Ueli Aebi | |
|---|---|
 Aebi in 2012 | |
| Born | (1946-05-31)31 May 1946 Bern, Switzerland |
| Died | 28 November 2025(2025-11-28) (aged 79) |
| Citizenship | Swiss |
| Known for | Integrative structural biology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Structural Biology |
| Institutions | University of Bern, Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology, University of Basel |
Ueli Aebi (31 May 1946 – 28 November 2025) was a Swiss structural biologist and co-founder[1] of the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology at the Biozentrum University of Basel.
Background
Aebi studied physics, mathematics, and molecular biology at the Universities of Bern and Basel from 1967 to 1974, graduating in 1977 in biophysics at the University of Basel. After establishing his academic career in the United States (University of California, Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine), in 1986 he returned to the Biozentrum as professor of structural biology. He was co-founder of the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology and its director from 1986 until reaching emeritus status in 2011.[2][3] Aebi died on 28 November 2025, at the age of 79.[4]
Work
Aebi is recognised as a pioneer in integrative structural biology as well as mechano- and nanobiology.[5][6] His work focused on the elucidation of the structure, function and assembly of the cyto- and nucleoskeleton and the nuclear pore complex (NPC), as well as the amyloid fibrils that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.[7] He studied the architecture of diverse supramolecular assemblies using a combination of light, electron and atomic force microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and protein engineering.[8] Among others, Aebi determined the 3-dimensional structure of the NPC by cryo-electron tomography.[9]
Awards and honors
- 1993: Elected Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization
- 1999: Elected Member of the Academia Europaea
- 2007: Dr. honoris causa (h.c.) from the 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic[10]
- 2011: Carl Zeiss Lecture Award of the German Society for Cell Biology[11]
- 2011: Distinguished Scientist Award of the Microscopy Society of America[12]
References
- ^ Müller SA, Engel A (January 2012). "Looking back at a quarter-century of research at the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology". J. Struct. Biol. 177 (1): 3–13. doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2011.11.013. PMID 22115996.
- ^ "Journal of Nanobiotechnology". BioMed Central.
- ^ "Prof. Dr. Ueli Aebi, Emeritus". biozentrum.unibas.ch. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Obituary for Ueli Aebi (1946–2025)". Bbiozentrum.unibas.ch.
- ^ Coulombe, Pierre A. (May 2017). "The Molecular Revolution in Cutaneous Biology: Keratin Genes and their Associated Disease: Diversity, Opportunities, and Challenges". Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 137 (5): e67 – e71. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2016.04.039. PMC 5509967. PMID 28411849.
- ^ "BioMed Central, Profile Ueli Aebi". biomedcentral.com/. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "MBI Scientific Advisory Board". mbi.nus.edu.sg/. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "EURO-Laminopathies project, Team Ueli Aebi". mfpl.ac.at/. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Biographical Sketch of Ueli Aebi" (PDF). nucleus.img.cas.cz/. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ Biozentrum University of Basel: Charles University in Prague awards Prof. Ueli Aebi an honorary doctorate Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Two prestigious awards for Ueli Aebi Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Biozentrum University of Basel: Two prestigious awards for Ueli Aebi Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Webpage Biozentrum, Emeriti Archived 29 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- Lim RY, Herrmann H (January 2012). "From structural architecture to cellular organization: celebrating the scientific contributions of Ueli Aebi on the occasion of his retirement". J. Struct. Biol. 177 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2011.12.011. PMID 22227641.
