New papers, awards, and events from the lab.
Our collaborators in Johannes Hirrlinger’s group at Leipzig University, together with Klaus-Armin Nave’s and Hauke Werner’s groups in Göttingen and Henri Zanker from our lab, present new tools that label myelin with red fluorescence, from dense labeling of myelin to sparse labeling of single oligodendrocytes and their sheaths. Because many imaging sensors fluoresce green, a red myelin label lets myelin structure and cellular function be imaged together. [Link]
We welcome Stella-Jo Nydegger, who joined the lab for her Master’s project.
We welcome Vicente Algaba Martínez, who joined the lab for his Master’s project.
Work led by Marina Herwerth in Bruno Weber’s group, with our lab and collaborators at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, follows how astrocytes refill a small area of the cortex after the astrocytes there are lost. Neighboring astrocytes divide, pass through a prolonged state with several nuclei, extend their processes into the empty area and move their nuclei into it until the astrocyte network is restored. [Link]
Filipa Alexandra Silva-Coelho joins the Saab Lab as a PhD student. She completed her undergraduate training in Lisbon, Portugal, and at Lund University in Sweden, where she earned a MSc in Medical Science. For her master’s thesis, she worked at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany. We are excited to welcome Filipa to the team!
Congratulations to Henri Zanker on successfully defending his PhD. Before joining us in Zurich, Henri completed his undergraduate training in Molecular Biosciences, with a major in Neuroscience, at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. We are excited to celebrate this achievement with him.
Prof. Aiman S. Saab has been selected as one of the recipients of the Robert-Bing Prize 2026 from the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMW) [Link].
A study led by Tina Notter at our institute, with Urs Meyer’s group and our lab, shows that kynurenic acid, a metabolite produced by astrocytes, can impair cognition. Elevated kynurenic acid dampens inhibitory interneurons in the prefrontal cortex, which releases pyramidal neurons from inhibition and disrupts working and episodic-like memory. The work links glial metabolism to the balance of cortical circuits. [Link]
Urvashi Dalvi, Zainab Faik, and Aiman Saab attended the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Myelin in Lucca, Italy. Urvashi and Zainab presented posters, and Aiman gave a talk on the lab’s work on axon-glial metabolism and axonal health. During the meeting, Marisa Jeffries from CHOP/UPenn also conducted a short interview with Aiman, which is available on LinkedIn [link]. Many thanks to Marisa for the enjoyable conversation.
Exciting work from our collaborators in Sarah Mundt’s lab reveals how monocytes drive oxidative tissue damage in a neuroinflammatory disease model of multiple sclerosis. Congratulations to the team on this important study! [Link]
A groundbreaking study led by Melissa L. Cooper and our collaborators at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health demonstrates that astrocytes form extraordinary networks spanning different brain regions, revealing highly plastic structures with important implications for brain function and disease. [Link]
Sami Sauma joins the Saab Lab as a postdoctoral researcher after moving from New York City to Zurich. We are excited to welcome him to the team and look forward to strengthening our work on neuroglial metabolism and brain resilience together. Check out his recent Nature Neuroscience paper on how glucose metabolism shapes the proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells during brain development. [Link].
Benedetta Romeo joins the Saab Lab as a PhD student. She completed her MSc in Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences at ETH Zurich and carried out her thesis work at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. We are excited to have Benedetta on board!
Congratulations to Urvashi Dalvi on successfully defending her PhD. We are proud of you, Urvashi! Before joining us in Zurich, she trained at the University of Pune in India and completed the International Master’s Program in Neuroscience in Bordeaux.
Urvashi Dalvi, Zainab Faik, Henri Zanker, and Aiman Saab attended the 2025 EuroGlia meeting in Marseille, France. The team presented posters on ongoing projects from the lab, and Zainab also contributed to the scientific program with a workshop presentation. It was a great opportunity to share our work, catch up with colleagues, and enjoy a lively glia meeting by the Mediterranean.
Zainab Faik, Henri Zanker, and Aiman Saab attended the 2025 Brain/Brain PET Conference in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The team presented posters from the lab, while Zainab also presented her PhD work and co-chaired a scientific session. Beyond the science, it was a memorable chance to connect with the brain metabolism and imaging community in Seoul.
Thieren and Zanker et al. report that deleting the main glucose transporter from astrocytes unexpectedly enhances glucose metabolism and confers neuroprotection in a model of stroke. Congratulations to the team and our collaborators on this exciting study! [Link]
The Saab Lab receives SNSF Project Grant funding to investigate how astrocytic networks contribute to brain metabolic resilience.
The Saab Lab receives SNSF Consolidator Grant funding to investigate molecular mechanisms that preserve axonal health and function. [Link]
Looser et al. report how oligodendrocytes sense neuronal activity and provide metabolic support to myelinated axons. [Link]
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich.
