Jan Lichtenberg

Using a unique and patent-protected cell-culture platform, InSphero is the first commercial producer of organotypic, scaffold-free, three-dimensional microtissues for drug development and screening. InSphero provides solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies in the fields of oncology and toxicology. The company, a spin-off of ETH Zurich and the University Zurich, is supported by Venture Kick and CTIstartup.

Hocoma AG is the world leader in advanced functional rehabilitation technology. Responsibilities include: Product development strategies. Full profit/loss responsibility for R&D and Product Management with >30 staff. Management from concept to realization, clinical trails, market launch and product maintenance. Coordination with external consulting, development and subcontracting services. Documentation and certification according to FDA standards, IEC 60601 medical devices regulation and CE.

Managing the research and development team with hard- and software designers. Field of activity: electronic underwater instruments for recreational and professional divers. Project management of complete product-development cycles from specification to prototype design to mass fabrication. Focus on ultra-low-power circuitry, ASIC design and embedded-software development. Intensive test and validation activities in accordance with medical-device directives.

AMMT is world market leader for speciality wet etching equipment for silicon, glass, quartz and porous silicon. Responsibilities as CEO: R&D management of the product groups “Wafer Handling Systems” and “Electrochemical Etching Systems” (corporate research, product design and development, transfer into production, technical and marketing documentation, product certification), hardware and software engineering for analog instrumentation electronics, embedded control and PC-based data acquisition software.

Team leader of the microfluidics and biosensor research group, deputy director of the Physical Electronics Laboratory at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Research interests include: Microchemical analysis of single cells, microfluidic sample handling (including pumping, particle filtering, mixing), microchip-based capillary electrophoresis systems with conductivity detection, time-of-flight DNA sizing, fluidic sensor packaging, CMOS-based biosensors and scanning-probe sensors.

Microfluidic devices for small-molecule analysis based on electro-separation techniques, DNA fragmentation and analysis and sample pretreatment.