About me

My name is Nicolas Jaccard, I was born in Switzerland , in a small town called Nyon, which is situated between Geneva and Lausanne. I am currently a graduate student at University College London, enrolled in a 4-year programme at CoMPLEX (Centre for Mathematics and Physics in Life Sciences and Experimental Biology). Below you will find more information about myself and my educational background. I also have a page dedicated to my current research projects (including work I did for my MRes year).

Educational background

My educational background took me from Geneva where I passed my swiss A-level equivalent (scientific major) to Sion at the University of Applied Science where I graduated with a BSc in Life Sciences (Biotechnology major). I attended classes in computer sciences at the Swiss Institute of Technology in Lausanne where I also worked in the Laboratory of Cellular Biotechology (LBTC) for a duration of one year.

Bioprocess engineer degree

My main area of interests are quantitative biology and bioprocess engineering. The latter encompasses molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, cell culture (as a loose term including animal cell applications in addition to fermentation processes) and downstream processing. I obtained a BSc in Life Sciences with a major in Biotechnology at the University of Applied Science Western Switzerland in Sion. I was awarded two prizes at the graduation ceremony:

• Best overall results (across all engineering sections)
• Best Biotechnology Diploma Thesis (performed abroad at University College London)

Academic internship

I had the chance to be an intern at the Laboratory of Cellular Biotechnology (part of the Swiss Institute of Technology in Lausanne) for over a year. During that time, I met some very inspiring persons that contributed in the shaping up of my scientific way of thinking. My work there spanned recombinant protein expression in mammalian cells, large-scale culture processes development and optimisation, establishment of stable recombinant cell lines and the development of a machine vision tool for the quantification cell density in suspension applications. Some of these contributions were published:

• Stettler M. et al., “New disposable tubes for rapid and precise biomass assessment for suspension cultures of mammalian cells”, Biotechnol Bioeng, 2006 [PubMed]
• Chenuet S. et al., “Calcium phosphate transfection generates mammalian recombinant cell lines with higher specific productivity than polyfection”, Biotechnol Bioeng, 2008 [PubMed]