https://www.adl-lab.com/publications daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/e1b38a9b-0560-46a6-9292-bb132c189e6c/4_Publications_v2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/73755d2f-69cf-4fa7-b350-efc8c08098f7/0_Figure_TOC_v1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/6838e8e3-d615-4ce2-929e-2a57ccf2a73d/0_TOC_Figure_v1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/4a8791a2-73f1-4f87-896a-be31ed2b6a7f/TOC.jpg https://www.adl-lab.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/f8e9c007-8301-4fff-a911-7688767c5155/5_Contact2.png https://www.adl-lab.com/home daily 1.0 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/02f906d0-b367-4f89-8274-8a5dcaa88d60/HT8.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/f49a5463-7f9b-4160-af4c-c1fc173f5022/Home_research3.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/b7f7f70b-9f1e-4ec1-9894-1cc0548ab41d/2024_christmas_event_cropped.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/c4a86f00-cf27-4625-9855-e019e9a7a0ba/escaperoom_group.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1656674846668-K1Y27R3M8G0J22AN9NYR/2021-Group-photo-merge.jpg https://www.adl-lab.com/sandro daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1637593443475-5UOHOGZ7ZLHZOAE1T4EW/Sandro-Fischer2.JPG Sandro Fischer - Sandro Fischer I got my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Basel and stayed there to continue with a Master’s degree. Becoming more interested in biochemistry, I joined the group of Prof. Thomas R. Ward for my master thesis. There, I worked on the development of a metathesis catalyzing artificial metalloenzyme based on HaloTag. During this project, I was supervised by Ali, whom I followed to Zürich to pursue a PhD. In my free time, I love playing tennis and doing sport in general, playing cards and board games, and drinking a beer with friends. https://www.adl-lab.com/team daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1645727117920-5Z50UC1QJ1EGB70XD0Y3/test.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1637593443475-5UOHOGZ7ZLHZOAE1T4EW/Sandro-Fischer2.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1637592690060-WZFAYGHEWW8T2ZCOQKY4/APN.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/97e52249-3ab9-4482-b29c-788149605597/PhD_Sofiia.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/5142b8a4-18c1-4d9a-b634-b5160597ee0d/PhD_Alexander.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/ee925bf9-aec4-4213-b378-221b9faa8086/PhD_Ferrara_Denise.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/85e2ffb7-957d-4d0f-b1fa-1645b1baa8d0/PhD_Pratheek.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/ad2f0709-21d7-425c-9282-e01d79ef7dab/2024_christmas_dinner.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/c4a86f00-cf27-4625-9855-e019e9a7a0ba/escaperoom_group.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1652195782420-VSQC72LN46KO72ULFW00/IMG_1140_crop.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/282d6713-c774-47db-80bc-3837ad98a9e0/2024_christmas_event.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1656675430337-M3HAPQZCEO68RPJ5DRWR/20220600-Gradschoolretreat.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1656674846668-K1Y27R3M8G0J22AN9NYR/2021-Group-photo-merge.jpg https://www.adl-lab.com/research daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/b5df67d1-18bb-43e4-b60f-d5a3fc2d1ed2/Research_foci_map.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1d0c0255-f6df-4de7-9313-b52ee2751288/Research_ncAA.png https://www.adl-lab.com/ali daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1645727117920-5Z50UC1QJ1EGB70XD0Y3/ADL ADL-personal - Alexandria (Ali) Deliz Liang Ali completed her undergraduate work at New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL, US). She then obtained her PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA, US) working in the laboratory of Stephen J. Lippard. After her PhD, she was an NSF postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Jason W. Chin (MRC, Cambridge, UK) and a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Thomas R. Ward (UniBas, Basel, CH). In 2021, she joined UZH as part of the Chemistry department and Digital Society Initiative (DSI). In addition to science, Ali enjoys hiking, reading, programming, and cooking. https://www.adl-lab.com/anton daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1637592690060-WZFAYGHEWW8T2ZCOQKY4/APN.jpg ANa-personal - Anton Natter Perdiguero I grew up in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and received my BSc and MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from ETH Zurich. After two research projects in molecular biology and biochemistry I became interested in protein engineering, so I decided to join the group of Prof. Andreas Plückthun at the institute of Biochemistry of the University of Zurich for my Master’s thesis. My work there focused on antibody engineering for the treatment of acute COVID-19 using a shielded retargeted Adenovirus gene therapy platform. After graduation, I continued to work on my master’s project towards a preclinical application. Following my passion for proteins and seeking to expand my expertise towards enzyme engineering, I joined the lab of Prof. Alexandria Deliz Liang in November of 2021 as a PhD student. Outside of the lab, I am a film enthusiast and enjoy playing card and role-playing games with friends and family. https://www.adl-lab.com/benjamin daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/1637593242650-59KG07Z2W3T4C9TCD4JI/MAB.JPG MAB-personal - Benjamin Manser My passion in chemistry was sparked in high-school and led me to study chemistry at the University of Basel, where I obtained my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. For my Master’s thesis I joined the group of Prof. Thomas R. Ward where I worked on artificial metalloenzymes based on the biotin-streptavidin technology which introduced me to biochemistry. Intrigued by the field of biochemistry I decided to join Ali, whom I met during my time in the Ward lab, for a PhD in Zurich. Outside of the lab I enjoy cooking, skiing and hiking, as well as playing computer games and drinking a beer with friends. PhD student: Nov 2021 - Feb 2026 Catalytic pKa Attenuation in a Hydrolytic Metalloenzyme by Genetic Code Expansion Manser BP, Deliz Liang A*. 2026, Biochemistry: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00768 https://www.adl-lab.com/sofiia daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/97e52249-3ab9-4482-b29c-788149605597/PhD_Sofiia.JPG Sofiia-personal - Sofiia Bolkhovetska I must thank my great teachers at my school in Kyiv, whose passion for their subjects sparked my interest in chemistry and biology and made the choice of university major feel easy. I earned my bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Vienna. During my undergraduate studies, I discovered the intriguing field of computational chemistry. Since I could not imagine giving up laboratory work, I pursued two master’s programs at the same university. For my master’s thesis in the computational science program, I worked in the group of Prof. Thierry Langer on applying pharmacophore models in machine learning classification tasks. I pursued biological chemistry as my second master’s program and conducted my thesis at Boehringer Ingelheim in Biberach, Germany. I focused on peptides and assay development to study their activity in relevant tissues. The highlight of my master’s studies was the introduction to protein expression, and I am very glad to have the opportunity to join the ADL Lab for my PhD, where I am working on cell-free protein synthesis and its applications in directed evolution. In my free time, I enjoy reading, jogging, playing the piano, and getting out in nature. . https://www.adl-lab.com/alex daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/5142b8a4-18c1-4d9a-b634-b5160597ee0d/PhD_Alexander.JPG Alex-personal - Alexander Walter Alexander Walter received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Zurich. For his thesis, he worked in the lab of Prof. Martin Jinek on the structural and biophysical characterization of novel antiviral defense systems. After graduating he conducted research in the lab of Prof. Andreas Plückthun where he supported structural and functional studies of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR’s). He then conducted research as a Senior Research Associate at F. Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel where he supported small and large molecule drug discovery projects with X-ray structure determination, protein analytics, and electron microscopy experiments. Following his interest in protein engineering, he joined the lab of Prof. Alexandria Deliz Liang as a PhD student where he is investigating novel experimental and computational methods for protein and enzyme engineering. In his free time, he enjoys taking care of his dwarf pufferfish aquarium, hiking, and playing board games with friends and family. https://www.adl-lab.com/denise daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/ee925bf9-aec4-4213-b378-221b9faa8086/PhD_Ferrara_Denise.JPG Denise-personal - Denise Ferrara After earning my PharmD degree and gaining professional experience in clinical practice in Italy, I decided to further specialize in Research & Development for drug discovery by pursuing a Master’s degree in Drug Sciences at the University of Basel. For my Master’s thesis and subsequent postgraduate research, I joined the Computational Pharmacy group led by Prof. Markus Lill and the Division of Molecular and Systems Toxicology headed by Prof. Alex Odermatt, in collaboration with the Structural Biology group at the Biozentrum. My work focused on human dehydrogenase enzymes, elucidating their structure–function relationships and identifying hit compounds with anticancer potential. The collaborative setting of this project allowed me to gain broad expertise in both computational and experimental enzymology, sparking a strong interest in the fascinating field of protein and enzyme engineering. Deeply inspired by its interdisciplinary and innovative approach, in September 2025 I joined the lab of Prof. Alexandria Deliz Liang at the University of Zurich to pursue my PhD. My research focuses on engineering metalloenzymes by genetic code expansion, applying and expanding my skill set in both in silico and in vitro techniques. Improving our fundamental understanding of such enzymes and redesigning them for new applications, particularly the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant compounds, represents an ambitious scientific challenge to which I am enthusiastic to contribute. Outside of science, I am passionate about visual arts, especially cinema and photography, and I enjoy reading, playing the violin, and practicing tennis and yoga. https://www.adl-lab.com/pratheek daily 0.75 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60cb004f1de081283dcf10d9/85e2ffb7-957d-4d0f-b1fa-1645b1baa8d0/PhD_Pratheek.JPG Pratheek-personal - Pratheek Kothamasu I am Gnana Pratheek Kothamasu from India. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Hyderabad, where I gained my first experience of biocatalysis in organic synthesis. With an interest in enzymes/macromolecules and “classical” chemistry, I pursued an Erasmus Mundus master's in Sustainable Catalysis in Europe, which made me nomadic for 4 semesters, spanning 4 cities across 3 countries, while learning about catalysis and specializing in biocatalysis. My master's thesis project, under Dr Bekir Engin Eser (Aarhus University), focused on engineering cytochrome P450 enzymes to improve their activity for the upcycling of alkanes into value-added products. With these interests in enzyme engineering and synthetic chemistry, I joined the Deliz Liang lab in January 2026. Outside of the lab, I enjoy badminton, chess, and hanging out with friends. Lately, getting into reading fiction, improving my cooking, and discovering new hobbies. I am also amateurishly nerdy about archaeolinguistics (look it up!) and historical cultures.