With the renowned Starting Grants, the SNSF honors excellent young researchers for their innovative research and supports them in consolidating their own research program. Yuping Li is one of the top young researchers to receive one of the highly endowed grants. The microbiologist is leading a research group at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. In her project “Fundamental phage-host biology towards next-generation phage therapy”, she is investigating the interactions and coevolution of jumbophages and their host bacteria. Jumbophages are large viruses that exclusively attack bacteria. They are considered promising players in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Research with jumbophages
Yuping Li is researching the interactions between bacteria and jumbophages. One focus is on the investigation of bacterial defense systems against jumbophages.
Bacteriophages or phages are the most common and diverse bioentities. Jumbophages are giant phages that have exceptionally large genomes with properties similar to eukaryotes. In her research, Yuping Li uses methods of genetics, microscopy, biochemistry and structural analysis to better understand the biology of jumbophages and their co-evolution with their host bacteria. Her work may provide new approaches to contain the antimicrobial resistance crisis. The largely unexplored jumbophages promise breakthroughs in basic research and in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Prof. Yuping Li
The microbiologist Yuping Li has been an Assistant Professor for Infection and Immunity at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel since October 2024 and is part of the National Center of Competence in Research "NCCR AntiResist". Li received her Bachelor of Engineering in Bioinformatics from Huazhong University of Science & Technology in Wuhan, China. In 2019, she received her doctorate from Stanford University. Subsequently, Li worked as a postdoc at the University of California, San Francisco, and studied the interaction between bacteria and jumbophages. She was also a visiting scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg from October 2022 to June 2023.
Replacement measures for EU research programs
With the "SNSF Starting Grants", the National Science Foundation is closing a gap in research funding on behalf of the federal government: in recent years, researchers in Switzerland have not been entitled to submit applications to the European Research Council, which is part of the European research program "Horizon Europe". Outstanding and established scientists who want to conduct innovative, high-risk research have therefore been able to apply for an "SNSF Starting Grant" as an interim solution since the end of 2021. However, a new regulation now stipulates that they can again submit applications for grants from the European Research Council for the calls for proposals in 2025.
In this year's call, the SNSF received 499 applications and awarded a total of 61 Starting Grants. Five of the successful researchers plan to carry out their projects at the University of Basel. More information
Contact: Communications, Heike Sacher