About
Prof. Dr. Shana J. Sturla is a Full Professor of Toxicology at ETH Zürich's Department of Health Sciences and Technology. Her research focuses on the chemical basis of mutagenesis and toxicity, particularly investigating how cellular responses to environmental and dietary toxicants and cancer drugs are influenced by chemical structures and enzymatic processes. She holds leadership roles in the Society of Toxicology and Swiss Society of Toxicology, and has received notable awards including the ERC Starting Grant (2010) and the American Chemical Society's Young Investigator in Toxicology (2014).
Education: B.S. in Chemistry (UC Berkeley, 1996), PhD in Chemistry (MIT, 2001), followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center (2001-2004). She transitioned to faculty roles at the University of Minnesota (2004-2009) before joining ETH Zürich in 2009 as Associate Professor and becoming Full Professor in 2016.
Research highlights include defining DNA repair mechanisms against alkylating agents, gut microbiota-driven toxicant metabolism, and developing predictive toxicokinetic models for food and environmental chemicals. Her work bridges chemistry and biology to improve risk assessment, precision medicine, and public health strategies.
Her lab's research spans genomic damage mapping, microbial biotransformation, and drug exposure modeling. Key collaborations include ERC-funded studies on mutagenesis and NIH grants on cancer drug toxicity. She teaches courses on ethics in science and food toxicology principles.
- Lab Website: www.toxicology.ethz.ch
- Awards:
- 2014 American Chemical Society Young Investigator in Toxicology
- 2010 European Research Council Starting Grant
- 2007 AACR Minority Scholar in Cancer Research
- 2004 NCI Career Development Award
