Our Mission
Our aim is to determine the molecular mechanism(s) that prolong health during aging, using systems level approaches on human biology, omics, machine learning, C. elegans and mice, in order to develop novel clinical strategies to treat age-related pathologies.
Global Challenge
Age-dependent diseases
By 2030 almost every fourth person will be 65 or older in Switzerland, Europe, and USA. Since old age is the main risk factor for developing cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, as well as other age-related pathologies, the growing elderly population poses an immense social and financial challenge. [read more] [pdf]
Strategic Goal
To identify novel strategies to improve human healthspan.
Using C. elegans as a pioneering system to model the aging process because of its ease for genetic manipulation, high evolutionary conservation of genes implicated in human diseases, and short lifespan (3 weeks). Importantly, using C. elegans lifespan assays as a read-out for extension of healthspan is a tractable and fast approach for discovering novel mechanisms that confer healthy aging. Several fundamental mechanisms discovered in C. elegans have been shown to delay age-related pathologies in higher organisms, such as mice, and these mechanisms have major implications for humans aging. Hence, by using C. elegans to model the aging process we could rapidly identify strategies to improve human healthspan.
Research
Currently, the lab focuses on exploring a novel and exciting mechanism that promotes healthy aging.
Our recent work has shown that many health- and longevity-promoting interventions re-activate the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes during aging (Ewald et al., Nature 2015, PMID:25517099). This ECM enhancement is required and sufficient for extending the lifespan of C. elegans. Our research efforts are focusing on exploring the mechanism(s) of how prolonged ECM homeostasis promotes healthy aging. [read more] [pdf]
Our core competencies are:
- Aging research
- Extracellular matrix biology, matrisome, and matreotype
- Drug discovery, molecular biology, genetics, systems biology, and neuroscience
Our technical expertise with using the model organism C. elegans are:
- Automated lifespan assessment using the lifespan machine.
- High-throughput screening with genetic manipulations and chemical compounds for aging research.
- Neuronal plasticity (learning) assays.
Experimental advantage for using C. elegans- No animal safety or ethical issues: For FSVO, C. elegans not defined as an animal
- 60-80% of genes conserved with humans
- multicellular and eukaryotic
- C. elegans ages similar to humans, but faster (lifespan of 3 weeks)
- scalable for high-throughput genetic and drug screens
- (and because of: Brenner-->worms-->transgenics-->coffee-->biofuel--> future: watch this https://youtu.be/76W7lriuo1o)
Ziel der Forschungsgruppe
Lay summary in German
Wir alle werden älter und mit jedem zusätzlichen Jahr steigt das Risiko für den
Ausbruch einer altersbedingten Krankheit wie Krebs, Diabetes, Alzheimer oder
Herzkreislaufprobleme. [weiter lesen] [pdf]Kapitelauszug über unsere Forschung geschrieben von Alejandra Garcia Lanz (Schülerin der Gewerblich-Industrielle Berufsschule Bern; Vertiefungsarbeit ABU, 7.3.2019)
[Gestern, heute und morgen - Langlebigkeit.pdf]
Wenn Sie mehr wissen wollen, meine Einführungsvorlesung an der ETH Zürich gibt eine gute Übersicht über unsere Forschung.
Videolink zur Einführungsvorlesung
Auf den Link klicken und die Vorlesung: "Molekulare Mechanismen des gesunden Alterns (Collin Ewald)" kommen.
News Media
Recent Interviews
Kann man das Altern verlangsamen? Fadenwürmer im Fokus der Altersforschung. EwaldLab Interview by Patrick Bardelli Galaxus Hintergrund, Sport, Gesundheit. 12.05.2022
https://www.galaxus.ch/de/page/fadenwuermer-im-fokus-der-altersforschung-23588Labor Journal: Nur nicht bescheiden sein. 12.05.2022
Wer als Forscher mit einem Start-up erfolgreich sein will, muss einiges beachten.
Life Science Get2Gether #LSG2G by #ChristianSoschner
Episode #69: Prof. Collin Ewald - Molecular Mechanisms of Healthy AgeingFeb 26th 2022
#longevity #extracellularmatrix
#Age is just a number. Flipping a genetic switch, even at #old age, can #rejuvenate #elderly worms. Episode 78. January 2022. Start 30min. Interviewed by @DrChrisSmith @nakedscientists.
https://elifesciences.org/podcast/episode78#1828
Research Article by Richard Venz et al. @elife.
Live Longer World interview: Dr. Collin Ewald | Collagen Protein & Extracellular Matrix During Aging. January 18th 2022
Longevity Technology (#Innovation): Increased lifespan? Make mine a double!
October 29, 2021
https://www.longevity.technology/increased-lifespan-make-mine-a-double/
Mindset 2021: Bernegger, Marc P.; Gushchina, Julia; Branford, Jason; Rochel, Johan. 30.09.2021
Mentioning Ewald Lab at 34min 29sec.
Maximon: the Longevity Company Builder: Clubhouse The Longevity Biotech Show 8.4.2021
«Covidisierung» der Forschung verzögert andere Projekte: Echo der Zeit @SRF2 10.01.2021
https://www.srf.ch/play/radio/popupaudioplayer?id=b75fdf5c-8108-4966-8047-cd0e651e0830
Full: https://www.srf.ch/audio/echo-der-zeit/schicksalstage-fuer-italiens-regierung?id=11911208
Gesundes Altern - Fit wie Joe Biden
Danke für den schön geschrieben Artikel von Alexandra Bröhm @sonntagszeitung und das Interview mit mir über #Gesund ins hohe #Alter- wie Joe Biden. #healthy #aging #extrazelluläreMatrix #ewaldlab @ETH.
https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/fit-wie-joe-biden-wie-bleibt-man-im-alter-lange-gesund-704858203320
Altersforschung und Anti-Aging Interview mit Prof. Dr. Collin Ewald
Ein Altersforscher in Zürich erprobt am Fadenwurm, welche Gene unsere Zellen altern lassen und was Anti-Aging-Medikamente bewirken.
BR Fernsehen Gut zu wissen | Wissensmagazin. 21.03.2020, 19:00 Uhr.
Fast-forward to minute 21.
(Also broadcasted by Arte, Wissenschaft, Xenius: Alternsforschung. Our part after 3 min: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/092139-033-A/xenius-altersforschung/)
Superhighway Of Our Cells: Extracellular Matrix with Prof. Collin Ewald- Ira Pastor, ideaXme longevity and aging ambassador and Founder of Bioquark, interviews Prof. Dr. Collin Ewald, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, at ETH Zurich (The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich), Founder of Swiss Society for Aging Research and Vice President Swiss Society for Matrix Biology.
https://radioideaxme.com/2019/09/10/dr-collin-ewald-ecm/
Dem Alter auf der Spur: Jung bleiben bis ins hohe Alter: Das sagt die Forschung - SRF Kultur
«Warum altern wir? @sciencezoe sprach mit ETH-Forscher @CollinEwald, der dieses Rätsel mit Hilfe winziger Würmer lösen will.
Alumni Spotlight Graduate Center of the City University of New York
https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/science-alumni-spotlight-collin-ewald
Time: As long as you live. TVB News (Hong Kong)
See starting after 1:34 and 2:28. #EwaldLab
http://news.tvb.com/programmes/aslongasyouliveii/5becbeb3e60383c70be8f5c9
Who is Who in Medical Research: A compendium of Hochschulmedizin Zurich (1st edition 2017) compiles all the information of nearly 200 research groups at the level of professorships relevant for collaboration in the medical field.
Welcome to the (Extracellular) Matrix: An interview with Dr. Collin Ewald - Geroscience
Ep. 3 - Prof. Collin Ewald talks getting old and feeling young - Part 1 | Simplifyd
Ep. 3 - Prof. Collin Ewald talks the cost of Alzheimer's and "mega cancer"- Part 2 | Simplifyd
An almost forgotten pioneer - UNI NOVA
Social Media
ETH/EPFL Influencer World Ranking
https://ranking.influencer.world/en/set/eth-epfl
Collin Ewald (@CollinEwald) (Ranked 16th, 30.09.20)
TV highlights
TV Reports
#Alternsforschung: Ein Bericht über unsere Forschung #EwaldLab @ETH ausgestrahlt von @SRF
Nano (8.9.2020). Siehe Link und bitte vorspulen auf 10min 42sec.
@cyril_statzer @VenzRichard @Alincaro_T @JongsmaE
https://srf.ch/play/tv/nano/video/nano?urn=urn:srf:video:e2c27d79-b6af-438a-b2ba-f53c9326ab3e
Recent Science
Current Research from the Ewald Lab
If you want to see the latest research coming out of the Ewald lab.
Collin Ewald | Aging & The Extracellular Matrix, Foresight Institute. Nov 10th 2022
https://foresight.org/summary/collin-ewald-aging-the-extracellular-matrix/
https://youtu.be/ohd3bwjySlU
Collin Ewald presents at ARDD 2021: Extracellular matrix remodeling during longevity. https://youtu.be/dVnH7wKV3G4
Podcasts on Spotify
#69: Prof. Collin Ewald - Molecular Mechanisms of Healthy Ageing, Feb 26th 2022, Beginner's Mind
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2OufIAYhBwUh8VYdGOF7sP
#10 Dr. Collin Ewald, Collagen Protein & Extracellular Matrix during Aging- Jan 18th 2022, Live Longer World
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m0bR6EeogWVFr9uWzsXyB
#008: Marc Bernegger, Tobias Reichmuth, Collin Ewald- April 8th 2021, The Longevity Biotech
ATF-4 and hydrogen sulfide signalling mediate longevity in response to inhibition of translation or mTORC1
Cyril Statzer, Jin Meng, Richard Venz, Monet Bland, Stacey Robida-Stubbs, Krina Patel, Dunja Petrovic, Raffaella Emsley, Pengpeng Liu, Ianessa Morantte, Cole Haynes, William B. Mair, Alban Longchamp, Milos R. Filipovic, T. Keith Blackwell & Collin Y. Ewald
Longevity interventions temporally scale healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans
Cyril Statzer, Peter Reichert, Jurg Dual, Collin Y Ewald
Christopher Hammell: “Thoughtful read. Love the approach”
DrWorms: “An answer to a question I think we've all had for a long time”
End-of-life targeted degradation of DAF-2 insulin/IGF-1 receptor promotes longevity free from growth-related pathologies
eLife. 2021;10:e71335 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.71335
Richard Venz, Tina Pekec, Iskra Katic, Rafal Ciosk, Collin Yvès Ewald
Strikingly, at geriatric ages, when 75% of the population had died, AID-mediated depletion of DAF-2 protein resulted in a doubling in lifespan. Thus, we provide a proof-of-concept that even close to the end of an individual’s lifespan, it is possible to slow aging and promote longevity.
Youthful and age-related matreotypes predict drugs promoting longevity
Aging Cell. 2021 Sep;20(9):e13441. doi: 10.1111/acel.13441. Epub 2021 Aug 4.
Cyril Statzer , Elisabeth Jongsma , Sean X Liu, Alexander Dakhovnik, Franziska Wandrey , Pavlo Mozharovskyi, Fred Zülli, Collin Y Ewald
Our innovative drug screening approach-employing extracellular matrix homeostasis-facilitates the discovery of pharmacological interventions promoting healthy aging.
The Matrisome during Aging and Longevity: A Systems-Level Approach toward Defining Matreotypes Promoting Healthy Aging
Gerontology https://doi.org/10.1159/000504295
For full version, pls see preprint: doi: 10.20944/preprints201908.0063.v1
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201908.0063/v1
For anyone interested in joining our lab, pls read this paper.
And/or watch this interview from Ira Pastor, ideaXme longevity and aging Ambassador and Founder of Bioquark:
Superhighway of Our Cells: Extracellular Matrix With Prof Collin Ewald
Dauer-independent insulin/IGF-1 signalling implicates collagen remodelling in longevity.
Ewald, C.Y., Landis, J.N., Porter Abate, J., Murphy, C.T., Blackwell, T.K. (2015).
Media Coverage:
Joslin News release video [link]
Science Daily [link]
MedicalXpress [link]
The Scientist: Long Live Collagen [link]
TV interview, 7vor7, TeleBasel, Switzerland [link]
Radio interview, SWR2 (Südwestrundfunk) German Public Radio [link]
Honoree mentioning from American Federation For Aging Research [link]
Rated “Exceptional” at Faculty Opinions [link]
Funding
Our science is supported by
Competitive ETH Equipment Grant and ETH PhD Research Grant
Novartis Foundation for medical-biological Research
http://www.stiftungmedbiol.novartis.com
Bridging high-throughput screens with automated lifespan machine to identify novel molecular targets that promote healthy ageing
Dr. Wilhelm Hurka Stiftung Zürich
Meet Our Team
The Ewald Lab officially started on June 1st 2016.
Principal Investigator
PhD in Neuroscience, City University of New York, 2011
Research ID: K-6303-2015
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1166-4171
Eline Jongsma
PhD Student
Master of Neurosciences, VU University Amsterdam
Currently working on Master's thesis at ETH Zurich
Internship at Netherlands Institute for NeurosciencesBachelor of Life Sciences, HAN university, Netherlands
Thesis at Wageningen University, Laboratory of Nematology
Internship at Dundee University, department of Gene Regulation and Expression
Small collaboration project with Oxford University, department of Biochemistry
Anita Goyala
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD in Molecular Aging, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India (2019)
· M.Sc in Biomedical Sciences, ACBR, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India (2012)
· B.Sc in Biomedical Sciences, BCAS, University od Delhi, New Delhi, India (2010)
Alex Dakhovnik
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD in Molecular Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany (2021)
Doctoral thesis work in Molecular Genetics, Universität zu Köln, Germany (2012-2015 terminated)
M.Sc in Molecular Biology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine (2011)
B.Sc in Biology (Department of Biochemistry), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine (2009)
Alumni
- 2023 Adrian Molière (Master Thesis)
- 2023 Amaia Ezkurdia (PhD Student)
- 2023 Claudio Viecelli (Postdoc)
- 2022 Arastu Sharma (Master Thesis)
- 2022 Marie Knufinke (Master Thesis)
- 2021 Pavlo Mozharovskyi (Guest Professor)
- 2021 Felix Kempter (Medical Student)
- 2021 Marco Ruckstuhl (Master Project)
- 2016-20 Cyril Statzer (PhD Student)
- 2016-20 Alina Teuscher (PhD Student)
- 2017-20 Richard Venz (PhD Student)
- 2019 Alex Hofer (Master Project)
- 2019 Katharina Tarnutzer (Master Thesis)
- 2019 Tugce Yenice (Master Project)
- 2019 Victoria Brügger (Bachelor)
- 2019 Sean X. Liu (AMGEN scholar)
- 2019 Anastasiia Korosteleva (AMGEN scholar)
- 2019 Andrea Thurnheer (Internship)
- 2018 Vira Chea (Master Project)
- 2018 Alex Baillifard (Master Thesis)
- 2018 Julia Kan (Internship, Medical Student)
- 2018 Cosmina-Maria Matioc (Amgen Scholar)
- 2018 Özgen Eren (Master Thesis; together with IBM Research Zürich)
- 2018 Surya Häne (Master Project)
- 2017 Seraina Domenig (Master Thesis, nominated for ETH medal)
- 2017 Max Hess (Master Thesis)
- 2017 Anna Bircher (Master Thesis)
- 2017 Yannik Trabesinger (Maturaarbeit: «Ein Schlüssel zur Unsterblichkeit - Rejuvenation mit C. elegans». Recognized with appraisal of excellence from Kantonsschule Wattwil)
- 2017 Özlem Altintas (Internship)
- 2017 Kieran Toms (Amgen Scholar/Medical Student)
- 2017 Mariam Baghdady (Bachelor Thesis)
- 2017 Nadine Herrmann (Internship)
- 2017 Kateryna Selcuk (Master project)
- 2017 Julia Bertschinger (Maturaarbeit)
- 2017 Cindy Somsak (Maturaarbeit)
Misc
Check out our YouTube channel: EwaldLab
Swiss Society for Aging Research
We are members of the Swiss Society for Aging Research (SSFAR)
Swiss Society for Matrix Biology
We are members of the Swiss Society for Matrix Biology (ssmb)
GENiE Member
We are a member of the GENiE network that connects young research labs across Europe that work with the model organism C. elegans. Link to our GENiE profile.
ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich Life Science Zurich Graduate School
We are a member of the Molecular Life Science PhD program at the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich Life Science Zurich Graduate School.
Recommended Reading
C. elegans
Sydney Brenner (1974) The Genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans.
Corsi, A.K., et al. 2015. A Transparent Window into Biology: A Primer on Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 2015 Jun;200(2):387-407. doi: 10.1534/genetics.115.176099.
Aging Research
Herndon, L.A. et. al., 2002. Stochastic and genetic factors influence tissue-specific decline in ageing C. elegans. Nature. 24;419(6909):808-14.
Kenyon, C.J., 2010. The genetics of ageing. Nature, 464(7288), pp.504–512.
López-Otín, C. et al., 2013. The hallmarks of aging. Cell, 153(6), pp.1194–1217.
Scott, C.T., 2015. Selling long life. Nat Biotechnol. 2015 Jan;33(1):31-40. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3108.
Advice for young researchers
Alon, U., 2009. How to choose a good scientific problem. Molecular cell, 35(6), pp.726–728.
Martin Chalfie. 2014. The Secret to Getting the Postdoc You Want
Peter Walter: On Careers and 42
Richard Axel. 2018, Neuron, 99(6), pp.1110–1112. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.003
Night science. Itai Yanai & Martin Lercher
Genome Biology volume 20, Article number: 179 (2019)Writing tips
Marder, E., 2019. Love writing. eLife, 8:e45734 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.45734
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/six-things-to-do-before-writing-your-manuscript
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/11-steps-to-structuring-a-science-paper-editors-will-take-seriously
Novelist Cormac McCarthy’s tips on how to write a great science paper
Hide Editor Panel. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02918-5
Beautifully presented papers
Additional Resources:
The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.
The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
Is It Real? Can We Win? Is It Worth Doing?: Managing Risk and Reward in an Innovation Portfolio
Recommended Video
Extracellular matrix
Cell–Extracellular Matrix Mechanobiology
C. elegans
For scientist joining my lab, we use wormbase.org on a daily bases.. hence, watch this.
http://blog.wormbase.org/2019/08/02/wormbase-workshop-talks-at-the-2019-iwm-available-on-youtube/
Recommended Nobel lectures
Sydney Brenner
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2002/brenner/lecture/
H. Robert Horvitz
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2002/horvitz/lecture/
Marty Chalfie
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2008/chalfie/lecture/
