Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Data Science (Life Sciences)
SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is an academic not-for-profit foundation that federates bioinformatics groups across Switzerland. It was founded in March 1998 by leaders of five groups from Geneva and Lausanne, Ron Appel, Amos Bairoch, Philipp Bucher, Victor Jongeneel and Manuel Peitsch, after a funding crisis in 1996 threatened the Swiss-Prot protein database. Swiss authorities had recommended a publicly funded foundation to secure long-term support.
Most SIB groups are co-affiliated with universities, and their leaders are usually university professors. Its groups are based in Lausanne, Geneva, Basel and Zurich. Groups of the institute have created resources such as UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, SWISS-MODEL and STRING, which can be reached through the ExPASy portal.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation funds part of SIB’s work. The institute coordinates bioinformatics education with Swiss universities, runs a PhD Training Network, and organises the BC2 Basel Computational Biology Conference, first held in 2003. Christophe Dessimoz became joint Executive Director in April 2022 and has led the institute alone since Ron Appel retired in September 2022.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Engineering, Mathematics, Microbiology and Genetics, Physics, Software Engineering, Statistics
Diplomas*:
Doctor, Master
Status:
Private
Partnerships:
Nationwide network of over 80 research and service groups from Swiss universities (e.g., UNIL, UNIGE, ETHZ, EPFL, UNIBAS, UNIBE) and research institutes. Provides essential bioinformatics infrastructure (ExPASy, SwissProt). Strong international collaborations.
Research:
Develops and maintains major bioinformatics databases and software tools. Research in computational biology, genomics, proteomics, systems biology, personalized health, and evolutionary bioinformatics.
Famous Alumnis:
Ron Appel, Amos Bairoch
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
700
Current students***:
200
Foreign students***:
40%
Cumulative former students***:
500
Pros
Central hub for bioinformatics in Switzerland, providing world-class resources, expertise, and training. Highly collaborative and international. Essential for life science research.
Cons
Does not award degrees directly but SIB group leaders at universities supervise PhDs and Masters.
Best For
PhD students, postdocs, and researchers in bioinformatics, computational biology, and data-intensive life sciences.
Idiap Research Institute in Martigny is a research institute working in artificial intelligence, machine learning and human-computer interaction.
EPFL, a public institute in Lausanne, lists engineering, computer science and life sciences as main fields in the city where SIB is headquartered.
Public and based in Lausanne, Université de Lausanne offers life sciences, geosciences and environmental science.
Université de Genève is a public university in Geneva with biology, computer science and chemistry.
Universität Basel, public and in Basel, combines life sciences and nanoscience, and the city hosts the BC2 conference.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia is a public graduate research university with biological and environmental science and computer and mathematical sciences.
Karolinska Institute in Sweden is a public institution focused on medicine, public health and biomedical sciences.
University of Helsinki in Finland is public and lists life sciences and computer science among its main fields.
Rockefeller University in the United States is a private institution devoted to biomedical sciences, chemistry and biophysics.
Pompeu Fabra University in Spain is a public university with health and life sciences alongside economics and business.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When and by whom was SIB created?
It was founded in March 1998 by Ron Appel, Amos Bairoch, Philipp Bucher, Victor Jongeneel and Manuel Peitsch, who led five bioinformatics groups in Geneva and Lausanne.
Why was the institute set up?
A funding crisis in 1996 threatened Swiss-Prot, and Swiss authorities recommended a publicly funded foundation to support it in the long term. SIB was established as that foundation.
Is SIB a university?
No. It is an academic not-for-profit foundation, although most of its groups are co-affiliated with universities and group leaders are generally university professors. Study programmes are therefore offered by the partner universities.
Which databases and tools come from SIB groups?
Examples include UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, SWISS-MODEL and STRING, available via the ExPASy portal.
How is SIB financed?
Part of its funding comes from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.
Where do SIB members work?
The groups are located at institutions in Lausanne, Geneva, Basel and Zurich. Contact details for each group are on the official website.
Does SIB offer training?
Yes. It coordinates bioinformatics education with Swiss universities, and runs a PhD Training Network. Short courses are announced on its official training pages.
CRISPR, Sustainable Development, Systems Modeling Language (SysML), User-Centered Design
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
Innovation.world is not affiliated with this school/university. We recommend to contact them directly on their website for any special request.
To complete or correct any information here or share your opinion, please comment below or > send us a direct message <.
