On November 28, 2025, Prof. em. Ueli Aebi passed away at the age of 79 years. With his death, the Biozentrum has lost an outstanding scientist, a visionary architect of modern structural biology, and an exceptional mentor.
Ueli Aebi was born on 31 May 1946 in Bern, Switzerland. He studied physics, mathematics, and molecular biology at the Universities of Bern and Basel and earned his PhD in biophysics in 1977 at the Biozentrum, University of Basel. Following research appointments in the United States, including at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, he returned to the Biozentrum in 1986 as Professor of Structural Biology, where researched and taught until his retirement in 2011.
Together with Andreas Engel, he co-founded the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology, which he directed from 1986 until his retirement in 2011, developing it into an internationally leading center of research. His credo, “Simplicity is key to success”, profoundly shaped the institute’s scientific culture. In addition, he was an active member of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Nanoscale Science, where he fostered close links between structural biology, nanoscience, and medicine in Basel.
His research focused on understanding the structure and function of cellular nanomachines. He made fundamental contributions to elucidating the architecture of the cytoskeleton, the nuclear lamina, and nuclear pore complexes, as well as the structure of amyloid fibrils associated with neurodegenerative diseases. His work was characterized by an integrative use of cutting-edge microscopic, structural, and molecular approaches, thereby building bridges from basic research to nanomedicine.
Ueli Aebi authored more than 300 scientific publications and received numerous honors, including the Gregor Mendel Medal, the Arne Engström and Carl Zeiss Lecture Awards, and an honorary doctorate from Charles University in Prague. He was a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Academia Europaea and served in many scientific advisory and leadership roles.
As a teacher, mentor, and colleague, Ueli Aebi was admired for his openness, generosity, and intellectual curiosity. He remained closely connected to science even after his retirement. With Ueli Aebi, the Biozentrum has lost an outstanding scientist and a personality who viewed science as a collective, creative, and deeply human endeavor. He will be remembered with great respect and gratitude.
Ueli Aebi’s memorial ceremony will be held at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern on December 18, 2025, at 5:30 pm. It will also be streamed via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88121922719
Contact: Communications