Governance
Foundation Board
Alain Robert, President of the Foundation Board
- since 1997 - 2022 in leading positions with the Union Bank in Switzerland (UBS) and UBS AG
- former Vice Chairman of Global Wealth Management of UBS Switzerland AG
- former Member of the UBS Group
- former Head of UBS Wealth Management and Business Banking Switzerland
- holds various council mandates in business and culture in Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Sabine Werner, Member of the Foundation Board
a renowned molecular biologist focusing on wound healing, tissue repair, and cancer development
- since 1999, Full Professor of Cell Biology at ETH Zurich - served as Chair of the Department of Biology (2022-2025)
- chairs SKINTEGRITY.CH, the University Medicine Zurich Flagship Project on skin health, regeneration and technology
- her research awards include the Otto-Hahn Medal, the Cloëtta Prize and the CE.R.I.E.S. Research Award for achievements in dermatological research
- member of numerous scientific advisory boards and reviewer panels, including SNSF (2005-2013) and the Swiss Cancer League (2017-2022), the Wellcome Trust, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Wilhelm Sander Foundation
Riccardo Braglia, Member of the Foundation Board
- Executive Chairman of the Helsinn Group, a family-run global biopharma company with a leading position in cancer supportive care and a focus on cancer therapeutics.
- Venture capitalist: Chairman and General Partner of 3B Future Health Funds. Board member of HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis SA a pharma chemical CDMO.
- Philanthropist: Co-founder and Chairman of Fondazione Nuovo Fiore, a foundation that promotes, encourages and supports basic education for young people in sub Sahara countries on the African continent and in particular in Ethiopia, member of the board of Fondazione Gabriele and Anna Braglia
- Member of various boards in the fields of business and culture in Switzerland and abroad
Dr. Heimo Scheuch, Member of the Foundation Board
- since 2009 CEO of Wienberger AG, a leading international group provider of innovative building material and infrastructure headquartered in Vienna
- studied law, economics and business administration in Vienna and Paris and holds a doctorate in law
- Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wiener Börse AG and holds various mandates in business and culture in Austria, Belgium and Germany
Foundation Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. med. Markus G. Manz (Chairman of the Advisory Board)
- A physician scientist, Markus Manz is the Director of the Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the University Hospital Zurich and a professor at the University of Zurich. He also chairs the Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich (CCCZ).
- He leads research on hematopoietic stem cells, immune system development, and innovative cancer therapies.
- Previously, he held a research position at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona.
- He co-authored more than 240 articles, received multiple scientific awards and is elected member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMW).
Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Michaela Fritz
- Her expertise lies in translational medicine, healthcare innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in biomedical research.
- Since 2016, she has served as Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at the Medical University of Vienna, overseeing strategic research initiatives, interdisciplinary partnerships and innovation management.
- Previously, she was Managing Director of the Health & Environment Department at the Austrian Institute of Technology.
- She studied material science at ETH Zurich.
Prof. Dr. med. Andrew Macpherson
- Andrew Macpherson trained in Medicine and Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge UK.
- Following junior hospital posts in internal medicine and gastroenterology in Cambridge, Leicester and London, he was a faculty member at King’s College London and an honorary consultant at King’s College Hospital.
- He worked in the Zürich Institute of Experimental Immunology under Rolf Zinkernagel and Hans Hengartner prior to appointment as a Senior Canada Chair in Mucosal Immunology and Gastroenterology at McMaster University in Canada.
- In 2008 he returned to Switzerland as Director of Gastroenterology at the Inselspital in Bern.
- His research interests are in the interactions between the intestinal microbiota and mammalian immunity.
Avv. Francesco Galli (legal advisor)
- He obtained a law degree from the University of St. Gallen and the University of Zurich.
- He holds a lawyer and notary patent in the canton of Ticino, where he is a partner at a renowned law firm in Lugano.
Office
Corina Albertini, CEO
Dr. Vanessa Johnen, Chief Program Officer (CPO)
Dr. Vincent Stadelmann, Senior Program Officer (SPO)
Dr. Gloria Pedot, Program Associate
Valeria Zanon, Operations & Special Projects
Tania Paris, Administration
INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
The Horten Health Foundation has been supporting the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona since 1999 and the Department of Biology at the ETH Zurich since 2009. These are innovative and sustainable institutions working for the further development of research in the field of human immunology. Thanks to the support of the Helmut Horten Foundation, they are now in a position to significantly strengthen their leading international standing in the fields of life sciences and personalised medicine.