engineering in 2004 and won the ETH Silver Medal for her thesis. Following this, Eliane completed post-doctoral training at the University Hospital Zurich in the area of Oncology and Antibody Engineering. She was a group leader in Tumour Targeting and Molecular Imaging at the Paul Scherrer Institute (2008 - 2015).
Her current research focuses on biochemical evaluation of new PET radiotracers for imaging in oncology.
Outside the lab, Eliane enjoys spending time with family, walking in the Alps, drinking wine and eating extremely spicy curries.
Patricia Pires-Räth
Master's student (Aug 2019 - sept 2020)
Patricia is from Jundiaí, countryside of São Paulo, Brazil. She graduated from the University of Campinas (Unicamp) with a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry in 2016. There she worked at the University Junior Enterprise as Project Manager/Director and completed a one-year Internship in the R&D Healthcare Department of 3M Brazil, focusing on adhesive development. Currently, Patricia is also working part-time in an Environmental Analysis Laboratory near Zurich, Switzerland.
Her Master's project focuses on PET imaging with arsenite radiolabelled antibodies.
Outside the lab, Patricia likes reading, dancing, hiking and baking.
Mirusche Suloska
bachelor's student (Feb 2020 - Oct 202)
Mirushe is from Schaffhausen in Switzerland. She is currently studying Chemistry as her major and Astronomy and Astrobiology as her minor Bachelor subject.
Her Bachelor's project focuses on the synthesis and mechanistic evaluation of photochemically active metal complexes
Outside the lab, Mirushe enjoys hiking, and spending quality time with her friends and family members.
Linus Reichert
Bachelor's student (Feb 2020 - Oct 2020)
Linus is from Baden, Switzerland and is currently studying for a Bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Zurich.
His Bachelor's project focuses on the synthesis of metal binding chelates for applications in radiochemistry.
Outside the lab, Linus enjoys his many hobbies working on old cars, camping, drinking rum and smoking cigars.
Jennifer lamb
Phd student (aug 2016 - Sept 2020)
Jennifer is from Essex in the South-East of England and graduated from The University of Sheffield with a First Class master’s degree in Chemistry. Here, her master’s thesis focused on bio-inorganic medicinal chemistry and she was awarded the Ray Charlesworth Scholarship in recognition of her academic achievements.
Her research focuses on the development of multimodal PET/MRI radiotracers using iron oxide nanoparticles.
Outside the lab, Jen enjoys swimming, Pilates and drinking gin basil smash.
Jan Bühler
Research co-worker (Jun 2020 - present)
Jan is from Cham, Switzerland and received his Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Zurich in 2020. His Master thesis in the Group of Prof. Dr. Roger Alberto focused on dinuclear rhenium and technetium-99m complexes.
His current research focuses on the synthesis of photochemically active reagents
Outside the lab, Jan enjoys playing football and badminton, digital art and baking.
Rita Sala Faig
Visiting Phd student (Feb 2019 - Aug 2019)
Rita is from Barcelona and graduated from the University of Barcelona with a master’s degree in Biomedicine in 2014. She is now studying for a PhD in the Oncogenesis and Antitumor drugs group in the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute. Her project focuses on developing targeted nanoconjugates for the selective elimination of stem cells in metastatic colorectal cancer models.
Rita received a scholarship from the Institute of Health Carlos IIIto do a 6 months exchange at the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on the radiolabelling protein-based nanoparticles for the study of its biodistribution by PET imaging.
Outside the lab, Rita enjoys travelling, skiing, cold beer and going to concerts.
Dr Malay patra
Senior scientist (Post-doc chemistry)
Malay is from Midnapore, India and received a master’s degree in Chemistry form IIT-Bombay (MSc. 2007). He was awarded the Max Planck fellowship from IMPRS-CB, Dortmund for his doctoral research in Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany (2007-2011). He then acquired postdoctoral training in inorganic medicinal chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Gilles Gasser (2011-2013, 2016-2017) in the Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich and Prof. Stephen J. Lippard in the Department of Chemistry, MIT (2013-2015).
His research focused on targeted PET imaging agents and their biological evaluation.
Outside the lab, Malay enjoys doing sports, spending time with family, and watching cricket with a beer in hand.
Malay left the lab in Aug 2018 for an Assistant Professorship position at the TATA Institute, Mumbai, India.
David Wunderlin
Bachelor's student (Feb 2018 - Jul 2018)
David is from Zurich, Switzerland and is currently studying for a bachelor`s degree in chemistry at the University of Zurich.
David completed his Bachelor's thesis on the synthesis and characterisation of theranostic PET radiotracers targeting cell cycle proteins
Outside the lab, David enjoys travelling, scuba diving and drinking cold beer while watching football.
Onofre Munar
Project student (Feb 2018 - Jun 2018)
Onofre is from Mallorca, Spain. He is studying a degree in Biochemistry in the University of Barcelona.
Onofre completed his final year degree project at Holland Lab as an Exchange Student. Thereafter, he is interested in studying for a master's degree and perhaps a doctorate.
Outside the lab, Onofre is a sea lover, but he also enjoys hanging out with friends, reading and playing the piano.
Larissa eichenberger
master's student (Sept 2017 - Aug 2018)
Larissa is from Zurich, Switzerland and received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Zurich in 2017.
She completed her master’s thesis in August 2018 on the development of new methods for radiolabelling antibodies and other proteins for PET imaging of cancer.
Outside the lab, Larissa likes reading, hiking and spending time with family and friends.
Larissa is now pursuing her PhD in the United Kingdom
Allan Murphy
Master's student (Feb 2018 - Jan 2019)
Allan is from Zug, Switzerland and received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Zurich in Summer 2017.
He is currently working on his master’s thesis, which focuses on the development theranostic agents for combined PET imaging and targeted chemotherapy of cancer.
Outside the lab, Allan enjoys making and playing music, as well as biking and skiing.
open positions
All open positions for Post-doctoral scientists and PhD students are advertised on the Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich website.
Prospective Bachelor's and Master's students are kindly requested to contact Prof. Dr Jason Holland directly.
