Fundamental and applied research are two sides of the same coin
Annette Oxenius has been appointed ETH Vice President for Research. From 1 August 2025, she will assume responsibility for research development and promotion at ETH Zurich. The 56-year-old Swiss national is an esteemed immunologist and professor at the ETH Department of Biology.
In brief
- At the request of the President of ETH Zurich, Jo?l Mesot, the ETH Board has appointed immunologist Annette Oxenius as a member of the ETH Executive Board.
- From 1 August 2025, Oxenius will succeed biomedical scientist Christian Wolfrum as new ETH Vice President for Research.
- The Swiss national completed her doctorate at ETH Zurich in 1997 and has been an ETH professor in the field of immunology since 2002.
Annette Oxenius is one of the world's leading experts in the field of immunology. As professor at the ETH Department of Biology, she examines how the body’s own immune defences against viral infections work. From 1 August 2025, she will be responsible as Vice President for Research for ensuring that the underlying conditions for research at ETH Zurich remain optimal.
“We wish to contribute to the solution of pressing problems in Switzerland and the world and to remain competitive as an internationally leading university. I am therefore delighted that Annette Oxenius has been selected as new Vice President for Research. She is optimally qualified for this job. She will be able to support the Executive Board actively with her experience so that ETH Zurich continues to attract talent,” says ETH President Jo?l Mesot. He adds: “I sincerely thank the departing Vice President for Research, Christian Wolfrum, for all he has done and wish him all the best for the future.”
Annette Oxenius was already known at school for her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Oxenius, who grew up in F?llanden in Canton Zurich and attended secondary school in Zurich, was not only interested in natural and life sciences in her youth: “I enjoyed practically all subjects at school, especially literature in connection with history,” she recalls. She was already attending lectures before she took her Matura school-leaving certificate. Based on her impressions, she decided in 1988 to study biochemistry, molecular biology and immunology at the University of Zurich.
It was her internship at the Institute of Experimental Immunology that sparked her interest in immunology. This laboratory was pioneering in immunological research between 1980 and 2006 under the leadership of Hans Hengartner (University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) and Rolf Zinkernagel (University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich). Oxenius found its culture of collaboration and international outlook so motivating that she wrote her Master’s and doctoral theses under the supervision of the two immunologists. She obtained her doctoral degree in 1997 at ETH Zurich.
Two key experiences:
Nobel Prize and Gene Protection Initiative
She experienced up close Rolf Zinkernagel receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1996 for his discovery of how the immune system identifies and destroys virus-infected cells. “I was working in the laboratory when I heard the news on the radio. I immediately wanted to congratulate Rolf. When I arrived at his small office, there were already around 20 journalists standing there and I couldn’t get past,” she explains.
Oxenius’s formative experience with media and politics followed two years later: in 1998, the Swiss electorate voted on the Gene Protection Initiative proposing to ban all kinds of genetically engineered procedures on animals, plants and microorganisms. In order to illustrate the benefits and necessity of genetic engineering, Swiss scientists at the time organised events including a demonstration in Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse with addresses in Bürkliplatz.
“That’s the only demonstration I have ever attended and it was an unforgettable experience,” recounts Oxenius. She additionally took part in panel discussions in the run-up to the referendum – with ambivalent impressions: “I didn’t feel it was a discussion if someone simply stood up for their own viewpoint and didn’t respond to the others.” Hans Hengartner sent her on an intensive media training course where she learnt how to assert herself argumentatively against tough questions and controversial statements. “I then found these politicised panel discussions easier.”
Gene protection experience helped with Covid
The experience of 1998 helped her during the coronavirus pandemic. As a member of the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force she was less in the spotlight than others – a conscious decision: the broad-based information of the Task Force appeared more credible if only the President of the Task Force communicated. “The focusing of communication was important for gaining the trust of policymakers. At the end of the day we scientists do not draw up policies ourselves but support policymakers in their decisions by supplying evidence-based information.”
Early career in Oxford, appointment in Zurich
In 1999, Annette Oxenius moved to England. She spent three years researching at the University of Oxford under the immunologist Rodney Phillips, who was famous for his HIV research. His influence was reflected in her introductory lecture in 2003 in which she presented new approaches for strengthening the immune response to HIV infections (see ETH video portal). Her appointment as Assistant Professor of Immunology at ETH Zurich came in 2002, shortly after her return from England. “Setting up my own research group was a major challenge that I have been able to rise up to.”
While application-oriented research of HIV took priority at the start of her professorship, Oxenius was soon focusing on fundamental research. “I’m interested in the immune system and how certain immune cells respond to infections,” she explains. She investigates the adaptive immune cells, the B and T lymphocytes that in the case of infections neutralise the exogenous bacteria or viruses and destroy infected cells.
From viral infections to new cancer treatments
Oxenius’s most important finding concerns chronic viral infections such as HIV for which, unlike influenza, the viruses are not completely killed off but remain in the body. Her group was able to demonstrate with mice that well-regulated immune defences are crucial for fighting chronic infections because otherwise the immune system will overreact, which can have fatal and ultimately mortal consequences for animals and humans.
An interesting finding of this research was that the mechanism that controls the immune defences against viral infections also works with tumours. “Experimental animal research into immune regulation for chronic infections has facilitated new and effective approaches to cancer treatment,” says Oxenius. Immune cell therapy aims to adjust the regulation of the immune response so that the immune cells kill off the tumours in a targeted manner.
Commitment to fundamental research
is a matter of the heart
Annette Oxenius’s work shows in an exemplary manner how fundamental research can lead to effective treatments, even if there is no specific application in focus at the beginning. With a view to her office as Vice President for Research, she concludes: “Fundamental and applied research are both necessary for innovation in science and industry. Both must be supported in a balanced manner.” And she adds: “Not all financially supported research needs to yield practical benefits immediately. All this does is to prompt empty promises.”
“Fundamental and applied research are both necessary for innovation in science and industry.”Annette Oxenius
The request concerning the Vice Presidency came as a surprise, but Oxenius had no hesitancy in accepting: “I only accept mandates for which I know that I can contribute towards solutions. As research at ETH is something very close to my heart, I am very happy to champion our cause of maintaining our high standards of research and attracting the most talented young researchers.”
Oxenius cites freedom of research, research ethics, open science and evidence-based solutions to issues such as the climate, sustainability, materials, AI and medicine as crucial underlying conditions for cutting-edge research. She considers the major challenges of ETH research to include the safeguarding of funding, the upholding of the university’s leading international position, recruitment of the best brains and the promotion of interdisciplinary research, e.g. through cross-departmental and interdisciplinary centres.
In her role as Vice President, Oxenius intends to make use of her experience gained as a member of the ETH Research Commission and the Expert Panel of the ERC Consolidator Grant. “As Vice President I wish to lead in a participatory manner and incorporate the expertise of specialists.” This is what she did from 2020 until 2022 when she was in charge of the Department of Biology together with Professors Sabine Werner and Julia Vorholt. They discussed all motions submitted to the Professors’ Conference as a team in order to draw up balanced proposals and took into account the expertise of the department administration.