TEDxZHAW: Beyond Theory

Frank Wieber
Professor of Public Health

Frank Wieber is Deputy Head of Research at the Institute of Public Health at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). He has a background in psychology and is interested in understanding and changing social determinants of health in a digital world. His research focuses on issues related to promoting public mental health among children, adolescents, and young adults, with an emphasis on participatory approaches, health literacy, and ADHD.

Katharina Rüther-Wolf
Dr. med. Chief Medical Officer

Dr. med. Katharina Rüther-Wolf is Chief Medical Officer at Solothurner Spitäler AG (soH). She is a board-certified specialist in gynecology and obstetrics with extensive clinical experience as well as expertise in healthcare management. After completing her medical studies at the Technical University of Munich (Germany), she undertook internships at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in London, before starting her specialist training in various hospitals in Switzerland (Hôpital du Jura, Spital Thusis, and University Hospital Basel).

In 2016, she successfully earned an MBA in International Healthcare Management and was awarded the Best Student Award.

From 2013 to 2021, she established the patient-centered management department at the University Hospital Basel and headed this department within the Medical Directorate. Since September 2021, she has been responsible for the strategic and operational management of medical services at Solothurner Spitäler. Her focus is on the continuous improvement of the healthcare system through greater quality transparency, reduction of bureaucracy by means of innovation, and the consolidation of joint efforts via network building.

Marc Schreiber
Professor of Applied Psychology

Marc Schreiber’s journey spans from professional table tennis to psychology, market research, and ultimately to career counseling as both researcher and practitioner. After completing his PhD and gaining industry experience in the tele­communications sector, he joined Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in 2009, where he supports individuals in shaping their vocational paths and, as a lecturer, inspires future career counsellors and psychologists. His expertise links career development in the digital and AI-driven world of work with personality psychology. Today, Marc explores both the opportunities and challenges of generative AI in career counseling, narrative identity construction, and the future of work.

Misha A. Teale
Dr.-Ing. in Biotechnology

Misha is a Research Associate at the Institute of Chemistry and Bio­technology at ZHAW. He has a background in bio­technology and bio­chemical engineering and is interested in regenerative medicine, advanced bio­manufacturing, single-use technologies, digital learning, and fostering collaboration between academia and industry. His research focuses on developing manufacturing work­flows for cell therapeutics, with an emphasis on cell cultivation, bio­process intensification, and the use of single-use technologies.

Yulia Sandamirskaya
Professor of Cognitive Technology in Life Sciences

Yulia Sandamirskaya had a long way from studying Physics in Belarus to leading a Neuro­morphic Computing Group building service robots at ZHAW in Wädens­wil. On her path, she drew inspiration from neuro­science and cognitive science and developed new mathe­matical models and conceptual architectures to build controllers for smart robots that can perceive, form memories, make decisions, learn, and control movement in dynamic, real-world environ­ments and tasks. The stations in her career include Institute of Neural Computation at the Ruhr-University of Bochum,  University Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, Institute of Neuro­informatics at ETH/Univeristy of Zurich, Intel Labs, and ZHAW’s Institute of Computational Life Sciences. She was named among „30 Women in robotics you need to know about“ by the RobotHub and a „Future Maker" by Business Insider. She is working on a spin-off to enable service robots for elderly care.