Gabriel Giger awarded Origins Federation PhD Prize
We congratulate Dr. Gabriel Giger on being awarded the 2025 PhD Prize by the Origins Federation for his outstanding doctoral research conducted at ETH Zurich under the supervision of COPL member Prof. Julia Vorholt.
In his thesis work in the Vorholt Lab, Department of Biology, Gabriel developed an experimental system to study the beginnings of endosymbiosis – a key evolutionary transition in the history of life. Using a novel microinjection approach, he demonstrated the vertical transmission of bacteria within fungal hosts and uncovered early genomic adaptations that stabilise such interactions.
This research was published in external page Nature in 2024 and has since attracted broad scientific and public interest. The Origins Federation PhD Prize is awarded annually to recognise outstanding doctoral research in the field of origins of life.
As part of the award, Gabriel will present his research at the Origins Federation Annual Conference in September 2025 at the University of Chicago.