A driving force in medicine
Christian Wolfrum has played a key role in the evolution of medical research at ETH Zurich. Now he’s taking on a new challenge in Singapore.
German chemist Christian Wolfrum has worked at ETH Zurich for almost two decades – and the university has played host to some of the most defining moments of his career. He joined the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology as a group leader in 2007 and, just one year later, was appointed Assistant Professor for Obesity Research. He then went on to become Associate Professor for Translational Nutritional Biology in 2010, receiving the title of Full Professor in 2017.
Wolfrum primarily conducts research into nutrition and obesity, with a particular focus on how adipocytes, or fat cells, are formed at the molecular level, and how they function. He studies the physiological processes disrupted by obesity that can trigger metabolic disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Wolfrum has been recognised for excellence in research on a number of occasions. In 2014, he received the R?ssler Prize, ETH Zurich’s most generous research award. In 2024, he was elected to the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences.
Globe A winning formula for education
This text appeared in the 25/02 issue of the ETH magazine Globe.
A milestone for ETH Zurich
One of Wolfrum’s most influential research findings is the discovery that brown and white fat cells can transform into each other. White fat cells store energy, while brown fat cells burn it. Finding more targeted and effective ways to convert white cells into brown ones could therefore help people lose weight – an important discovery in an era of rising global obesity rates. Wolfrum’s focus on real-world applications is a hallmark of his work. “My goal is for my findings to be translated into prevention strategies and new treatments,” he says.
Wolfrum’s contributions extend to all the core areas of academia. As well as conducting research and translating it into clinical practice, he is a driving force behind new concepts in education. For many years, Wolfrum served as Director of Studies for the Health Sciences and Technology degree programme at ETH Zurich. The launch of the Bachelor’s degree in Human Medicine in 2017 – a programme he was instrumental in establishing – was a bold step for the university. The risk, however, paid off: the programme quickly became a success and continues to attract great interest.
As Delegate for Medicine, Wolfrum has played a key role in strengthening collaboration in medical education and research and in promoting translational science through new partnerships with hospitals. He has continued to harness this wealth of experience and his extensive professional network since being appointed Vice President for Research at ETH Zurich in 2023.
Focus on progress
As a Vice President at ETH Zurich, Wolfrum has continued to champion ad?vances in medical research by making legal frameworks more robust, supporting emerging areas of research such as AI in medicine, and establishing a partnership with the recently established Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering. He has also strengthened the emphasis on ethical and responsible animal research and advocated for open and reproducible science.
Wolfrum’s career has coincided with a period of rapid development in laboratory and computational technologies, with major advances in bio?informatics and AI. Under his leadership as ETH Vice President, the university has laid the foundations for the development of trustworthy AI language models tailored to Switzerland’s requirements. In 2024, ETH Zurich teamed up with EPFL to co-found the Swiss National AI Institute (SNAI), which is tasked with providing a national perspective on AI-based research, education and know?ledge transfer. That same year saw the launch of the International Computation and AI Network (ICAIN), which aims to reduce global inequalities by developing AI technologies that are accessible, sustainable and beneficial to society as a whole.
On 1 July 2025, Christian Wolfrum will take up the position of Deputy President and Provost at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. “What I find exciting about this role is that it includes responsibility for research and teaching, both of which are very important to me,” says Wolfrum. His successor as ETH Vice President for Research will be Annette Oxenius, who will take up the post on 1 August 2025. The 56-year-old Swiss immunologist has been a professor in ETH’s Department of Biology since 2002.