Christian Heinis

Dr. Christian Heinis is an Associate Professor of Chemical Biology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, where he leads the Laboratory of Therapeutic Proteins and Peptides. His research combines synthetic chemistry and molecular biology to design peptide-based therapeutics with improved stability, binding specificity, and bioavailability.

Academic Background

Dr. Heinis studied biochemistry at ETH Zurich, where he earned his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Dario Neri. He then pursued postdoctoral research at EPFL with Professor Kai Johnsson, followed by a fellowship with Sir Gregory Winter at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. He joined EPFL as an Assistant Professor in 2008 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015.

Research Focus

Professor Heinis’s research focuses on the development of cyclic and bicyclic peptides as therapeutic agents. His team uses combinatorial chemistry to generate large peptide libraries and employs in vitro selection techniques to identify high-affinity ligands for medically relevant protein targets. A core objective of his lab is to develop peptides that are stable, cell-permeable, and orally bioavailable.

Notable Contributions

Dr. Heinis is a co-founder of Bicycle Therapeutics and Orbis Medicines, biotech companies dedicated to developing peptide-based drug candidates. His pioneering work in bicyclic peptide synthesis and screening has enabled new approaches to modulating “undruggable” targets, offering alternatives to traditional small molecules and antibodies.

Awards and Honors

Professor Heinis has received multiple prestigious awards, including a European Research Council, ERC, Advanced Grant for his work in merging synthetic and biologic compound libraries. His achievements have been recognized for advancing methods in therapeutic peptide discovery and development.

Professional Engagements

At EPFL, Dr. Heinis is involved in interdisciplinary teaching and research initiatives. He serves as co-director of the National Centre of Competence in Research, NCCR, Chemical Biology and contributes to its Steering and Education Committees. He also teaches graduate-level courses in biochemistry, drug discovery, and chemical biology.

Through his innovative research and translational efforts, Professor Christian Heinis continues to shape the future of peptide therapeutics and chemical biology.