Sacha Sidjanski

sacha.sidjanski@epfl.ch +41 21 693 16 41

Nationality: Swiss

EPFL SV-DO
SV 3814 (Bâtiment SV)
Station 19
1015 Lausanne

+41 21 693 16 41
Office: SV 3814
EPFL › SV › SV-DEC › SV-DO

Biography Awards Publications

Sacha Sidjanski worked on malaria at New York University (NYU), followed by two post-doctoral works (SUNY& Pasteur Institute); he then joined the World Health Organization as a ‘scientific officer’.

Since June 2006, Dr Sidjanski works as External Relations Manager at the School of Life Sciences at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), home of -the Global Health Institute, the Brain & Mind Institute, -Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, and the Institute of Bioengineering.

In 2015, Sacha participated in the project "Hello Mask-making compassion visible", a new semi-transparent/translucent medical mask and co-founded the start-up HMCARE, EPFL's spin-off, where he remains part-time.

Curriculum vitae

WORK EXPERIENCE
Since 2006 - : Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, CH), External Relations Manager.
The School of Life Sciences is the home of four institutes focusing on Brain, Cancer, Bioengineering and Global Health research.
Partnerships were established with a very large number of foundations and philanthropic organisations. Active promotion of the School among international corporations as well as philanthropists & foundations.

Since 2020 - : HMCare S.A. (Campus Biotech Innovation Park - Genève, CH), Ext. Relations Manager & Co-Founder
(part-time). Development of industrial production of the material and the production of the transparent surgical masks

2005-2006: Funders relation: Esperanza Medicines Foundation, a foundation for research and development of affordable HIV medicines in emerging countries and Mintaka, a medical research foundation.

2005: The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and malaria (Geneva, CH), Grant Coordinator.

1999-2005: Word Health Organization (WHO, CH), Technical Officer.

Coordinated the 1100 WHO’s Collaborating Centres (WHO CCs) network and Expert Advisory Panels. A complete review of the
nomination & termination processes was done in collaboration with the 5 WHO Regional Offices.

1998-1999: Pasteur Institute (Paris, France) & State University of New York (Long Island, USA), Post-doctoral fellows.

Research projects on infectious diseases and their effects on the immune system, with a specific focus on the skin.

MISCELLANEOUS

· 2025 - : Membre du Conseil -probono- Fondation Jacqueline Beytout

· 2020 - : Co-founder of HMCare S.A., EPFL spin-off, ‘Humans Matter’ innovation in healthcare.

· 2016 - : Probono work for the Hello Mask, an EPFL-Empa project; making compassion visible - a new medical and transparent facemask (currently on-going).

· Probono work for the Innovative Medicines for Tuberculosis (im4tb).

· 2012 : Continuous education at Centre d’Etudes de la Philanthropie en Suisse (Gestion des fondations donatrices).
· 2008 : Membre de l'association "BioAlps" probono

· 2006 & 2007: Support to the Esperanza Medicines, a foundation for research and development of affordable HIV medicines in emerging countries and Mintaka, a medical research foundation.

Education

Parasitology

| Malaria

1992 – 1997 New York University (NYU, USA), Sackler Institute of Grad. Biomedical Sciences.

Graduate Certificate of Parasitology.

1991 – 1992 University of Neuchatel (CH), Faculty of Sciences.

Diploma of Biology

| Diploma work done at the Swiss Tropical Institute / STI - Basel (now called TPH)

1986 – 1992 University of Geneva (CH), Faculty of Science.
Directed by Research on malaria

Awards

Empa Innovation Award

Empa

2020

Challenge Debiopharm-Inartis sur la qualité de vie des patients.

Challenge Debiopharm-Inartis

2016

Young Investigator Award

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, USA.

1997

Selected publications

Polyamide Nanofiber-Based Air Filters for Transparent Face Masks.

Avossa J. et al. Sacha Sidjanski
Published in ACS Appl. Nano. Mater. in 2021

Leishmania major reaches distant cutaneous sites where it persists transiently while persisting durably in the primary dermal site and its draining lymph note : a study in laboratory mice.

Nicolas L, Sidjanski S, Colle JH & Milon G.
Published in Infection and Immunity. 68: 6561-6566. in 2000

Les vaisseaux lymphatiques, les ganglions lymphatiques: des entités structurelles dont dépend le développement de réponses immunitaires T et B dépendantes.

Milon G., Colle J.-H., Lebastard M., Nicolas L., Sidjanski S., Belkaid Y.
Published in . Immunodermatologie. J.-F Nicolas, J. Thivolet editeurs. John Libbey, Eurotext, Paris, pp. 3-18. in 1999

Delayed migration of Plasmodium sporozoites from the mosquito bite site to the blood.

Sidjanski S. and Vanderberg J. P. (1997)
Published in American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 57 (4), 426-429. in 1997

Anopheles stephensi salivary glands bear receptors for region I of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum.

Sidjanski S., Vanderberg J.P. and Sinnis P.
Published in Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 91 (1), 33-41. in 1997

Electrophoretic separation and identification of phenoloxidases in hemolymph and midgut of adult Anopheles stephensi

Sidjanski S., Mathews G. V. and Vanderberg J. P.
Published in Journal of Parasitology, 83 (4), 686-691. in 1997

Inhibition of mosquito salivary gland apyrase activity by antibodies produced in mice immunized by bites of Anopheles stephensi

Mathews G. V. , Sidjanski S. and Vanderberg J. P.
Published in American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 55, 417-423. in 1996