Student Projects

Here is a list of some of our actual student projects. However, note that we are also accustomed to tailor the project on the expertise and interests of each student. If you are interested in learning more you can contact the project responsibles or Janos Vörös..

Minimal Brain Circuits, Maximal Insight: Engineering Neuronal Microcircuits and Computational Models to Study Brain Disease

Can we build a human brain model that is simple enough to understand, yet realistic enough to teach us something meaningful about brain disease? This project aims to develop human brain microcircuits-on-chip: tiny, engineered networks of neurons grown from human stem cells. Using high-density microelectrode arrays, we can stimulate these circuits, record their activity, and study how they process information. By combining experiments with computational modeling, we aim to uncover how brain diseases disrupt neural communication and explore whether potential treatments can restore healthy function. The project offers a unique opportunity to combine neurobiology, engineering, electrophysiology, and computer science. Depending on your interests, the work can be tailored towards experimental research, computational modeling, or a combination of both.

Keywords

Computational Neuroscience, Neuroengineering, Brain-on-Chip, Human Stem Cells, Electrophysiology, Microelectrode Arrays, Machine Learning, Neural Circuits, Disease Modeling, Information Processing, Brain Disorders, Data Analysis, Neurobiology.

Labels

Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)

Description

The human brain is one of the most complex systems we know. Every thought, memory, or movement emerges from billions of neurons communicating through trillions of connections. At the same time, the behavior of these neurons is determined by countless molecular processes happening inside individual cells. This makes brain disorders particularly challenging to understand. A mutation in a single gene may alter the function of a protein, which changes how neurons communicate, which affects neural circuits, and ultimately influences how a person thinks, learns, behaves, or experiences the world. While we can often identify the genetic cause of a disease and observe its clinical symptoms, understanding what happens in between remains one of the biggest challenges in neuroscience. To bridge this gap, we need experimental models that capture meaningful aspects of brain function while remaining simple enough to understand. Current stem-cell-derived brain models often fall at two extremes: randomly connected neuronal cultures are easy to study but capture little of how the brain processes information, while organoids can become so complex that it becomes difficult to record activity and assess function. In this project, we take a different approach. Using human stem-cell-derived neurons, microfabricated devices, and high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs), we build small, well-defined neural microcircuits. These microcircuits contain excitatory and inhibitory neurons arranged in a controlled architecture that allows them to receive input, perform elementary computations, and generate measurable output—just like the fundamental building blocks found throughout the brain. We combine these experiments with computational models and machine-learning approaches that help us translate electrical recordings into mechanistic insight. In other words: rather than simply observing that a circuit behaves differently, we want to understand why. Ultimately, our goal is to develop human brain models that reveal disease mechanisms that are genuinely relevant to patient brain function and that can be used to test potential therapeutic interventions in a controlled and scalable way. Depending on your interests, projects may involve cell culture, electrophysiology, microscopy, data analysis, signal processing, machine learning, or computational modeling.

Goal

Contact Details

More information

Open this project...

Published since: 2026-06-04 , Earliest start: 2026-07-20 , Latest end: 2028-04-27

Organization Biosensors and Bioelectronics (LBB)

Hosts Doorn Nina

Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Mathematical Sciences , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology , Physics

Simulating the Interfacial Nanopore: Enhancing Fundamental Understanding of the Governing Nanoscale Dynamics

The solid-state nanopore has become a powerful tool for label-free single-molecule detection, characterising DNA and RNA structures, with recent work demonstrating the ability to detect protein structure information. Studying single-cells requires us to push this protein characterisation further, with the interfacial nanopore one approach to achieving this. In this project, you would simulate and compare with empirical data the properties of the solid-state interfacial nanopore for single-molecule detection and characterisation.

Keywords

Biophysics, Single-molecule, Simulation, Nanopore

Labels

Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis

Description

Goal

Contact Details

More information

Open this project...

Published since: 2026-03-26 , Earliest start: 2026-04-01 , Latest end: 2027-04-01

Organization Biosensors and Bioelectronics (LBB)

Hosts Cronk Justin

Topics Physics

Bioengineered iPSC-Derived Neural Networks on High-Density Microelectrode Arrays for Studying Pathological Changes in Alzheimer’s Disease

Are you interested in uncovering how Alzheimer’s disease disrupts communication in the brain — and exploring new ways to study and possibly intervene in this process? In this project, you will use cutting-edge microfluidic platforms to construct bioengineered neural networks that better mimic the structure and function of brain microcircuits. These networks, established from human iPSC-derived neurons, will be studied throughout their development using high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs), enabling detailed tracking of their electrical activity at high spatiotemporal resolution. You will introduce Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology into the networks and investigate how it alters connectivity, signaling patterns, and neural responses to stimulation over time. The project offers a unique opportunity to combine experimental work in cellular neuroscience with computational analysis of neural network function. Depending on your background and interests, your work can be directed more toward wet-lab techniques (e.g., cell culturing, immunostaining, confocal imaging, electrophysiology) or toward data analysis and modeling (e.g., signal processing, graph theory, information theory).

Keywords

Neuroengineering, Neurodegenerative Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, iPSC-derived Neurons, Bioengineered Neural Networks, Microfluidics, Microelectrode Array, Electrophysiology, Neural Network Analysis, Graph theory, information theory, Neural plasticity, In Vitro Disease Modeling, Stem Cell Technology.

Labels

Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)

Description

Goal

Contact Details

More information

Open this project...

Published since: 2026-02-26 , Earliest start: 2026-01-05 , Latest end: 2027-03-31

Applications limited to ETH Zurich

Organization Biosensors and Bioelectronics (LBB)

Hosts Winter-Hjelm Nicolai

Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology , Physics