Sandrine Gerber

Organic synthesis
Engineering of polymer- and lipid-based nanoparticles for gene delivery
Surface functionalization of nanomaterials for theranostic applications
DNA biosensors for viral screening

Mission

Teaching activities
Sandrine Gerber is involved in the teaching of organic chemistry for the first year students in Biology (UNIL) and Pharmacy (UNIL). She also gives a Bachelor Course entitled "Asymmetric Synthesis and Retrosynthesis", where the disconnection approach to multifunctional synthons is disclosed.

Research activities
The research program of her group is devoted to the development of new chemical entities for bio-applications. Her team is mainly interested in the design, synthesis and evaluation of functionalized nanomaterials and biomaterials for therapeutic applications as imaging probes, drug nanocarriers and biosensors. In particular, harmonic nanoparticles are bioconjugated to cancer targeting ligands, caged therapeutic cargos and complementary contrast agents to develop new theranostic tools. Chitosan-based copolymers are engineered for the delivery of plasmid DNA and siRNA in the context of liver metabolic diseases and oncology. The functionalization of glass slides and gold interdigitated electrodes with peptide- and polymer-based spacers is used for the development of DNA biosensors for viral screening.

Management activities
Since 2007, Sandrine Gerber acts as Deputy Director of the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC). In this role, she is in charge of the management of the ISIC Service Platforms who provide technical, scientific and logistic support to the activities of the research laboratories. She is involved in the coordination of infrastructure projects for the ISIC laboratories, in collaboration with the SB Infractructure Team.

Sandrine Gerber is also member of the committee of the Doctoral Program of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and of the EPFL School Assembly. She acts as President of the Interfaculty Committee for the Coordination of EPFL workshops.

Biography Awards Publications Teaching & PhD

Sandrine Gerber studied chemistry at the "Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris" in France, where she obtained a diploma of chemical engineer in 1993. The same year she obtained a DEA (Master degree) of organic chemistry at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI, France). From 1993 to 1996 she did a PhD in organic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Pierre Genêt at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris. In 1996, she moved to University of Lausanne for a post-doctoral stay under the supervision of Prof. Pierre Vogel. In 1998, she was appointed Maître-Assistante at the Institute of Organic Chemistry in the University of Lausanne. In 2003, she obtained the habilitation to direct research from the University Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI, France). The same year, she was appointed scientific adjunct at the EPFL and senior scientist (Maître d'Enseignement et de Recherche) in 2006. In December 2014, she was promoted to Adjunct Professor. Since September 2007, Sandrine Gerber is deputy to the director of the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC).
She was awarded the Prize Eugene Schueller in 1997, the Prize Dufour for prospective organic chemistry in 2005 and the Werner Prize 2010. She also received a special mention in recognition of exceptional quality of pedagogic competencies in the teaching of basic sciences, given by the Direction of the School of Biology and Medicine from the University of Lausanne, in 2013. In October 2018, she will receive the Prize for Excellence in Teaching from the section of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

Education

Organic Synthesis and Catalysis

| Recent developments in the chemistry of zerovalent palladium in aqueous and anhydrous media. New methods of deprotections and carbocyclizations. Synthetic applications.

1993 – 1996 Sorbonne University (formerly University Pierre et Marie Curie), Paris, France
Directed by Prof. Jean-Pierre Genêt

Chemical Engineering

| Diploma of Chemical Engineer

1990 – 1993 Chimie ParisTech (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris)

Organic Chemistry

| Master studies

1993 – 1993 Sorbonne University (formerly University Pierre et Marie Curie), Paris, France
Directed by Prof. Jean-Pierre Genet

PhD students

Florence Popowycz EPFL TH N° 2866 | 1999 - 2003 | Synthesis of long chain aminopolyols and pyrrolidine derivatives. The discovery of new glycosidase inhibitors.
Hélène Fiaux EPFL TH N° 3793 | 2003 - 2007 | Development of new anticancer agents based on a-mannosidase inhibition.
Gérald Coste EPFL TH N° 3800 | 2003 - 2007 | New efficient synthetic routes toward functionalized polyketides. Application to the preparation of analogues of bioactive natural products.
Sylvain Favre EPFL TH N° 4383 | 2005 - 2009 | New efficient synthetic strategies towards the AB and CD spiroketal fragments of spongistatins and analogues.
Pascal Miéville EPFL TH N° 5229 | 2009 - 2011 | Chemical developments in DNP-NMR.
Françoise Borcard EPFL TH N° 5643 | 2009 - 2013 | Chemical functionalization of bioceramics for the development of bone implants.
Christophe Bovigny EPFL TH N° 6310 | 2010 - 2014 | New models and techniques to simulate realistic biological membranes.
Solène Passemard EPFL TH N° 6248 | 2010 - 2014 | Functionalization of nanoparticles for targeted cancer imaging and diagnosis.
Davide Staedler EPFL TH N° 6209 | 2010 - 2014 | Development and evaluation of new nanoprobes for cancer cell targeting and imaging.
François Noverraz EPFL TH N° 8949 | 2014 - 2018 | Development of functionalized alginate-based hydrogels to reduce fibrosis in the transplantation of microencapsulated cells.
Jérémy Vuilleumier EPFL TH N° 7330 | 2015 - 2019 | Functionalization of second harmonic generation nanoparticles for theranostic applications.
Raphaël De Matos EPFL TH N° 7650 | 2015 - 2019 | Surface functionalization of metal oxide nanoparticles for targeted cancer imaging.
Luca Szabó EPFL TH N° 7778 | 2016 - 2020 | Multifunctional hybrid alginate-based hydrogels for cell immobilization.
Laura Nicolle EPFL TH N° 9821 | 2018-2022 | Engineering of chitosan-based derivatives for non-viral gene delivery.
Adrian Gheata EPFL TH N° 10626 | 2020-2024 | Functionalization of harmonic nanoparticles for drug release and multimodal imaging applications.
Perrine Robin EPFL TH N° 11030 | 2020-2024 | Surface functionalization strategies for optimal DNA conjugation on sensing surfaces for viral detection.
Alessandra Spada Ongoing | Started in 2021 | Development of multifunctional harmonic based nanoconjugate for multiscale imaging and theranostic applications.
Simon Dumolard Ongoing | Started in 2023 | Development of polymeric nanocarriers for siRNA therapeutics delivery.
Pauline Skigin Ongoing | Started in 2024 | Development of multifunctional lipid-based nanocarriers for plasmid DNA delivery to the liver.
Mylène Soudani Ongoing | Started in 2024 | Valorization of ammonia for the production of polymers and rare sugars.
Leander Choudhury Ongoing | Started in 2025 | Design, development and optimization of Pd-based catalysts immobilized on magnetic particles for cross-coupling reactions in automated workflow.

Post-doctoral collaborators

• Ana T. Carmona (2004-2005)

• Horacio Comas Blanco (2009-2011)

• Lucia Ucnova (2012-2013)

• Vladislav Semak (2013-2015)

• Solène Passemard (2014-2016)

• Céline Journot (2019-2021)

• François Noverraz (2021-2026)

• Alireza Kavand (2022-2026)

• Anna Poryvai (2022-2025)

Awards

Excellence in Teaching Award

Section of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

2018

Fellow of International Association of Advanced Materials

International Association of Advanced Materials

2020

Selected publications

Simultaneous Multi-Harmonic Imaging of Nanoparticles in Tissues for Increased Selectivity

Rogov, A.; Irondelle, M.; Ramos-Gomes, F.; Bode, J.; Staedler, D.; Passemard, S.; Courvoisier, S.; Yamamoto, Y.;Waharte, F.; Ciepielewski, D.; Rideau, P.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Alves, F.; Salamero, J.; Bonacina, L.; Wolf, J.-P.
Published in ACS Photonics, 2015, 2, 1416-1422 in

Deep UV Generation and Direct DNA Photo-Interaction by Harmonic Nanoparticles in Labelled Samples

Staedler, D.; Magouroux, T.; Passemard, S.; Schwung, S.; Dubled, M.; Schneiter, G. S.; Rytz, D.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Bonacina, L.; Wolf, J.-P.
Published in Nanoscale, 2014, 6, 2929-2936 in

Enzyme and Acid Deconjugation of Plasma Sulfated Metanephrines

Glauser, M.; Metrailler, M.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Centeno, C.; Seghezzi, C.; Dunand, M.; Abid, K.; Herren, A.; Grouzmann, E.
Published in Clinica Chim. Acta 2014, 430, 125-128 in

Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Jeriantinine E

Frei, R.; Raja, A.; Franke, R.; Sasse, F.; Staedler, D.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Waser, J.
Published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 13373-13376 in

Lack of Enantioselectivity in the SULT1A3-Catalyzed Sulfoconjugation of Normetanephrine Enantiomers: an in Vitro and Computational Study

Grouzmann, E.; Gualtierotti, J.- B.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Abid, K.; Brakch, N.; Pedretti, A.; Testa, B.; Vistoli, G.
Published in Chirality 2013, 25, 28-34 in

Surface modification of biomaterials for conjugation to human fetal osteoblasts

Borcard, F.; Kong, P.; Journot, C.; Staedler, D.; Sturzenegger, P. N.; Krauss Juillerat, F., Gonzenbach, U. T.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.
Published in Chimia 2013, 67, 213-217 in

Convenient synthesis of bifunctional azido and amino-silanized poly(ethylene glycol) suitable for the functionalization of iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Passemard, S.; Staedler, D.; U??ovï¿½, L.; Schneiter, G. S.; Kong, P.; Bonacina, L.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.
Published in Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2013, 23, 5006-5010 in

Synthesis of bone-like structured foams

Krauss Juillerat, F.; Engeli, R.; Jerjen, I.; Sturzenegger, P. N.; Borcard, F.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Gauckler, L. J.; Gonzenbach, U. T.
Published in J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 2013, 2013, 33, 1497-1505 in

Functionalization of microstructured open-porous bio-ceramic scaffolds with human fetal cells

Krauss Juillerat, F.; Borcard, F.; Staedler, D.; Scaletta, C.; Applegate, L. A.; Comas, H.; Gauckler, L.J.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L; Gonzenbach, U.
Published in Bioconjugate Chem. 2012, 23, 2278-2290 in

Chemical functionalization of bio-ceramics to enhance endothelial cells adhesion for tissue engineering

Borcard, F.; Staedler, D.; Comas, H.; Krauss Juillerat, F.; Sturzenegger, P. N.; Heuberger, R. Gonzenbach, U. T.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.
Published in J. Med. Chem. 2012, 55, 7988-7997 in

Harmonic Nanocrystals for Bio-Labeling: a Survey of Optical Properties and Biocompatibility

Staedler, D.; Magouroux, T.; Hadli, R.; Joulaud, C.; Extermann, J.; Schwung, S.; Passemard, S.; Kasparian, C.; Clarke, G.; Gerrmann, M.; Le Dantec, R.; Mugnier, Y.; Rytz, D.; Ciepielewski, D.; Galez, C.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Bonacina, L.; Wolf., J.-P.
Published in ACS Nano 2012, 6, 2542-2549 in

Surface Functionalisation of Alumina Ceramic Foams with Organic Ligands

Comas, H.; Laporte, V.; Borcard, F.; Miï¿½ville, P.; Krauss Juillerat, F.; Caporini, M. A.; Gonzenbach, U. T.; Juillerat-Jeanneret, L.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.
Published in ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2012, 4, 573-576 in

Synthetic calibrators for the analysis of total metanephrines in urine: hydrolysis conditions revisited

Simonin, J.; Gerber-Lemaire, S.; Centeno, C.; Seghezzi, C.; Iglesias, K.; Abid, K.; Grouzmann, E.
Published in Clinica Chim. Acta, 2012, 413, 998-1003 in

Teaching & PhD

Courses

Asymmetric synthesis and retrosynthesis

CH-335

The first part of the course presents the classical methods of asymmetric synthesis. The second part of the course introduces retrosynthesis strategies based on the disconnection approach.

Organic chemistry (for BIO+PHA)

UNIL-106

- Give fundamental tools for the understanding of the reactivity of organic compounds: atomic structure, covalent bonds, stereochemistry. - Acquisition of basic notions of reactivity in organic molecules