Prof. Dr. Martin Ackermann

Martin Ackermann has been SNF Professor at ETH Zurich since 2006, Associate Professor since August 2008 and Full Professor of Microbial Systems Ecology since 2015.

Martin Ackermann was born in Schwyz in 1971. He studied Biology at the University of Basel and did his PhD with Urs Jenal and Steve Stearns in Basel on aging in bacteria. After his PhD he worked for two years as a postdoc with Lin Chao at UC San Diego. In 2004 he joined Sebastian Bonhoeffer's group at ETH Zurich.

The group of Martin Ackermann is working on fundamental questions on the ecology and evolution of bacteria: on interactions within and between species, on how bacteria cope with ever-changing environments and how the properties and functions of microbial communities emerge from the activities of individual cells and interactions between them. The group often works at the level of single cells, and asks how this perspective provides insights that could not be obtained by population experiments. It aims to develop basic principles with model systems in the laboratory, and then to test these principles in more natural situations. The ultimate goal is to further our understanding of the biology of bacteria in nature (including in associations with hosts), and to also provide insights that are of practical use for controlling and harnessing bacterial activities.