She completed a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Basel in 1982 under the supervision of Gottfried Schatz.[4] Her doctoral research involved developing an in vitro assay system for investigating the import of mitochondrial proteins, demonstrating its energy dependence and identifying compartment-specific protein-processing pathways.[5][6]
After a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Basel in 1982, Gasser worked as a postdoctoral assistant with Ulrich K. Laemmli in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Geneva from 1983 to 1986.[7] Her research there concerned chromosome structure and the organization of chromatin loops, including the role of topoisomerase II in metaphase chromosome structure and adenine- and thymine-rich sequences in long-range chromatin folding.[8][9][10][11]
Career
In 1986, she established a research group at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in Epalinges, near Lausanne.[7] She remained at ISREC until 2001, studying chromatin organization through yeast genetics, microscopy and biochemical methods.[3] She continued these studies as professor of molecular biology at the University of Geneva from 2001 to 2004.[12]
Gasser became Director of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in 2004, serving until 2019.[13][14] She continued to lead a research group at the institute until 2021 and held a parallel professorship in molecular biology at the University of Basel from 2005 to 2021.[15]
In 2021, she became Director of the ISREC Foundation[16] and a guest professor at the University of Lausanne.[12] Her work at the foundation includes support for the Agora Cancer Research Center, which brings together cancer researchers and clinicians from universities and hospitals in Lausanne and Geneva.[17]
During her postdoctoral work, Gasser studied the role of topoisomerase II in the structure of mitotic chromosomes and characterized DNA regions associated with chromatin loops.[9][20] At ISREC, she investigated the organization of DNA replication origins and developed assays for studying replication in isolated yeast nuclei and nuclear extracts.[21][22]
Her laboratory showed that telomeres cluster near the nuclear envelope and examined how this organization contributes to gene silencing.[23] These studies identified roles for the Sir3 and Sir4 proteins in telomere positioning and integrity.[24] In collaboration with Michael Grunstein, she investigated interactions between these proteins and the tails of histonesH3 and H4, contributing to a molecular model of silent chromatin formation in yeast.[25] Her group subsequently examined how the concentration of silencing proteins within nuclear compartments affects gene repression.[26] It also studied the relationship between association with nuclear pores and the activation of inducible genes, showing that positioning at the nuclear periphery can have different effects on gene expression and telomere length maintenance.[27][24][28][29]
Gasser's laboratory developed time-lapse fluorescence imaging methods to measure the movement of individual chromosomal regions in living yeast cells.[30] These studies showed that chromatin moves continuously within the nucleus and that its mobility varies with the cell cycle and its attachment to nuclear structures.[30] Chromatin organization and movement change upon DNA damage in a checkpoint kinase-dependent manner[31] and depend on the recruitment of the INO80 chromatin-remodeling complex.[32][33] They also were first to show the relocation of persistent DNA double-strand breaks to nuclear pores,[29] and that both pores and remodelers contribute to the recovery of collapsed replication forks.[34][29][35]
Later studies showed that DNA damage can trigger histone degradation, altering chromatin structure and increasing access for proteins involved in homologous recombination.[36][37] These investigations linked changes in chromatin packaging and mobility to the mechanisms through which cells repair damaged DNA.[36][37]
In C. elegans, Gasser's laboratory investigated how heterochromatin, a form of chromatin associated with gene repression, is positioned within the nucleus during development.[38] Her group showed that methylation of lysine 9 on histone H3, known as H3K9 methylation, contributes to the localization of heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery.[38] The laboratory identified CEC-4, a chromodomain protein that selectively binds methylated H3K9, as a heterochromatin anchor at the nuclear periphery, connecting chromatin anchoring with the maintenance of cell identity during cellular differentiation.[39][40] Subsequent studies examined how modifications associated with active chromatin help separate transcribed regions of the genome from heterochromatin in differentiated cells.[41][42]
Gasser served on the research council of the Swiss National Science Foundation from 1993 to 2002 and chaired the council of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) from 2002 to 2004.[47][48] She was a member of the President's Science and Technology Advisory Council of the European Commission from 2013 to 2015,[3] and of the Swiss Science Council from 2016 to 2023.[49] She was a member of the ETH Board from 2018 to 2026.[50] From 2019 to 2026, she was Chairwoman of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the Helmholtz Health Institutes in Germany.[51] She has also represented Switzerland on the councils of the European Molecular Biology Conference and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.[52][53]
Gasser chaired the Swiss National Science Foundation's gender equality commission and helped establish its PRIMA programme to support women in academic research.[47][60] She has participated in mentoring programmes for women scientists in Switzerland and Japan and was a founding member of Women in Science Japan in 2019.[61]
Palladino, F.; Laroche, T.; Gilson, E.; Axelrod, A.; Pillus, L.; Gasser, S. M. (1993). "SIR3 and SIR4 proteins are required for the positioning and integrity of yeast telomeres". Cell. 75: 543–555. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(93)90388-7
Hecht, A.; Laroche, T.; Strahl-Bolsinger, S.; Gasser, S. M.; Grunstein, M. (1995). "Histone H3 and H4 N-termini interact with SIR3 and SIR4 proteins: a molecular model for the formation of heterochromatin in yeast". Cell. 80: 583–592. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(95)90512-X
Martin, S. G.; Laroche, T.; Suka, N.; Grunstein, M.; Gasser, S. M. (1999). "Relocalization of telomeric Ku and SIR proteins in response to DNA strand breaks in yeast". Cell. 97: 621–633. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80773-4
Heun, P.; Laroche, T.; Shimada, K.; Furrer, P.; Gasser, S. M. (2001). "Chromosomal dynamics in the yeast interphase nucleus". Science. 293: 2181–2186. doi:10.1126/science.1065366
van Attikum, H.; Fritsch, O.; Hohn, B.; Gasser, S. M. (2004). "INO80 recruitment by H2A phosphorylation links ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling with DNA double-strand break repair". Cell. 119: 777–788. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2004.11.033
Taddei, A.; Van Houwe, G.; Hediger, F.; Kalck, V.; Cubizolles, F.; Schober, H.; Gasser, S. M. (2006). "Nuclear pore association confers optimal expression levels for an inducible yeast gene". Nature. 441: 774–778. doi:10.1038/nature04845
Dion, V.; Kalck, V.; Horigome, C.; Towbin, B. D.; Gasser, S. M. (2012). "Increased dynamics of double-strand breaks requires Mec1, Rad9 and the homologous recombination machinery". Nature Cell Biology. 14: 502–509. doi:10.1038/ncb2465
Towbin, B. D.; González-Aguilera, C.; Sack, R.; Gaidatzis, D.; Kalck, V.; Meister, P.; Askjaer, P.; Gasser, S. M. (2012). "Step-wise methylation of histone H3K9 positions heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery". Cell. 150: 934–947. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.06.051
Gonzalez-Sandoval, A.; Towbin, B. D.; Kalck, V.; Cabianca, D. S.; Gaidatzis, D.; Hauer, M. H.; Geng, L.; Wang, L.; Yang, T.; Wang, X.; Zhao, K.; Gasser, S. M. (2015). "Perinuclear anchoring of H3K9-methylated chromatin stabilizes induced cell fate in C. elegans embryos". Cell. 163: 1333–1347. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.066
Zeller, P.; Padeken, J.; van Schendel, R.; Kalck, V.; Tijsterman, M.; Gasser, S. M. (2016). "Histone H3K9 methylation is dispensable for C. elegans development but suppresses RNA–DNA hybrid-associated repeat instability". Nature Genetics. 48: 1385–1395. doi:10.1038/ng.3672
Hauer, M. H.; Seeber, A.; Singh, V.; Thierry, R.; Sack, R.; Amitai, A.; Kryzhanovska, M.; Eglinger, J.; Holcman, D.; Owen-Hughes, T.; Gasser, S. M. (2017). "Histone degradation in response to DNA damage enhances chromatin dynamics and recombination rates". Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 24: 99–107. doi:10.1038/nsmb.3347
Cabianca, D.; Muñoz-Jiménez, C.; Kalck, V.; Gaidatzis, D.; Padeken, J.; Askjaer, P.; Gasser, S. M. (2019). "Active chromatin marks drive spatial sequestration of heterochromatin in differentiated cells". Nature. 569: 734–739. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1243-y
↑"Uli K. Laemmli". University of Geneva. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
12Gasser, Susan M.; Laroche, Thierry; Falquet, Jacques; Boy de la Tour, Edith; Laemmli, Ulrich K. (20 April 1986). "Metaphase chromosome structure: Involvement of topoisomerase II". Journal of Molecular Biology. 188 (4): 613–629. doi:10.1016/S0022-2836(86)80010-9. PMID3016287.
12Palladino F, Laroche T, Gilson E, Axelrod A, Pillus L, Gasser SM (1993). "SIR3 and SIR4 proteins are required for the positioning and integrity of yeast telomeres". Cell. 75 (3): 543–555. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(93)90388-7. PMID8221893.
↑Hecht A, Laroche T, Strahl-Bolsinger S, Gasser SM, Grunstein M (1995). "Histone H3 and H4 N-termini interact with SIR3 and SIR4 proteins: a molecular model for the formation of heterochromatin in yeast". Cell. 80 (4): 583–592. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(95)90512-x. PMID7867066.
12Heun P, Laroche T, Shimada K, Furrer P, Gasser SM (2001). "Chromosome dynamics in the yeast interphase nucleus". Science. 294 (5549): 2181–2186. doi:10.1126/science.1065366. PMID11739961.
↑Dion V, Kalck V, Horigome C, Towbin BD, Gasser SM (2012). "Increased mobility of double-strand breaks requires Mec1, Rad9 and the homologous recombination machinery". Nature Cell Biology. 14 (5): 502–509. doi:10.1038/ncb2465. PMID22484486.
↑van Attikum H, Fritsch O, Hohn B, Gasser SM (2004). "Recruitment of the INO80 complex by H2A phosphorylation links ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling with DNA double-strand break repair". Cell. 119 (6): 777–788. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2004.11.033. PMID15607975.
12Gasser, Susan M. (2022). "Lessons in chromatin organization and gender equity in research: an interview with Susan Gasser". Epigenomics. 14 (6): 331–337. doi:10.2217/epi-2022-0063. PMID35259924.
↑EMBO Annual Report 2004(PDF) (Report). European Molecular Biology Organization. 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
↑"Signs of Success"(PDF). Weizmann International Magazine of Science and People. No.5. Weizmann Institute of Science. Winter–Spring 2014. p.45. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
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