Viola Vogel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Viola Vogel
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|---|---|
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Citizenship |  Germany |
| Education | Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry |
| Awards | Philip Morris Research Award (2005) Julius Springer Award (2006) NAE Member (2020) NAS Member (2021) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | biophysics bioengineering |
| Institutions | University of Washington (1990-2003) ETH Zürich (2004-) |
| Doctoral advisor | Hans Kuhn |
Viola Vogel (born 1959) is a German scientist. She is an expert in biophysics and bioengineering. Biophysics is about how physics works in living things. Bioengineering uses engineering ideas to solve problems in biology and medicine.
Professor Vogel works at ETH Zürich in Switzerland. She is a leader there, heading the Department of Health Sciences and Technology. She also runs a special lab called the Applied Mechanobiology Laboratory.
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About Viola Vogel
Viola Vogel was born in 1959 in Tübingen, a university town in what was then West Germany. She studied science and earned her doctorate in 1988. For her excellent work, she received an Otto Hahn Medal. She did this research with Hans Kuhn at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry.
Early Career and Research
After her doctorate, Vogel spent two years at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1990, she moved to the University of Washington in Seattle. There, she started a new program focused on molecular bioengineering. From 1997 to 2003, she was the first director of the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Washington. Nanotechnology is about working with tiny materials, often at the size of atoms and molecules.
In 2004, Professor Vogel moved to ETH Zürich in Switzerland. She first joined the Department of Material Sciences. Later, in 2012, she helped create the Department of Health Sciences and Technology. Since 2015, she has also been part of the Wyss Translational Center in Zürich. In 2018, she became an Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Berlin Institute of Health.
Helping European Research
In 2020, a European leader named Mariya Gabriel chose Professor Vogel for an important job. She was asked to join a special committee. This committee helped find the next president for the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC supports scientific research across Europe.
Viola Vogel's Research Discoveries
Professor Vogel's research looks at tiny pieces of living tissue. She studies their mechanical properties, which means how they move, stretch, and react to forces. Her goal is to create new technologies based on these discoveries.
Understanding Cells and Forces
Her work explores how molecules build themselves into larger structures, a process called molecular self-assembly. She also studies cell adhesion, which is how cells stick to each other and to surfaces. Her lab also investigates how living things build materials like bones and tissues.
Professor Vogel has made important discoveries about proteins. She found that when proteins are stretched, their function can change. She also learned how cells sense and react to physical forces. These findings are very useful in many areas, including:
- Stem cell differentiation: How stem cells turn into different types of cells.
- Tissue growth and regeneration: How tissues grow and repair themselves.
- Angiogenesis: The process of forming new blood vessels.
- Cancer: Understanding how forces might play a role in cancer development.
Awards and Honors
Viola Vogel has received many awards for her scientific work.
- In 2005, she won the Philip Morris Research Award.
- In 2006, she shared the Julius Springer Award for Applied Physics.
- In 2018, she was chosen to be a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
- In 2020, she became a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.
- In 2021, she was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2023, she was elected an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
