Sponsors & Donors

As early as 1986, the successful pioneer of orthopedic surgery, Maurice E. Müller, agreed that his foundation (the Maurice E. Müller Foundation) would build the M.E. Müller Institute for High Resolution Electron Microscopy (MIH) at the Biozentrum. Maurice E. Müller therefore made an important contribution to the globally recognized success of the Biozentrum in structural biology. Over the past twenty years, he has most generously supported the Biozentrum – and, in turn, the University of Basel – to the tune of more than CHF 40 million. Today, Maurice E. Müller is still the most important patron of the Biozentrum; we owe him our grateful thanks and respectfully acknowledge his life's work.

From 1987 onwards, several companies supported the purchase of an MRI scanner for biomedical research and clinical use, with contributions totaling about CHF 5.5 million. In 1999, Roche and Novartis each donated CHF 2.5 million to buy the nuclear magnetic resonance equipment necessary for the Biozentrum to compete internationally in fields other than X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. In that same year, Roche and Novartis together contributed a further million francs to build up a powerful Bioinformatics group. In 2000, the Novartis Research Foundation also sponsored a personal chair in Applied Pharmacology at the Biozentrum.

Consolidating neurobiology as a research focus has meant that the Biozentrum has received gifts and legacies of almost CHF 5 million since 1999. The most generous contribution of CHF 3.6 million was made by the Personality Disorder Foundation (USA), but an anonymous gift of one million Swiss francs also has to be mentioned.

Thanks to the dedication of Prof. Joachim Seelig, a prestigious program was inaugurated at the Biozentrum in 2007, with financial support from the Werner Siemens Foundation. The award of annual scholarships fosters the most highly qualified PhD students in Life Sciences, strengthens Basel's reputation in Life Sciences, and aids international cooperation.

The Biozentrum is extremely grateful to all its sponsors and patrons. Their contributions help to keep the Biozentrum at the cutting edge. Only with their assistance can the Biozentrum maintain its leading national and international role with innovative projects, attractive areas of interest for research and first-class events.