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The Sefunda Development Team. (c) Sefunda AG
With antimicrobial resistance relentlessly rising, our mission is to make rapid PCR testing an accessible standard for everybody.
We are working to democratize patient tailored medicine and to actively fight against the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance. We believe that real impact can only be achieved with scalable, robust and affordable solutions. Our goal is to bridge the gap between cost-intense or time-consuming lab-testing and empiric treatment. We provide actionable information right at the bedside, the emergency department, private practice, or the local pharmacy. By combining one-visit molecular testing with mobile health we help to save resources, give patients more agency, and care givers the opportunity to keep revenue for testing in their pocket instead of large laboratory companies.
Whitepaper & Publications

Improving care and antimicrobial stewardship for STI.




A cost-effective, rapid point of care diagnostic platform.




A short history of phage therapy.





What is AMR and why should I care?

The Team
Melanie in a blue shirt. (c) Sefunda AG
Melanie Schäpers
Chief Executive Officer
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Dr. Melanie Schäpers
Melanie studied chemistry at the TU Dortmund. After her PhD she worked as a materials scientist at the Leibniz University of Hanover, before starting her career in medical technology in 2005 at Dräger Medical. With more than 15 years experience in developing and testing medical devices Melanie’s job as Sefunda’s CEO is to ensure that the project follows a lean and efficient path from development to mass production and distribution.

"Our goal from the very beginning is to develop molecular diagnostic assays that have an immediate impact on clinical decision making and at the same time are exceptionally cost-effective."

Katha in a black blazer. (c) Sefunda AG
Katharina Elmer
Product Management
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Dr. Katharina Elmer
Katharina received her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Munich, where she analyzed the function of small regulatory RNAs in fruit flies. She spent the next 4 years in the US, briefly working on ancient DNA sequencing at Stanford Department of Genetics, then as a Scientist in a Start-Up developing a NGS diagnostics pipeline for Infectious Diseases (Arc Bio now Cantata Bio).
Her role at Sefunda is developing the overall product vision and keeping the whole team`s efforts in line with set goals. Using her experience with sample prep, qualitative and quantitative nucleic acid analysis, she contributes in the lab whatever necessary to build the best possible product.

Marion in a wool jacket. (c) Sefunda AG
Marion Gilsdorf
Lab Manager
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Dipl. Inf. (FH) Marion Gilsdorf
Marion holds a diploma in Bioinformatics from the University of Applied Science in Bingen, Germany. During her seven years at Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland she gained knowledge in the Assay Development for the detection of infectious diseases on diverse diagnostic platforms (Roche cobas family). She is trained as Biosafety Officer and experienced in working in a Quality controlled- and regulated environment.
At Sefunda, Marion is responsible for all laboratory related processes like experimental work, ordering and biosafety.

Serej in a black blazer. (c) Sefunda AG
Serej Ley
Project Lead
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Dr. Serej Ley
Serej is our project leader responsible for assay development. A molecular epidemiologist by training, with an MSc in molecular biology and a PhD in microbiology, she is dedicated to applying her knowledge and skills to accelerate the development of rapid, reliable and user-friendly diagnostic tools that contribute to improving health for all.
Serej has over 15 years of experience in infectious diseases research, including the detection and characterization of antibiotic resistance. She has in-depth knowledge of a broad range of molecular methods, and has, in addition, contributed to the development of national and international health policy. Serej has several years of international experience working in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams in Switzerland, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and South Africa.

Laurin in a blue shirt. (c) Sefunda AG
Laurin Diener
Systems Engineering
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M. Sc. Laurin Diener
Laurin holds a MSc in Biomedical Engineering and a BSc in Physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH). With over 6 years work experience in medical device development and in IVD, he brings practical knowledge in microfluidics and system integration, verification and testing as well as requiremets handling from proof of concept to design transfer.

Jacob in a blue sweater. (c) Sefunda AG
Jacob Börold
Scientist
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Dr. Jacob Börold
Jacob found his calling for virus research during his B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Tübingen. He followed this passion with a research-focused M.Sc. program on infectious diseases at the University of Heidelberg. Following research stays at McGill University, Montreal and EPFL, Lausanne, he graduated with a project on the evolution of HBV. In 2017 he joined the Institute for Medical Virology, University of Zurich for his PhD working on antiviral immunity and interferon regulation. After a postdoc on skin immunity at the University Hospital Zurich, he joined Sefunda in March 2022 as the in-house virus expert.

Board of Advisors
Adrian in a white shirt
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. phil.
Adrian Egli
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Adrian Egli
Trained at the University of Basel, Switzerland, Adrian holds a MD and a PhD in Clinical Microbiology. Since 2022 he is the Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology of the University of Zurich.

His current work focuses on:

  • Developing new diagnostic and screening assays for rapid detection of multidrug resistant and virulent pathogens
  • Exploring novel typing technologies such as whole genome sequencing
  • Combining phylogenetic tree structures with the impact of individual and herd immunity at various scales using computational models
  • Understanding pathogen evolution in the context of the host/pathogen/environment interaction
Nicole in a blue shirt
Prof. Dr. med. vet.
Nicole Borel
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Nicole Borel
Nicole is a DVM and Board-certified Specialist in Veterinary Pathology at the University of Zurich. She is the Head of the National and OIE Reference Laboratory in ovine Chlamydiosis. Since 2013, she is Head of the Division Infection Pathology and since 2020 Associate Professor, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich. Nicole is a member of the Editorial Board, Section Bacteriology of Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, a Member of the international subcommittee for chlamydial taxonomy and part of the Evaluation Board for PostDoc Mobility Fellowships, Domain IIIb (Biology & Medicine), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

She currently focuses on:

  • Tetracycline-resistance mechanisms in Chlamydia suis
  • Co-infection models with Chlamydia and Neisseria
  • Alterative therapeutic strategies to treat chlamydial infections
  • Development & validation of new diagnostic tools in molecular pathology
Ralf in black shirt
Dipl. Ing.
Ralph Hilberath
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Ralph Hilberath
Academically trained Engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) Biomedical Engineering of Technical University Berlin, Germany.
Specialization on biomechanics and implant design. After a career start in a former governmental test institute for medical device in Germany, more than 25 years experience in Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Compliance and Quality Management with international operating Medical Device companies (Biotronik, Guidant, BD and NSF Prosystem), dealing with registration and compliance projects in Europe, US and different other regions worldwide for active implantable and all other risk class and In-vitro medical devices. Experienced member and leader of ISO standardization Medtech Europe working groups.

Nicola in a white shirt
Prof. Dr. med.
Nicola Low
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Nicola Low
Nicola is an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, specializing in Sexually Transmitted Infections. She holds an MSc in Communicable Disease Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the University of London, UK, and a MD of the University of Bern, Switzerland. She is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Director of Research at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern. She is Deputy editor of Sexually Transmitted Infections, Associate Editor for PLOS Medicine and Secretary General of the International Society for STD Research (ISSTDR).

She currently focuses on:

  • Epidemiology and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV, and vaccine preventable diseases
  • Evaluation of screening programmes for Chlamydia trachomatis
  • Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium
  • Advocating research integrity and open access publishing
Till in a blue shirt
Prof. Dr.
Till Bachmann
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Till Bachmann
Till Bachmann is Professor for Molecular Diagnostics and Infection, Deputy Head of the Division of Infection Medicine and the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy Lead for Edinburgh Infectious Diseases. Till has a wide range of experience in AMR and diagnostic related projects including as coordinator (e.g. DOSA) and partner in industry collaborations (e.g. VALUE-Dx). Furthermore, Till fulfils a range of industrial and institutional advisory roles worldwide. As such he is Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), panel member for the Longitude Prize on Antibiotics, Invited Expert to the development of the One Health Priority Research Agenda for the Quadripartite (WHO, OIE, FAO, UNEP), and the Global AMR research agenda in human health (WHO). Till is an expert in biosensors, point of care detection of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. His research group is conducting research at the interface of rapid diagnostics and biomarkers with strong translational focus.

Board of Directors
Michael in a white shirt. (c) Sefunda AG
Michael Brück
Eric in a blue shirt. (c) Sefunda AG
Eric Kübler