Team

Staff Members

Dr. David Penton Ribas
Head of the Electrophysiology Core Facility
Phone: +41 44 635 48 35
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I was born in Havana, Cuba, and studied Biochemistry at the University of Havana. After earning a master's in Molecular Biology, I moved to Regensburg, Germany, where I pursued a PhD in Physiology in Richard Warth's lab, focusing on ion channels and adrenal steroidogenesis. After a postdoc in France, I joined Jan Loffing's lab at UZH in Zurich to study kidney ion regulation. In 2020, I founded the Electrophysiology Core Facility (e-phac), which I now lead. Alongside managing e-phac, I also lead a research group focused on the renal and adrenal regulation of ion homeostasis and blood pressure. You can find more about our research interests here. In my free time, I enjoy road bike riding, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. David Colameo
Senior Scientist
Phone: +41 44 635 95 31
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I grew up in Baden, Aargau and I studied Biology and Neuroscience at the University of Zurich. During my master thesis in the group of Steven Brown, I used single-molecule RNA-FISH to visualize circadian-controlled transcripts at synapses. From 2018 to 2023, I performed my doctoral research under the supervision of Gerhard Schratt at ETHZ where I studied microRNAs controlling excitatory and inhibitory synapse strength during homeostatic plasticity and sleep. Now, I work at the Electrophysiology Core Facility where I establish high-throughput and high-content techniques and perform electrophysiology experiments for customers as a service. Outside of the lab, I like to hike and snowboard in the mountains, take pictures of the night sky and play chess.

Dr. Maria Constanza Maldifassi
Senior Scientist
Phone: +41 44 635 38 40
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I am a Biochemist from the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso PUCV Chile, and in the year 2014 I obtained my PhD in Pharmacology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid UAM Spain. Here I studied the role of ion channels, specifically of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, in immune cells. After finishing my PhD, I have continued investigating ion channel structure-function and their roles in physiological processes such as inflammation and secretion, working in diverse laboratories in Switzerland (University of Bern), Chile (Universidad de Valparaiso), and USA (California Institute of Technology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine). Currently I am working as a Senior Researcher in the Electrophysiology Facility at the University of Zurich. You can read about my current projects here. When not in the lab, you can find me hanging out with my family.

Rita Alexandre Coelho
PhD Student
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I’m from the sunny country of Portugal. I am starting my PhD in Cancer Biology under the supervision of Dr. Felix Beuschlein and Dr. David Penton Ribas. My project focuses on rare familial cases of primary aldosteronism (PA) with the goal to develop novel therapies based on drug repurposing using high throughput methods. I did my bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology, followed by a master’s degree in biomedical research with a specialization in aging and chronic diseases from NOVA Medical School in Lisbon. In my free time you can easily catch me with a book, on the beach or hanging out with friends.

Administrative Staff

Michaela Cooper
Administrative Assistant
Phone: +41 79 696 78 94
Office: Y42H94

Julian Schmautz
IT Specialist
Phone: +41 79 508 65 39
Office: Y42H09

Former Members:

Dr. Maria Isabel Bahamonde Santos 2020-2022
Agnieszka Wengi, MSc 2023-2024

Strategic Scientific Network (SSN)

The Strategic Scientific Network (SSN) is a consulting instrument created by e-phac and comprising world-renown electrophysiologist’s that are leaders in their specific research fields. The SSN will support e-phac’s broadening range of projects with the implementation of the latest developments in electrophysiology.