Patrick Matthias

Patrick Matthias (Switzerland) studied molecular biology at the University of Geneva and obtained his PhD in 1985 from the University of Heidelberg. He was postdoctoral fellow first at the University of Zürich and then at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical research/MIT. He is now Senior Group Leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel since 1991 and Professor at the University of Basel since 2004. His research group has long been studying cell-specific transcription regulation mostly in B cells. They examined in particular chromatin regulators and transcription factors such as Oct2 and OBF1 and demonstrated for example their essential role for the germinal center reaction. More recently, the group has focussed on histone deacetylases and in particular HDAC6, an atypical enzyme which they showed to be important for the stress response and infection by influenza and other viruses. The research group uses a broad range of methods, including generation of genetically modified mice, biochemistry, functional genomics and proteomics. Patrick Matthias has received an number of large research grants, such as from the Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology SystemsX.ch and including an ongoing ERC Synergy grant to study the role of HDAC6 and ubiquitin chains in viral infection.

Besides other functions, Patrick Matthias has been President of the Forum for Genetic Research of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences and the Vice-President of Life Sciences Switzerland (LS2), the largest Life Sciences society and network in Switzerland.