DUDLI-LAB
Meet The Team
"In our research group, we celebrate a cooperative research spirit. We strongly believe that true advancement is only possible as a team, where enthusiasm for research is shared and where challenges are openly discussed."
Prof. Dr. Stefan Dudli
Group Leader
I studied biochemistry at the University of Zurich and graduated from ETH Zurich in 2013. From 2013 to 2016, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation. In 2017, I joined the Center of Experimental Rheumatology of the University of Zurich, at the Balgrist Campus where I am heading a research group with focus on Modic changes in Low Back Pain and on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
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Fun fact: I cycled from Alaska to Fireland on a recumbent bike.
Dr. Jan Devan
Postdoc
I studied molecular biology and genetics at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. I obtained my master’s diploma in 2018 for the study of the molecular pathogenesis of B-cell malignancies with a special focus on the miRNAs and their role in the transformation of indolent follicular lymphoma to more aggressive lymphomas. In 2022 I graduated from the University of Basel, where, in the laboratory of experimental immunology, I researched the role of T-cells in mucosal immunity. I am investigating the role of autoimmunity in Modic changes.
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Fun Fact: I like to eat lemons and flow cytometry.
Dr. Tamara Mengis
Postdoc
I studied Health Science and Technology at ETH Zürich and graduated in April 2020. During this time I was already in the Dudli-Lab for 6 months for an internship - this is where I learned that I do indeed want to do research. That led me to stay in the group for my PhD where I focused on the role of the intervertebral disc in the development of Modic changes. Having made some very exciting findings during this time I decided to stay as a postdoc and am now testing my findings in an in vivo model.
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Fun fact: I have 4 pet rats (not for experiments)!
Dr. Phelipe Hatt
Postdoc
I studied Health Sciences and Technology (BSc. and MSc.) at ETH Zurich from which I graduated in 2019 with special focus on medical technologies.
During my doctorate studies at the AO Research Institute Davos I investigated the interaction between biomaterials and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) with the purpose to repair large bone defects.
Now, I conduct research in the Dudli-Lab with the aim to develop a stem cell-based therapy to treat patients who suffer from Modic Changes.
Fan fact: I played American Football for one season and we won the Swiss League.
Dr. Pamela Bitterlin
Postdoc
My background is quite different from most at Balgrist. I completed my PhD in Plant Molecular Biology at Freiburg University in Germany. My enthusiasm for conducting experiments and analyzing -omics data drove me to uncover CRPS signatures at a single-cell level. I am excited to contribute to medical research and advance our understanding of this very painful condition.
Fun fact: Coming from Mexico City, I saw the snow for the first time when I moved to Europe at 25 years old. Since then, I've fallen in love with hiking in the snowy mountains alongside my husband and our dog :)
Dr. Andrea Nüesch
Postdoc
In 2015, I began my studies in Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zürich. For my master’s thesis, I joined the Spine Group at the AO Research Institute in Davos, where I investigated how the secretome of primed mesenchymal stromal cells affects degenerative disc cells. In 2021, I became an early-stage researcher within the Horizon 2020-funded Disc4All consortium. Based at the University of Sheffield (UK), I conducted experimental research on the role of the microbiome in the intervertebral disc. Since May 2025, I have been part of the Dudli Lab, continuing to investigate the intervertebral disc microbiome.
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Fun Fact: I once accidentally submitted this picture of myself (on the right) instead of the graphical abstract.
Dr. Alexandre Meier
Postdoc
My Masters in Biomedical Engineering at ETH Zurich focused on Bioengineering and Tissue Engineering, with my Masters Thesis focusing on bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in the lab of Professor Jess Snedeker graduating in 2020. Then for my PhD, I joined the Medvinsky lab at the University of Edinburgh to investigate in vitro haematopoietic differentiation of human embryonal stem cells lines doing a lot of Flow Cytometry. Finally, I joined the Dudli lab to identify potent MSC subsets that can be used to treat patients with Modic Changes Type 1.
Fun fact: I love to organise hikes and bike-packing trips across Switzerland and Scotland.
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Danilo Menghini
PhD Student
I completed my bachelor at the ETH Zürich in Health Science and Technologies followed by a master degree in the same department focusing on Medical Technologies. I performed my master thesis in the Musculoskeletal Informatics Group of Harvard Medical School in Boston, determining the changes in the cross-sectional profile of natural and treated anterior cruciate ligaments.
The main goal of my PhD project is to show that antibiotic-laden polymeric delivery matrix prevent C. acnes infection and progressive disc degeneration of the bovine tail disc.
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Fun fact: I founded and organized with four friends a music festival (Openair Cavaglia) that hosts around 700 participants and 12 bands every year at the height of 1700 m asl.
Timothy Christensen
PhD Student
I am a doctoral candidate at the Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich and part of the Spine Biomechanics Group. I studied biomedicine at the University of Zurich and went on to complete a master’s degree in Molecular Health Sciences at ETH Zurich. I conducted my master’s thesis at the Institute of Medical Immunology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Since 2025, as part of my PhD, I have been working on biological and cell-based approaches to improve intervertebral stability, collaborating closely with the team of Prof. Dr. sc. nat. Stefan Dudli.
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Fun fact: lived my entire life in Switzerland but haven’t seen the Matterhorn up close.
Dr. med. Friederike Schulze
Postdoc
Background
80% of my time I’m a physician working in the rheumatology department of the USZ, 20% is reserved for research. I studied medicine in Basel, followed by post graduate studies in diabetes research, also in Basel. After the PhD, I first worked in Internal Medicine, now I’m working on my specialization in rheumatology.
At the moment, I’m searching for a serum biomarker for Modic changes. For this, I analyze data from serum samples of subjects of a cohort with and without Modic Changes.
Constant learning, finding out how things work is what I enjoy most about working in the lab.
•Fun fact: I love cooking. During my studies I ran a supper club in my apartment.
Dudli-Lab Alumnis
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Olivia Hardegger - Medical Doctoral Thesis
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Nick Herger - PhD and Postdoc
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Andreas Invernizzi - Medical Doctoral Thesis
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Céline Höltschi - Medical Doctoral Thesis
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Irina Heggli - PhD and Postdoc
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Laura Bernhard - Master semester project
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Roy Hove - Master thesis
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Leonardo Arpesalla - Academic Guest
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Cristina Hunkeler- Master thesis
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Ana Gvozdenovic - Post Doc
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Johanna Zehnder- Master semester project
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Livia Stucki - Master thesis
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Karishma Thekkanath - Master thesis
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Ramona Büchel - Master thesis
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Ruben Piaengonda - Master semester project
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Susanne Epprecht - Medical Doctoral Thesis
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Yann Tinguely - Master semester project
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Flurina Staubli- Master semester project
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Irina Balzer - Master semester project
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Marlene Pühringer
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Pablo Marty
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Raphael Knecht
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Luca Vernazza
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Stephan Baumgartner - Master thesis
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Astrid Jüngel - Group leader