Professor Eugen Stulz

Professor Eugen Stulz

DNA-based molecules and technologies for applications in medicine

Profile 

Professor Eugen Stulz’s research focuses on the use of modified oligonucleotides and DNA, combining chemistry, biology, and medical science to better understand disease and develop new therapeutic approaches.

Eugen has led a number of funded international consortium programmes, bringing together academic and industry expertise to develop innovative diagnostics and therapeutics. Examples of EU sponsored programmes include:

  • OLIGOMED (Oligonucleotides for Medicinal Applications), a multipartner, multidisciplinary programme focused on a novel platform for personalised medicine, addressing urgent needs in healthcare such as cancer, Huntington’s Disease and cardiovascular diseases. The consortium includes academic, industrial and health care sector members.
  • ON-TRACT (OligoNucleotide Technologies for Rapid Advancement of Cancer Therapies), a £3.8m programme to develop treatments for cancer and chronic inflammation, from design through to manufacturing and delivery. Partners include several startups, AstraZeneca, and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a large-scale oligo manufacturer specialising in mRNA optimisation.

As a trained organic chemist, Eugen has experience in DNA synthesis and tailored modification, purification and analysis including spectroscopy, which encompasses absorption, emission and circular dichroism spectroscopy. His research also looks into new modalities for delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides, for example with antibodies or nanoparticles, and their biological evaluation in cancer cell lines.

After gaining a PhD from the University of Bern, Eugen moved to Cambridge to work in the field of supramolecular chemistry and dynamic combinatorial libraries using phosphine-substituted porphyrins. In 2003, he moved to the University of Basel, where he started his independent research in the field of supramolecular chemistry using DNA as scaffold for multiporphyrin arrays. He joined the University of Southampton in 2006, and is now Professor in Medicinal Chemistry with a focus on cancer therapy.

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