Vassily Hatzimanikatis

Dr. Vassily Hatzimanikatis is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), holding primary appointments in the School of Basic Sciences (SB) and cross-appointments in the School of Life Sciences (SV). He directs research at the Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology (LCSB) within the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC), with additional roles in the Swiss Center for Scientific Computing (SCGC) and Institute of Bioengineering (IBI-SV).

His educational background includes a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (1991-1997) and a Diploma (Master) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece (1986-1991). Prior to EPFL, he served as a research group leader at ETH Zurich and held positions at DuPont, Cargill, and Northwestern University.

Hatzimanikatis' research centers on computational systems biology and metabolic engineering, with emphasis on kinetic modeling of metabolic networks, complexity reduction techniques, and strain design for bioproduction. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with industrial applications in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, focusing on genome-scale models that integrate thermodynamics, expression constraints, and machine learning approaches.

Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals three dominant trends: 1) Integration of generative AI with kinetic parameter inference for metabolic networks, 2) Development of model reduction techniques for analyzing complex microbial communities and host-pathogen interactions, and 3) Thermodynamics-driven strain design for optimizing bioproduction while minimizing cellular burden. His recent work increasingly incorporates CRISPR genomics and machine learning to address challenges in pathogen metabolism and sustainable chemical production.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2010)
• DuPont Young Professor Award (2001-2004)
• Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering (2000)
• ACS Elmar Gaden Award (2011)

Hatzimanikatis has advised 43 PhD students (8 current, 35 past) across chemical engineering and bioengineering disciplines. His teaching portfolio includes core courses in chemical engineering fundamentals, bioreactor modeling, and systems biology principles. Research funding derives from both industrial partnerships (notably DuPont and Cargill) and Swiss national science foundations, supporting his laboratory's development of computational tools like NICEpath and ATLASx.

The Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology (LCSB) operates as a multidisciplinary hub where computer scientists, engineers, and biologists collaborate on developing genome-scale kinetic models, metabolic network reconstructions, and AI-driven design frameworks for biotechnology applications ranging from malaria treatment to sustainable bioplastics production.