Education, research and translation in the Gloria Cube (GLC)
The Gloria Cube (GLC) laboratory and research building is an architectural eye-catcher in the university quarter and at the same time an address where teaching, research and knowledge transfer - in the immediate vicinity of the University Hospital and the University of Zurich - are centred around health and medicine.
ETH Zurich's Gloria Cube is located on Gloriastrasse in the Zurich City university district and is a modern laboratory and research building. The cube-like building with its characteristic glass block façade provides space for the laboratories and offices of 16 research groups from the Departments of Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST) and Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET).
Located in the immediate vicinity of the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and the University of Zurich (UZH), the building also supports translation - the process of transferring scientific findings into medical applications. To this end, ETH Zurich has set up a technology platform in the GLC building. The Digital Trial Intervention Platform supports the implementation of medical research and clinical studies.
The building also contains seminar rooms and an innovative learning centre for training: the Skills Lab. Here, medical students can acquire and consolidate basic skills for everyday medical practice.
The research groups and laboratories in the GLC building are:
The Exercise Physiology Lab, led by Christina Spengler, examines how the human body functions and how its various organs act together. The goal is to maintain and improve health, performance and quality of life, at every fitness level. To achieve this, the team also develops devices and methods, as well as personalized training strategies for athletes up to patients in rehabilitation. The researchers share their knowledge, among other ways, through practical examination courses with over four hundred students each year from health sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, and medicine.
Nicole Wenderoth's Neural Control of Movement Lab investigates how the human brain controls behavior and flexibly adapts to our environment. The group is particularly interested in how the human brain acquires and controls new movements and how it recovers from injury or slows down degeneration. The group uses the latest technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to study and modulate the activities of the brain. In addition, the group promotes the translational development of technologies into medical innovations.
Bill Taylor's Laboratory for Movement Biomechanics focuses on understanding both health and diseased movement patterns of the human body. Researchers in the team investigate how motion relates to the forces that act in the muscles and on the joints, as well as the associated degenerative changes that occur in injury and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Through the targeted development and application of advanced experimental and computational techniques, the group aims to support doctors in clinical decision-making towards improved functional outcomes.
Stephen Ferguson's Laboratory for Orthopaedic Technology conducts research into musculoskeletal diseases that affect individual health as well as the economy and society. These include disc degeneration, back pain, bone fractures and joint diseases that restrict mobility. The researchers are gaining new insights into the biomechanical behaviour of joints and tissue. They use modern technologies, innovative bioactive materials, and computational simulations to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.
Ralph Müller's Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics investigates how bones are constructed and how they function. The group combines biological and engineering approaches for biomechanical models of bone at the molecular, cellular and organ level. Furthermore, it uses biomechanical tests, tissue engineering, biomedical imaging and computational simulations to analyse musculoskeletal tissues. In the lab at the GLC, researchers use cutting-edge biofabrication and imaging equipment to create detailed bone models and track their development. This work could lead to new treatments in regenerative medicine, helping to heal and rebuild bones more effectively. Their findings might pave the way for new treatments in regenerative medicine.
Xiao-Hua Qin's Group for Micro-Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials studies human bone biology in the Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics. Bone is a living organ that is constantly remodeled throughout human life. The group develops micro-engineered human in-vitro bone models in which the bone tissue is reconstructed in the laboratory using novel biomaterials. These models make it possible to study the biological causes of bone remodeling outside the body. The group’s findings serve as the basis for new therapeutic approaches in regenerative medicine.
Roger Gassert's Rehabilitation Technology Laboratory develops new technologies for the rehabilitation of people with neurological disorders (e.g. stroke, Parkinson's disease). It focuses on understanding the restoration of sensorimotor impairments that affect sensations (sensory) and the ability to move muscles (motor). The researchers use robots, wearable sensor technology and neuroimaging to support people with neurological injuries. For example, those affected learn to move their hand again using a hand exoskeleton.
Robert Riener's Sensory-Motor Systems Lab is elaborating new treatment approaches in which robots support people with neuromuscular impairments in regaining their ability to move. These rehabilitation robotics approaches include both individualised therapies for neurological diseases and impairments, as well as devices to support people in their everyday lives. The laboratory also deals with techniques to study movement learning and performance enhancement in sport. In the laboratory facilities of the GLC building, the group tests exoskeletons for arm therapy, wearable exosuits to support movement, measuring devices for climbing sports and robotic beds to improve sleep.
Simone Schürle-Finke's Medical Microsystems Lab develops diagnostic and therapeutic systems at the nano and micro scale. On the one hand, the researchers are developing tools that can be used to study disease mechanisms at the cellular level and "in vitro", i.e. outside of living organisms and in controlled environments. On the other hand, they are developing responsive micro- and nanosystems that help diagnose or treat diseases with minimal invasion. These are tiny technological systems that are suitable for the early detection of diseases, for example.
Viola Vogel's Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology uses the latest findings from molecular mechanobiology for medical applications with a focus on regenerative medicine. The group investigates how cells in the body react to physical factors such as mechanical forces and material properties. It also investigates how these forces change healthy and pathological processes in the body. The group also uses mechanobiological concepts to explain potential causes of currently incurable, inflammation-related degenerative diseases or cancer.
Michael Siegrist's Consumer Behavior Group investigates the behavior of consumers. The group researches the perception, acceptance, and behavior of consumers in relation to new technologies, food and the environment. One focus is on decisions regarding healthy and unhealthy consumption behavior. Consumer attitudes towards emerging food technologies (e.g. genetic engineering, nanotechnology) ultimately affect consumer acceptance and public concerns.
In the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Laboratory, Klaas Prüssmann's Magnetic Resonance (MR) Technology and Methods group is dedicated to advancing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for biomedical research and healthcare applications. MRI is an imaging technique that gives researchers and doctors an insight into the human body. The group specialises in high-field MRI to produce clearer images, dynamic MR imaging so that patients do not have to lie still for so long during the examination, and special sensors and software that make MR images even more accurate.
In the Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Sebastian Kozerke's Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Group is developing new imaging approaches to advance the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. To this end, imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy are combined with computer modelling and artificial intelligence. The group is developing an application for low-field MRI that is simpler and cost-effective and makes MRI imaging available to cardiovascular patients who previously had little access to this examination method.
Marco Stampanoni's X-Ray Imaging and Microscopy Group works on novel X-ray based instruments and methods for non-invasive investigations of samples at various length scales, ranging from single cells up to humans. The group mainly develops around cutting-edge synchrotron facilities and translates the novel technologies to conventional X-ray sources. In the laboratory in the GLC building, the group investigates novel X-ray based radiological methods for better diagnostics in clinical applications.
Klaas Enno Stephan's Translational Neuromodeling Unit uses the latest sensors to measure the tiny magnetic fields that arise during neuronal activity in the brain. The use of these sensors - so-called optically pumped magnetometers (OPM) - makes the measurement of brain activity more comfortable, as a test subject can move freely. The TNU is also developing mathematical models of brain function – so-called computational assays – for enabling more precise recognition of psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses and individualised treatments.
Janos Vörös’ Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics develops new electronic biosensors to enable point-of-need diagnostics and single protein sequencing. In addition, the lab conducts fundamental research on single cell mechanobiology and neuroscience. The researchers build controlled neural networks on microelectrode arrays in order to understand how the brain processes and stores information. They use the generated knowledge to create human in vitro models of nervous system diseases so that they can investigate these diseases outside the living organism.
The Digital Trial Intervention Platform (dTIP) is an ETH Zurich technology platform for medical human research. The platform aims to translate research findings into new medical solutions. The platform provides ETH researchers with infrastructure and expertise so that they can assess novel treatment approaches for efficacy, safety, and application in practice. The dTIP team supports researchers both in conducting clinical studies, which must comply with strict scientific standards, and in regulatory issues relating to the framework conditions. The site in the GLC building has two state-of-the-art rooms for clinical trials as well as laboratories for the preparation and follow-up of clinical trials. The services provided by the dTIP further include clinical project management, data management , and comprehensive on-site study management. Chair of the Steering Board is Jörg Goldhahn.
The GLC building also houses rooms for health science and medical training: In addition to six seminar rooms, there is also an innovative learning centre:
The Skills Lab @ETH has been offering medical students a practice-orientated learning and training space since summer 2023. Here they can learn and improve basic medical skills. A typical example is the introductory course in thyroid and neck sonography, which teaches the use of ultrasound technology. Other courses include ultrasound-guided venipuncture, a suturing course and the placement of peripheral catheters to administer intravenous infusions in the forearm or hand. In most courses, students learn with and from advanced students. The skills lab rooms in the GLC are equipped with modern equipment such as patient couches, stationary ultrasound devices, mobile Butterfly IQ ultrasound devices and other material. An additional examination room is available if required.