Research Stories
New insights into stress and resilience, innovative treatments for cancer and rare diseases, effective ideas for combating poverty, suggestions for a balanced diet, calculated environmental risks and healthy longevity: discover how research at UZH finds answers to the challenges of our time and helps build a resilient society.
Around one quarter of people in Switzerland say they often feel stressed. At UZH, researchers from across the disciplines are investigating the things that burden us – and what helps us build resilience, both as individuals and as a society.
Resilience relies on two main characteristics: flexibility and the ability to maintain balance. This means that we benefit from being able to adapt to changing circumstances and to regain balance in crisis situations. UZH economist Thorsten Hens states, “Being resilient means being flexible like a reed that can bend in a storm, but stands back up once the storm has passed.”
Individual coping mechanisms for stress are the focus of an interdisciplinary team working alongside psychologist Birgit Kleim and neurobiologist Isabelle Mansuy. “Many people think resilience is a fixed personality trait, or that there’s even a resilience gene. But that’s unlikely,” says Birgit Kleim. The human brain can learn to deal with stress, and insights from the lab offer new perspectives for successful resilience training.
Colin Shaw is following an interesting line of inquiry into the causes behind stress. The anthropologist argues that, from an evolutionary perspective, our bodies are not adapted to modern urban environments, where constant stimulation overwhelms our nervous systems. Biologically speaking, we are still hunter-gatherers. According to Shaw, the forest is the closest approximation to our original living conditions.
Trying to find an apartment in the city is a stressful situation for many, and the housing shortage is currently a common source of anxiety. UZH is taking part in the SNSF Responsible City project, which is seeking solutions. Geographer Frances Brill sums it up: “Housing is a human right. That’s why we have to consider every measure in terms of who benefits from it – and who loses out.”
Walking a Tightrope
Chronic stress affects both body and mind, with serious consequences for our health. An interdisciplinary team at UZH is studying how this happens – and what makes us strong in the face of stress.
Into the Woods
Chronic stress is on the rise – the result of an evolutionary mismatch that our bodies and brains, adapted over hundreds of thousands of years to hunter-gatherer conditions, are experiencing in industrialized, urbanized environments, argues evolutionary anthropologist Colin Shaw. Is there a remedy?
The Looming Threat of Demolition
For many people, finding an apartment in Zurich has become a living nightmare. Extremely low vacancy rates, mass evictions and rising construction costs are exacerbating the situation. Researchers at UZH are investigating the crisis and putting it into conversation with experiences in Geneva.
Trump’s Wrecking Ball
The Trump administration wants to strengthen the US economy and bring back manufacturing jobs. In reality, it often pursues the opposite of what makes an economy strong and resilient – an analysis.
Lost in Bad News
Every day, we are confronted with a cascade of bad news, which can weigh us down. Communication scientist Anne Schulz is investigating how we can stay informed without harming our mental health.
Onward to Rome
Migration puts society to the test. This has always been the case, according to historian Sebastian Scholz. We list five insights from the time of the Migration Period and the early Middle Ages that can improve how we approach this issue.
New treatments for cancer and rare diseases, clinical applications for artificial intelligence and gender-specific symptoms: researchers at UZH are contributing to a clearer understanding of serious illnesses and paving the way for more effective treatments.
Medical research at UZH represents a fundamental shift away from standardized treatments and towards precise, personalized and data-based therapeutic approaches, bringing basic research, clinical studies and digital technologies closer together. This is also why UZH is promoting a better understanding of gender-based differences in medicine.
Some of the most visible progress has been made in cancer research. Scientists at UZH are developing methods that directly target the metabolism and adaptive mechanisms of tumors. One team showed that a specialized diet avoiding certain amino acids can amplify the effectiveness of a drug approved for the treatment of tumors of the nervous system in children and significantly inhibit tumor growth in pre-clinical models. Over the next four years, pediatric cancer research will receive special funding: the Swiss federal government has allocated CHF 16.99 million to the Children & Cancer project run by UZH and the University of Lausanne. “The Federal Council’s decision is an absolute game changer for us,” says Jean-Pierre Bourquin, professor of pediatric oncology at UZH.
There is also significant innovation in diagnostics and digital tools for individualized cancer treatments. For instance, a newly developed urine test will make prostate cancer screening more precise and less invasive. At the same time, data-based decision-making aids are being introduced to the clinical setting: a new AI tumor board analyzes genetic profiles, imaging data and clinical studies to assist doctors in planning the best possible therapy – even for rare diseases. The University Research Priority Program ITINERARE explores these diseases with the aim of developing new therapies.
Researchers at UZH are pushing boundaries across the board. One project is looking into how brain tumors reprogram the immune system’s phagocytes to prevent T cells from fighting the tumor cells. Meanwhile, a study analyzing the world’s largest heart attack data sets using artificial intelligence is opening up new avenues in understanding patient history and providing more differentiated treatments. At the same time, recent advancements in robotic surgery are enabling new levels of precision in the operating room.
Programs such as the Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich are bringing together these developments and combining basic research, clinical studies and technological innovation – from CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancer to new treatment strategies for oligometastatic tumors.
Beyond Women’s Hearts
Our understanding of gender- and sex-specific differences in medicine is growing. International experts presented the current state of research and clinical practice at the upcoming 1st Swiss Gender Medicine Symposium in Bern.
Targeted Diet Enhances Effects of New Childhood Cancer Therapy
A research team from the University of Zurich and the University Children’s Hospital Zurich has developed a new approach for treating children with malignant tumors of the nervous system. By combining an approved drug with a specialized diet, they were able to slow down tumor growth and stimulate cancer cells to mature into normal nerve cells.
Muons and Childhood Cancer
The University of Zurich has been chosen to host two new National Centers of Competence in Research, providing long-term support for cutting-edge work in childhood cancer diagnostics and treatment as well as in muon research.
New Urine Test for Prostate Cancer Screening
It is well known that men are reluctant to see a doctor, especially a urologist. As a result, there is a risk that prostate cancer will be detected too late. A simple urine test may be able to minimize this risk in the future. This test is being developed by the spin-off ONTRACK Biomedical.
Digital Assistant for Cancer Treatment
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the ability to advance precision cancer treatment by using data to predict the course of the disease with greater accuracy. This saves resources and, more importantly, precious time. The “AI tumor board” will help to establish AI at both the University Hospital and the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich.
Poisoned Bodies
Many rare diseases affect the body’s metabolism. They can be a challenge for the patients affected as well as for researchers. The University Research Priority Program ITINERARE explores these diseases with the aim of developing new therapies.
Tricky Tumors
Brain tumors hijack the body’s immune system and exploit it for their own benefit. Neurosurgeon Jenny Kienzler is researching ways to prevent this – with the aim of establishing the basis for a completely new therapeutic approach.
AI Analyzes World’s Largest Heart Attack Data Sets
A landmark international study led by the University of Zurich has shown that artificial intelligence can assess patient risk for the most common type of heart attack more accurately than existing methods. This could enable doctors to guide more personalized treatment decisions for patients.
Checkpoint Inhibitor Promotes Tissue Repair
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are well known as a form of cancer treatment. Researchers at UZH have now identified a new, important function of these inhibitors: promotion of tissue healing. This finding could help advance the treatment of fibrosis and chronic wounds.
Operating with a Robot
José Oberholzer was among the first in the world to perform organ transplants using robotic assistance. Today, he conducts research into cell therapies for diabetes, transplants kidneys and pancreases, and mentors the next generation of surgeons.
A High-Resolution View of Cancer Cells
For roughly 400 years, microscopes have allowed us to observe increasingly smaller details. Today’s most advanced instruments can peer deep into living cells, helping researchers study diseases such as cancer and improve therapies. Several research groups at UZH are working toward this goal.
Bringing Personalized Cancer Research to the People
The Comprehensive Cancer Centre Zurich (CCCZ) demonstrates what precision medicine can already achieve today: cancer therapies that target specific areas and spare healthy tissue. Clinicians, researchers and teaching staff work closely together here to translate scientific findings into treatment more quickly.
How can poverty be tackled more effectively? How can companies be held accountable and equal opportunities be ensured for everyone? UZH researchers are addressing pressing questions about how to create a more just world. These issues are also the focus of the Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy, which Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will establish at UZH.
Good research can change lives. The work of Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee is a prime example of this. For years, the two development economists have been working to combat poverty by carrying out carefully designed field experiments around the world. These studies often yield surprising results. In Kenya, for example, the researchers found that deworming treatments helped children attend school more regularly, improving their prospects for higher incomes and better health later in life.
Many such studies have since been conducted at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. Duflo and Banerjee co-founded the lab with the aim of developing concrete measures for making people’s lives easier and promoting fairness.
In recognition of their groundbreaking research, Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics. In 2025, the two researchers decided to move from MIT to the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics at UZH, where they will each hold a professorship endowed by the Lemann Foundation and establish the Lemann Center for Development, Education and Public Policy together starting in the summer of 2026.
UZH researchers from a broad range of disciplines are working on various aspects of how to create a more just society. Legal scholar Christine Kaufmann studies human rights and how to promote responsible business conduct. On behalf of the International Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), she updated guidelines for responsible business conduct that are adhered to by 52 countries. Switzerland has some catching up to do in this respect. “Corporate responsibility needs to be regulated more consistently and more clearly in Switzerland,” Kaufmann states.
The American Dream promises that hard work will be rewarded with happiness. Our faith in meritocracy forms the basis of our accomplishment-oriented Western society. But does everyone truly have a chance at making it? UZH economist Ernst Fehr explains, “Equal opportunities means that everyone starts with the same, but that’s all but impossible. Family, financial and educational backgrounds differ too widely.” That is why good, affordable education and fair taxation are so important, Fehr argues. His fellow UZH economist Florian Scheuer researches how taxation can be made more equitable.
It is also important to note that fairness is not only quantifiable in economic terms – it is also about abstract values such as recognition and appreciation. These factors are examined in research conducted by political scientist Silja Häusermann.
Tailored Development Aid
From deworming programs for schoolchildren in Kenya to protecting vulnerable communities in India from the impacts of climate change: Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee use experimental approaches and concrete interventions to combat poverty. Their work earned them the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019. They discuss their approach in our interview.
Dirty Water, White Gold
Human rights are often recognized by businesses but not sufficiently enforced. The key factor is to name specific problems – contaminated drinking water, for example – rather than debating ideological principles, says legal scholar Christine Kaufmann.
A Level Playing Field for All
A meritocratic system that rewards performance only works if everyone gets a fair start. Economists Ernst Fehr and Steven Ongena explain how accessible, affordable education, a functioning health and social security system, and equitable taxation all help.
Helping Those Left Behind
Social decline – or just the fear of it – is pushing people to vote for far-right parties. But trust in government rises when those struggling feel genuinely valued and receive the right support, says political scientist Silja Häusermann.
Rebalancing the Tax Burden
There’s no easy way to achieve fair taxation. It takes a bundle of pragmatic measures to close loopholes, minimize false incentives, and tax work and capital evenly. Ultimately, however, taxes are the product of political negotiation, according to historian Mathieu Leimgruber and economist Florian Scheuer.
Can Fair Decisions Be Calculated?
Political decisions often create winners and losers. This can’t always be avoided, but as research by economist Maya Eden shows, predictable and transparent criteria can help minimize unfairness.
Access to calories is more convenient than ever before – at least in Western consumer societies. But our bodies are not built for this overabundance, as evolutionary medicine expert Nicole Bender posits. “Biologically and genetically, our bodies haven’t changed since the Neolithic period,” says Bender. This is at odds with modern nutrition and its industrially produced foods saturated with high concentrations of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and sugar, while lacking in vitamins and fiber.
“Our body is programmed to avoid starvation; it is not equipped to deal with an overabundance of nutrients,” agrees Thomas Lutz. The veterinary physiologist studies how poorly adjusted nutrition disrupts our hormone balance, leading to serious consequences including obesity and diabetes. He has researched principles for a new weight-loss medication based on the hormone amylin, which can reduce sensations of hunger and slow gastric emptying.
Our eating habits take a long time to change. Nutritional scientist Sabine Rohrmann and psychologist Sebastian Bürgler explore why that is and what strategies and treatments can help us re-balance our nutrition.
One way to bring our nutrition more in line with our biological makeup is fasting. Alternate-day fasting – the practice of switching between normal eating days and fasting days with little to no food intake – is particularly effective, as shown in a recent study by obesity researcher Philipp Gerber. But fasting also has a spiritual dimension. For theologian Ralph Kunz, it offers a moment of reflection, a tangible break from everyday habits that creates space for humility and attentiveness.
Built for Fish, Not Fast Food
The modern world offers an abundance of convenience foods. But our Stone Age physiology isn’t built for modern diets, which are taking their toll on our bodies. Expert in evolutionary medicine Nicole Bender has some tips on how we can deal with this dilemma.
The Habits of Healthy Eating
Our eating habits are often unhealthy and take a long time to change. Psychologist Sebastian Bürgler and nutritional scientist Sabine Rohrmann explore why that is and what we can do about it.
The World Is Getting Fatter
We eat too much and move too little. This state of affairs can disrupt our energy levels, potentially causing us to become overweight or obese. Physiologist Thomas Lutz and obesity specialist Philipp Gerber are researching how overweight people can get back on track.
Global Warming Causes Cropland Areas to Shrink
With rising temperatures, the cultivation areas of many important crops, such as wheat, corn, and potatoes, will shrink. The subtropics are particularly affected. Animated diagrams and interactive maps in the article show the extent of the decline under various climate scenarios.
Choosing to Abstain
In today’s secular world of abundance, fasting has lost its religious necessity – yet it has made a comeback as a form of “detox.” Theologian Ralph Kunz and psychologist Lisa-Katrin Kaufmann explain why voluntarily going without food can still serve a purpose today.
Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575) engaged in prolific written correspondence. For more than 50 years, the Zurich reformer exchanged letters with around 1,000 individuals, including pastors, politicians, counts and countesses throughout Europe and Switzerland, as well as relatives and acquaintances. Bullinger left behind some 12,000 letters – 2,000 that he wrote himself and 10,000 that were sent to him.
Over the past five years, the Department of Computational Linguistics has digitized this extensive correspondence, completing the project last summer. Now, the digitized letters are not only readily available to researchers in theology and linguistics, but to anyone interested in the history of the Reformation in Zurich.
This chapter of history is inexorably linked to UZH. Beginning in 1525, a group of pastors, canons and students gathered in the Grossmünster in Zurich to read and translate the Bible together. These sessions, which became known as the “Prophezey,” were an early foray into higher education in Zurich – and a precursor of UZH. Last year, the 500th anniversary of this historic moment was celebrated with several events at the university’s Faculty of Theology and the Study of Religion.
Digital technologies not only make it easier to access and study historical documents such as Bullinger’s letters – they also offer new perspectives on the past. For instance Felix K. Maier, professor of ancient history, utilizes AI image generation to create historically informed visualizations of scenes from antiquity and derive new lines of inquiry. “The more intensely we engage with AI-generated images, the more they stimulate our historic imagination,” he explains.
The technology-driven societal transformation we are experiencing today offers exciting new perspectives, but it also has its downsides. One example is on-demand employment with flexible working hours brokered via digital platforms. “This can mean that someone is always on call, yet still ends up with insufficient hours to earn a living wage at the end of the week,” says labor geographer Karin Schwiter. In a project funded by the European Research Council, she is studying the problem of underemployment in Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands to develop solutions for policymakers and businesses.
Societal transformation is also reflected in language use. “Languages are dynamic, constantly adapting to communication needs,” says Romance linguist Johannes Kabatek. Research shows that Switzerland has long grown beyond the four languages traditionally associated with the Confederation. This rich linguistic diversity is the topic of a new book, Sprachenräume der Schweiz, subtitled “Languages and Space in Switzerland”, published in 2024.
Bullinger’s Treasure Online
12,000 letters from the correspondence of Zurich reformer Heinrich Bullinger have been digitized and published online. Artificial intelligence and citizen science campaigns contributed to parsing the historic handwriting and proper names (article in German).
Zwingli, God and UZH
It is five hundred years since reformer Huldrych Zwingli held Bible study classes in the Grossmünster church. They were the start of what, centuries later, would become the University of Zurich. In Zwingli’s time, the church shaped the world. Today, its influence is in decline. What voice does theology still have in society?
Acknowledge the Good
When we talk about morality, we tend to think about guilt, blame and punishment rather than praise, says philosopher Pascale Willemsen. She aims to change this by conducting experiments about the social rules of praise.
When AI Meets Ancient Rome
A centurion wearing sneakers and shades? AI image generators sometimes take serious liberties with history. Researchers in classical studies have now developed a tool that creates images of antiquity that are grounded in history, offering fresh insights and perspectives.
The Downside of Part-Time Work
UZH labor geographer Karin Schwiter has been awarded one of the coveted ERC Advanced Grants from the European Research Council. Over the next five years, she plans to study the problem of underemployment in Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands.
Multilingual Switzerland
Switzerland long ago stopped being a quadrilingual country. It is now a multilingual one. A recently published book – Sprachenräume der Schweiz, subtitled “Languages and Space in Switzerland” – analyzes this shift and illuminates linguistic diversity in Switzerland.
Remote sensing technology enables researchers at UZH to analyze the devastating 2025 landslide in Blatten as well as environmental damage caused by industrial activity. This also allows more reliable predictions about the risks of future environmental catastrophes.
In May 2025, a landslide above Blatten in the canton of Valais buried most of the village under a mass of debris. Soon after this catastrophic event, remote sensing specialists from UZH flew over the affected area using various sensors to collect the first full range hyperspectral data from the site of the collapse and the debris cone.
“This data provides much more detailed information about the nature of the debris cone than the previously available photographs,” says Mathias Kneubühler from the Department of Geography at UZH. Researchers in the fields of geology, glaciology and ecology can now use this data to obtain the clearest possible picture of the situation in Blatten and its potential future developments.
Alexander Damm-Reiser also analyzes environmental damage via remote sensing. His research project, Spatial Sustainable Finance, uses satellite data to document the condition of ecosystems near industrial plants and raw material extraction sites. The project has been awarded the Geospatial World Excellence Award for Environmental and Societal Impact. “Remote sensing allows an insight into ecosystems that just isn’t possible with the naked eye,” says Damm-Reiser.
Environmental analyses also form the basis for research conducted by geographer Holger Frey. He is studying what could happen if debris, ice or water start moving by developing models that show how rockslides, ice avalanches and water masses spread over the terrain, and where and how water and debris flow. These findings help predict where critical incidents could occur and how people can protect themselves from the impact.
It is not only landslides and rockfalls that pose risks: the FOEN report on climate risks also warns about smaller-scale, localized flooding. “Usually, flooding is triggered by rainfall,” says Daniel Viviroli, whose research interests include the impact of climate change on flooding. Because making reliable predictions about flooding is difficult, simulations and models can help here, too. For example, Viviroli and his team have modeled the run-off characteristics of Switzerland’s rivers using real weather data from the last 90 years. These models help us understand how often flood peaks occur and their potential magnitude.
Wounded Rainforest
Alexander Damm-Reiser uses satellite data to analyze biodiversity, ecosystems and environmental damage and capture the results in images. Among other things, this makes it possible to assess the ecological footprint of companies objectively and independently.
Research Begins on Landslide in Blatten
In May of 2025, a landslide above Blatten in the canton of Valais buried most of the village under a mass of ice, mud and rock, an event that has prompted in-depth research. Remote sensing specialists from the University of Zurich measured the debris cone from above. Analyzing the data will help prepare for future events.
Landslides and Heavy Rainfall
Natural hazards such as avalanches and flooding are likely to become more frequent in Switzerland. UZH geographers are working to improve predictions of where they could occur and what the impact will be.
