Ueli Suter

Biography

Ueli Suter is currently working as professor, Department of Biology of ETH Zurich.

Research Interest

Glia cells, oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, wrap their plasma membranes around axons to organize myelinated fibers, enabling rapid conduction. Development, maintenance and repair of such fibers depend on highly regulated communications between neurons, glia cells, and the specific environment. Disturbances of this exquisitely balanced signaling system contribute critically to many neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, leukodystrophies, diffuse white matter injury in preterm infants, inherited and acquired neuropathies, with a likely extension to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cognitive disorders. We study the molecular mechanisms that regulate neuron-glia interactions and the individual roles of the cell types involved in development, myelination, neural maintenance, plasticity, and repair after injury and in disease.