EPFL EDBB PhD Open Positions in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Switzerland

About the Position

EPFL EDBB open PhD positions across 15+ labs in biotechnology and bioengineering on the Lausanne campus. Swiss doctoral salary (~CHF 55,000+ gross/year). Next admission deadline: 1 November 2026.

What EDBB Is

The Doctoral Program in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (EDBB) is one of EPFL's discipline-specific doctoral gateways. Instead of a single vacancy, the EDBB open positions page functions as a rolling noticeboard: labs across the Lausanne campus advertise PhD openings there, and candidates apply either through the EDBB doctoral programme or directly to an advertised project. EPFL's life sciences and bioengineering campus - home to the Institute of Bioengineering, the Brain Mind Institute and the Global Health Institute - concentrates an unusually dense mix of wet-lab biology, microengineering and instrumentation.

Currently Advertised Projects

Open positions and group leaders (as listed on the official page)

Project	Group leader
Nanophotonic digital biosensing for diagnostics	Hatice Altug
Multivalent aptamer design and discovery	Maartje Bastings
Cryogenic correlative microscopy for 3D nanoscale imaging	Georg Fantner
Mechanisms of programmed centriole elimination in C. elegans	Pierre Gönczy
Microfluidic platform for next-generation Live-seq	Orane Guillaume-Gentil
Engineering synthetic microbes for sustainable production	Markus Jeschek
Protein engineering for optogenetics and neuro-immune-cancer interactions	Yoon Kim
Cell-free synthetic biology and synthetic cells	Sebastian Maerkl
Mitochondrial contact site dynamics	Suliana Manley
Host-pathogen interactions and antimicrobial strategies	Alexandre Persat
Neuromorphic architectures with bio-solid-state nanopores	Aleksandra Radenovic
Cellular mechanics and cilia arrays	Guillermina Ramirez-San-Juan
Hydrogel acoustic metamaterials	Yujia Zhang
DNA nanotechnology for advanced fluorescence microscopy	Florian Schueder
Engineering human models of childhood brain cancer	Fides Zenk

Funding and Employment

What a Swiss PhD contract looks like

Component	Details
Employment	Doctoral candidates are employed, not granted - a Swiss employment contract with social security.
Salary	EPFL's basic doctoral-assistant salary starts from around CHF 55,225 gross per year (2026 scale) and rises with seniority.
Contract shape	Typically an initial fixed-term contract renewable through the four-year doctoral period; 100% activity rate.
Tuition	Doctoral tuition at EPFL is nominal and covered within the employment framework.

Deadlines and How to Apply

Application routes

Route	Details
EDBB admission deadline	The doctoral programme's next application deadline is 1 November 2026; EDBB runs several admission rounds per year.
Individual positions	Each advertised project may carry its own closing date - some ads close earlier than the programme deadline, so read the individual advert.
Materials	A single PDF with motivation letter, detailed CV and at least two references is the standard package; a few labs ask for direct email contact instead.
Platform	Only applications through the official online platform (or the contact route named in each ad) are considered.

Who Should Apply

This page suits candidates with a master's (or equivalent) in life sciences, bioengineering, microengineering, chemistry or physics who want a PhD inside an engineering-flavoured biology environment. The spread of projects - from cell-free synthetic biology and aptamer design to cryogenic microscopy and neuromorphic nanopores - means the right fit depends less on your exact degree title and more on which lab's tools and questions you want to own for four years.

About EPFL

EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) is one of Europe's leading technical universities, sitting on the shores of Lake Geneva. Its doctoral programs are organised as EDBB-style schools that centralise admission, training and career development, and its graduates move easily into Swiss biotech, pharma and deep-tech employers.

Official Link

• Official advert and application (verified link)
• EDBB doctoral programme overview (official)

Contact

Questions about this position, eligibility or the application process should be raised through the contact channel given on the official announcement page (see the Official Link section above). Always quote the position reference in your message so the admissions or HR team can route your enquiry quickly.

Important Notes

• Application deadline: 1 November 2026 - late or incomplete applications are normally not considered.
• Listing details were recorded from the official source at the time of publication; always confirm the latest requirements on the official page before applying.
• Prepare the documents listed in the eligibility and application sections before starting the online form - transcripts, CV and references take the longest to collect.

Application guides

• How to Email a PhD Supervisor: 7 Templates and Practical Tips
• How to Read a PhD Job Advert: Funding, Eligibility and Application Steps
• Academic CV for PhD Applications: Structure and an Example

How to Apply

Submit your application through the official portal before the deadline: 1 November 2026. Read the eligibility requirements carefully and prepare all requested documents — early applications are strongly recommended for competitive awards.

Open the official application page ↗