CV Dr. Mojca Frank Bertoncelj

Mojca Frank Bertoncelj is Head of Research at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland, specializing in Translational Immunology, Autoimmunity, Functional Genomics, and Human Tissue Biology. She holds a medical degree (valedictorian) and PhD in Biomedicine (summa cum laude) from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and habilitation (Privatdozent, PD) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Prior to joining the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, she directed the early discovery research program “Protective Tissue Factors in Autoimmune Diseases” at the BioMed X Institute, Heidelberg, Germany (2021 – 2025), in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. From 2018 to 2021, she was a principal investigator / junior group leader of the research program “Integrative Biology of Immune Mediated Inflammatory Diseases” at the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Zurich. She has served as a lecturer and academic advisor for master’s and doctoral students at universities across Switzerland, Slovenia, and Germany, notably the University of Zurich, the University of Ljubljana, the University of Heidelberg, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Mojca received multiple academic and research awards, including the 2018 Walter-Siegenthaler Medal in Silver for Advances in Internal Medicine, and is a winner of the Johnson & Johnson´s 2021 Innovation Boot Camp in partnership with BioMed X Institute.
At the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Mojca is joining the Space Life Sciences research program that focuses on advancing fundamental knowledge about how gravity shapes biological systems, understanding human health risks and adaptation in space and leveraging space platforms to advance biomedical innovation and human health on Earth. She is involved in parabolic flight, suborbital ballistic rocket, and International Space Station (ISS) research projects.