Thomas Agius Email & Phone Number

Basel, Bs, Ch

Zurich, Switzerland

I am focusing on the nutritional and health impacts of innovative plant-based products, contributing to the development of sustainable protein alternatives. My research bridges the fields of food science, sustainability, and health, with the aim of addressing global food system challenges. Collaborating with Professor Alexander Mathys (Sustainable Food Processing Group), Professor Ferdinand von Meyenn (von Meyenn Lab), and Professor Christian Wolfrum (Wolfrum Lab), my work explores nutrient-sensing, endocrinology, and nutrition through cutting-edge translational research.Key areas of focus: • Evaluating the nutritional equivalence of plant-based and cell-based meat alternatives. • Investigating nutrient sensing and metabolic health through interdisciplinary research. • Addressing food system sustainability in response to rising global protein demand.

Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland

Part of a Postgraduate consultin group that conduct comprehensive scientific evaluations of healthcare startup technologies.Work in collaboration with Biopole Lausanne and Alcimed, a leading tech-driven consulting firm, to frame and guide consulting projects.Participated in key project meetings (kick-off, follow-up, wrap-up) to ensure alignment and thorough analysis.

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

As a Graduate Research Fellow in Dr. Korkut Uygun's Transplantation Surgery Research laboratory, I focus on advancing the field of organ preservation through biology and bioengineering research. My work included:• Establishment of a new line of research in a collaborative environment with physician and bioengineers.• Determined the optimal medium and protocol to expand ex-vivo kidney conservation using models ranging from rodent, pig to human – This project has been an industrial collaboration with eGenesis (USA).• Successfully developed kidney ex-vivo perfusion systems expanding the conservation time by 500%.• Developed bioinformatic analysis pipelines in R to identify new biomarkers and prognostic models of early acute liver dysfunction. Quantitative analysis of liver transplanted patient data (n=613).• Recruiting and mentoring of two new laboratory technicians to ensure the continuity of my projects.• Engaged in multiple collaborations: Contributed to identifying William's E-based perfusate with no oxygen carrier as a viable human kidney normothermic perfusion (Longchamp A. et al., Transplantation Direct 2024)

Région De Lausanne, Suisse

As a Ph.D. student in the Department of Vascular Surgery (CHUV) under the guidance of Dr. Alban Longchamp, my translational research focuses on finding nutritional and pharmacological strategies to mitigate ischemia-reperfusion injury occurring during transplantation.• Establishment of a new translational research focus in a newly founded group to study for the first-time kidney disease and transplantation immune response – working independently with tight deadlines.• Development of collaborations and network with international research groups (ETH, HMS).• Developed rodent in-vivo models of microsurgery to evaluate the effectiveness of dietary intervention and pharmacological treatment to mitigate ischemia-reperfusion injury.• Identified successfully FGF21 as a key mechanism in conferring resistance to ischemia-reperfusion injury after a short-term preconditioning carbohydrate loading diet (Agius T. et al., Nature Communications 2024).• Development of new bioinformatic analysis pipelines and tools in R for the entire research group.• Comprehensive literature review: systematic and narrative methods.• Engaged in multiple collaborations and projects: for example, I contributed to study sex dysmorphism in immune response to ischemia-reperfusion injury, neovascularization in CGL overexpressing mice, and I have been involved in sample collection within the clinical trial “Optisurg”.

Toulouse, Occitanie, France

During a career break, I collaborated with a team to develop a high-frequency trading bot for the cryptocurrency market on the HitBTC platform. My responsibilities included:• Coordinated with two Rust developers and contributing to the project as a Python developer.• Managed server administration and security, ensuring smooth operation of the trading bot.• Developed a website to showcase and communicate the bot capabilities.

Région De Toulouse, France

During my Master's thesis at the I2MC (INSERM) under the supervision of Prof. Rémy Burcelin, I investigated the impact of buccal microbiota dysbiosis on lipid detection in obesity models.• Performed isolation and culture of microbiota bacteria from mice.• Developed analysis pipelines in R to understand microbiota alteration during obesity. • Performed ELISA, Western Blotting, and qPCR.• Participated in setting up a new organoid intestine crypt model.

Région De Toulouse, France

As a research intern at Prof. Pierre Lutz's laboratory (IPBS), I worked on a project focused on understanding the role of ASB2α in the regeneration of the hematopoietic system under stress conditions. • Performed extraction of bone marrow and primary cell culture of hematopoietic stem cells.• Performed antibody staining for flow cytometry and RNA purification and isolation.• Analyzed flow cytometry data for hematopoietic cell precursors markers using FlowJo software and R.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biology/Biological Sciences, General

Master Of Science - Ms, Digestive Health And Nutrition

Master Of Science - Ms, Biomedical Biology

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Cellular Biology And Physiology

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Computer Science