Professor Soldati receives the Egon Naef Foundation Prize for in vitro research
Professor Soldati, Department of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2026 Egon Naef Foundation Prize for In Vitro Research (FENRIV). This award recognizes his innovative work throughout his career aimed at developing alternative methods to animal testing.
Professor Soldati obtained his PhD in 1990 from ETH Zurich for his work on the cytoarchitecture of muscle cells under the supervision of Professor Jean-Claude Perriard. In 1991, he joined Stanford University (USA) for a postdoctoral fellowship devoted to the role of Rab GTPases in endosomal membrane trafficking with Professor Suzanne Pfeffer. In 1995, he began his independent research at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg (Germany), where he studied the cellular and molecular mechanisms of endocytosis and phagocytosis. After being appointed lecturer at Imperial College London in 2001, he finally joined the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Geneva in 2004, where he set up his research laboratory. He was appointed associate professor in 2012 within the same department.
His current research aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying autonomous cellular immunity against pathogenic bacteria. To do this, his team uses a model host organism, Dictyostelium discoideum. This amoeba is used as a genetically and biochemically tractable system, free from ethical constraints. This model allows the study of host-pathogen interactions, particularly the infection by a mycobacterium related to the one responsible for human tuberculosis. This model has proven to be particularly effective and predictive to unravel the mechanisms of membrane repair and restriction of intracellular infection by xenophagy. This model also provides an exceptional platform for screening anti-infective compounds that could one day contribute to the fight against tuberculosis. This work therefore actively contributes to the implementation of the 3Rs principles (Replace, Reduce, Refine), which has already led to the award of the University of Geneva's 3R Prize University of Geneva's 3R Prize in 2019.
Created in 1998 in Geneva, the Egon Naef Foundation supports innovative experimental approaches that limit vivisection and promote ethical and scientifically robust alternatives to animal testing. The award highlights the impact of the laureate research on reducing the number of animals used and their suffering.
The award ceremony will take place on January 31 in Geneva, in the presence of members of the Foundation, the scientific community, and institutional partners.
In 2019, in the frame of 3R award reception, Professor Soldati was presenting his research allowing to reduce animal experimentation using amoeba.
25 Jan 2026