Team

Staff Members

Dr. David Penton Ribas
Head of the Electrophysiology Core Facility
Phone: +41 44 635 48 35
Send an e-mail

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
Send an e-mail

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. Additionally, I am interested in the circadian regulation of neuro-endocrine function. Outside of the lab, I like to hike and snowboard in the mountains, take pictures of the night sky and play chess.

Rita Alexandre Coelho
PhD Student
Send an e-mail

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.

Nadine Weber
PhD Student
Send an email

I grew up in Bern and moved to Zurich to study Biomedicine at the University of Zurich. I completed my master's thesis at the University Children's Hospital Zurich, where I studied drug combinations to treat childhood acute myeloid leukemia. I am now pursuing a PhD in Cancer Biology at the Electrophysiology Core Facility, where I will explore peptide-based strategies to inhibit the calcineurin-NFATc4 interaction as a potential therapy for primary aldosteronism. Outside the lab, I enjoy being outdoors and spending time with friends, trying different sports and learning new languages.

Tim Wey
PhD Student
Send an email

I am originally from Nidwalden and completed my Bachelor’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Master’s in Drug Sciences at the University of Basel. For my Master’s thesis, I worked in the Laboratory of Molecular Systems Toxicology led by Alex Odermatt, where I investigated xenobiotics that disrupt steroidogenesis. After graduation, I joined Numab Therapeutics as part of the Cell Biology team, where I contributed to characterize multispecific antibodies for cancer and inflammation projects. I am now pursuing a PhD in Cancer Biology at the Electrophysiology Core Facility, supervised by David Penton Ribas and Felix Beuschlein. In my PhD project, we investigate functional heterogeneity in primary aldosteronism at the single-cell level. Outside of research, I enjoy snowboarding, ski touring, and bouldering.

Administrative Staff


Michael Cooper	Julian Schmautz
Administrative Assistant	IT Specialist
Phone: +41 79 696 78 94	Phone: +41 79 508 65 39
Office: Y42H94	Office: Y42H09

Alumni

Name	Year	Now
Dr. Maria-Constanza Maldifassi, Senior Scientist	2024-2025	Associate Professor at Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
Athena Schumacher, Research Associate	2025	Master Student in Yale University
Dr. Maria Isabel Bahamonde Santos, Senior Scientist	2020-2022	Senior Researcher in Barcelona
Agnieszka Wengi, MSc	2023-2024	Laboratory technician in the Beuschlein Lab and lecturer at ZHAW

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.