Lab News

One of our postdocs, Matthias Muhar, secured a group leader position at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany in November 2025 and will set up his own research group in “Functional genomics of proteome remodeling”. His lab will study how cells remodel their proteome during differentiation. His research will combine high-throughput genetics, proteomics, and chemical biology approaches to understand how protein homeostasis is regulated in neurons and other highly specialized cells of the human body. We wish him every success as he embarks on this next chapter and look forward to the exciting developments ahead for his new lab!

More information on the research focus of Matthias’s group can be found here.

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We are delighted to announce that Fedor has successfully defended his PhD. During his doctoral research, Fedor demonstrated remarkable dedication and perseverance, focusing on the directed evolution of RNA-guided nucleases to enhance homology-directed repair (HDR) in mammalian cells. His outstanding work advances the precision and efficiency of genome editing, contributing valuable tools to the fields of functional genomics and therapeutic gene correction. Congratulations, Dr. Gorbenko!

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We are happy to announce that Seba has successfully completed his PhD, built on passionate and persistent research into synthetic lethality in the DNA damage response —research that deepens our understanding of how cells cope with genetic stress. Cheers. Dr. Siegner!

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Huge congratulations to Moritz on the successful defense of his PhD thesis! His outstanding and dedicated work led to the development of scOUT-seq (single-cell Outcomes Using Transcript sequencing), a powerful and scalable technology that enables joint profiling of transcriptomes and matched multi-allelic editing outcomes. Great job, Dr. Schlapansky!

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Marie received her PhD in Life Sciences jointly from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute in January 2025, where she worked with Dr Stephen West. In October 2025, Marie joined the Corn Lab as a postdoctoral researcher to apply gene-editing technologies to explore the dark genome. Her broader research interests include protein homeostasis in human health and genetic approaches to study protein quality-control mechanisms.

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Tabea received her MSc in Cell Biology from ETH Zurich in June 2024. She joined the Corn Lab in October 2025 as a PhD student investigating the interplay between epigenetics and the DNA damage response. Her research interests include DNA repair, functional genomics and genome editing technologies.

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Kasandra Balzaretti obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) in 2024. She is currently enrolled in the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Master’s program at ETH Zurich. In spring 2025, Kasandra completed a semester project in the Corn Lab, and in October she returned to the lab to begin her Master’s thesis, which focuses on characterizing the mechanisms and kinetics of the DNA damage response in mature post-mitotic neurons.

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Lan Wang is currently enrolled in the Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Master’s program at ETH Zurich. She joined the Corn Lab in September 2025. For her Master’s thesis she is investigating the mechanisms of multiple organelle clearance in human red blood cells.

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The Corn lab came together for a lively retreat in Kiental, Berner Oberland on August 27–28. Over two inspiring days, we combined productivity with fun through dynamic speed talks, a “failed experiments” showcase, time management strategies and a manuscript writing session. Alongside the workshops, lab members had the chance to exchange ideas, strengthen collaborations, and enjoy the beautiful mountain surroundings.

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Dora obtained her Master’s degree in Chemistry from ETH Zurich in 2019, where she conducted research on the Synthesis of trypanothione reductase inhibitors in the Diederich group (Chem. Eur. J., 2019) and Templated length-controlled oligomerization in the Wennemers group (Faraday Discuss., 2023). In May 2025, Dora joined the Corn Lab as a PhD student to investigate how cells sense and respond to genetic perturbations. Her research focuses on uncovering how transcriptional adaptation shapes phenotypic variability and contributes to disease-relevant traits.

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