Prof. Alexander Schier

• Workplace: Biozentrum, University of Basel

• Link(s): Group's webpage, Twitter

• Biography: Alex Schier received a B.A. in cell biology from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Switzerland, followed by a PhD in cell biology under Walter J. Gehring, also at the Biozentrum. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University in Boston, US. In 1996, Schier was recruited as assistant professor in the Developmental Genetics Program to the Skirball Institute and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine. From 2005 to 2019, he was a professor at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He chaired the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology from 2014 to 2017.

In 2018, Schier became the Director of the Biozentrum of the University of Basel as well as Professor for Cell Biology. His research was featured in Science “Breakthrough of the Year 2018”. He is an elected member of EMBO and NAS.

• Current activities/ scientific goals: Schier studies the mechanisms underlying embryonic development and the regulation of sleep in vertebrates. During development, cells acquire specialized fates and migrate to specific positions to form the embryo and generate functional organs. His goal is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this process. How do signals move through fields of cells and elicit concentration dependent effects? How do cells differentiate into specialized cell types? How do cells arrive at the right place at the right time? And how can embryogenesis be both robust and flexible?

To address these questions, Schier uses genetic, genomic, biophysical and in vivo imaging approaches in zebrafish.

In a second line of research Schier studies sleep and wakefulness. We spend a third of our life asleep but the mechanisms that control sleep and waking states remain largely elusive. His lab seeks to identify molecules and neurons that regulate sleep and the neuropeptides that promote sleep and wakefulness. What are the neurons that detect sleep deprivation and regulate recovery sleep? What is the role of genes that have been implicated in human sleep disorders? To address these questions, Schier uses genetic, genomic, and imaging approaches in the fish and mouse.