Swiss Research Institute for High Mountain Climate and Medicine (SFI)

Brief Overview

The Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF) started in 1905 as the Tuberculosis Research Institute Davos.SIAF was developed as a department of the foundation Swiss Research Institutes for High Altitude Climate and Medicine Davos (SFI) in 1988. SIAF is an affiliated institute of the University of Zurich since 1995 and member of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School since 2008. The research at SIAF is focused on a patient-relevant translational research and investigation of immunological principles of asthma and allergic diseases to find new preventive and curative treatments with a focus on immune tolerance, epithelial barrier, microbiota.

Research Areas

Asthma\Biomarkers\Cell biology\Epithelial cell\Immunology

Host center eligibility

Global fellowships (return phase only)\ European fellowships

Research infrastructure/facilities

SIAF is equipped with upfront technologies for human immunology, sequencing, orbitrap proteomics, cytof imaging, cytof, all possible 2D and 3D cell cultures of epithelial cells, innate lymphoid cells and other immune system cells, confocal microscopy, cell sorting, multicolor flow cytometry, BSL3 lab for respiratory virus cultures, for human asthma research that has been pursued at the front level with a main emphasis given on patient-relevant research.

Research funding/Resources

Swiss National Science Foundation: Dysregulated epithelial barrier function in asthma. Role of epigenetic regulation and inflammasome in epithelial barrier in asthma and atopic dermatitis, 2018-2022.
Christine Kuhne Center for Allergy Research: Mechanisms of Allergic Diseases
CURE: “Constructing a ‘Eubiosis Reinstatement Therapy’ for Asthma” is proposing a phage therapy that could control the immune dysregulation of the disease and may eventually be able to cure it. European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 767015.

Links to non-academic sector

Collaborative research projects with GSK, and Novartis on Asthma Biobanking and Registry.
Direct collaboration with Christine Kuhne Center for Allergy on mechanisms of allergic diseases. Research and Eucation and Hochgebirgsklinik Davos for patient material and clinical studies.

Experience hosting international researchers, career development & training programmes, outreach activities

SIAF has approximately 40-45 coworkers. Almost half of them are from outside Switzerland. There is long term tradition to host international scientists. Currently there is 6 postdocs from China, 1 from Japan, 2 from The Netherlands, 2 from Turkey, 2 From Italy, 1 from Columbia, 4 from Germany other than the Swiss Scientists. There is good harmony and efficient social environment to develop an international collaborative environment. Scientific, seminars, education and daily language is English. So far more than 20 professorships, 15 Habilitations and 62 doctoral education has been given to international SIAF scientists during the last 20 years. WE had one big international Marie Curie Network that enabled many visiting scientists as well as Swiss Polish Research Project that enabled the visit of several scientists. There is also short term fellowship program between 3 months and 6 months which was used by 72 scientists during the last 10 years