Mission of the Global Health Institute

The Global Health Institute (GHI) has been created to contribute to the understanding, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, which still claim 18 million lives each year and account for half of the deaths in the developing world. The GHI is currently composed of 6 groups, whose activities already reflect the Institute's future ambitions. Basic mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and innate immunity towards pathogens are being studied using multidisciplinary approaches. Crucial world health issues, like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, are being tackled. These include understanding, and hopefully counteracting, the persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, or designing drugs to treat this disease. Mechanisms of HIV infection and use of this virus in gene therapy approaches are also the subject of intense research. Further recruitment is planned, in particular of talented young researchers, to extend these efforts to other pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Intensification of current research themes by including novel technological approaches is also a priority.

Research fields

Laboratory of Prof. Melanie Blokesch
Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology

Laboratory of Prof. Stewart Cole
Drug discovery for the treatment of tuberculosis as well as phylogeography and immunodiagnosis of leprosy

Laboratory of Prof. Nicola Harris
Laboratory of Intestinal Immunology

Laboratory of Prof. Bruno Lemaitre
Mechanisms of microbial infection and corresponding host defense responses in Drosophila

Laboratory of Prof. John McKinney
Persistence mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Laboratory of Prof. Didier Trono
Retroelements as essential constituents of the human genome, potential lethal invaders and powerful research tool

Laboratory of Prof. Gisou van der Goot
Molecular understanding of the interaction between bacterial toxins and he mammalian host cells

Web News

02.11.2009 : Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team headed by EPFL professor Stewart Cole has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in doing so has made a public health study essential for combating the disease...more

01.11.2009 : The GHI is glad to announce the arrival of Thomas Meier, Professor of Anatomy and Structural Biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medecine, in New York. Prof. Meier has accepted a position of visiting professor for 9 months in the laboratory of Professor Didier Trono.

19.10.2009 : The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) announced the electrion of 66 leading life scientists. We would like to congratulate them and in particular Gisou van der Goot and Didier Trono, faculty members of the Global Health Institute....more

12.10.2009 : Gisou van der Goot has received the 2009 Marcel Benoist Prize, as a recognition for her work in infectious diseases. It is the first time the prize has been awarded to a woman, as well as the first time EPFL has been undividedly awarded the prize ...more

GHI News - Archive