Draft:Konrad Basler

Basler was born on October 21, 1960, in Zurich, Switzerland. He pursued his academic studies at the University of Zurich, completing his Ph.D. in 1989 with distinction.

After his doctorate, Basler worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University from 1990 to 1993. He later returned to Zurich as an assistant professor at the University of Zurich. In 1999, he was appointed as a full professor of molecular biology. Basler has held academic leadership positions, including serving as Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology from 2007 to 2010 and the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences from 2010 to 2017.

Basler's research primarily focuses on how signaling proteins such as Wnt, Hedgehog, transforming growth factor, and tumor necrosis factor influence embryonic development and morphogenesis. Using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) and the mouse as a model organism, his studies have provided insights into the mechanisms of cellular differentiation and tissue formation.

One of Basler's significant contributions includes collaborating with Gary Struhl at Columbia University to develop a method for genetically reprogramming specific cells during embryonic development. This work provided definitive evidence for the existence of morphogens—substances that influence cell differentiation based on their concentration. Morphogens like Hedgehog and Wnt were shown to play roles in wing and leg development in Drosophila.

Beyond developmental biology, Basler's research has implications for cancer biology. His work on the Wnt signaling pathway, particularly the role of β-catenin and its cofactors, has opened avenues for potential therapeutic strategies, such as treatments for colorectal cancer.

• European Drosophila Research Award (1991)
• Friedrich Miescher Award (1996)
• FEBS Anniversary Prize (1996){{Cite web |date=2022-08-04 |title=Prizes - FEBS |url=https://www.febs.org/other-activities/prizes/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |language=en-GB}}
• National Latsis Prize (1997)
• EMBO Gold Medal (1999){{Cite web |date=2020-08-20 |title=EMBO Gold Medalists – Recipients – EMBO |url=https://www.embo.org/the-embo-communities/embo-gold-medalists/recipients/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |language=en-GB}}
• Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2000){{Cite web |title=Professor Konrad BASLER {{!}} Fondation Louis-Jeantet {{!}} |url=https://www.jeantet.ch/en/laureat/professor-konrad-basler/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.jeantet.ch |language=en-US}}

Since 1989, Basler has been married to Catherine Basler-Angélil; they have four daughters. He is a passionate sailor and has completed a circumnavigation in 2021.

• G. Struhl and K. Basler (1993). Organizing activity of wingless protein in Drosophila. Cell 72, 527-540. [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/009286749390072X doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90072-x]. PMID 8440019.
• K. Basler and G. Struhl (1994). Compartment boundaries and the control of Drosophila limb pattern by hedgehog protein. Nature 368, 208-214. [https://www.nature.com/articles/368208a0 doi:10.1038/368208a0]. PMID 8145818.
• D. Nellen, R. Burke, G. Struhl and K. Basler (1996).  Direct and long-range action of a Dpp morphogen gradient. Cell 85, 357-368. [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867400811149 doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81114-9]. PMID 8616891
• E. Moreno, M. Yan and K. Basler (2002). Evolution of TNF signaling mechanisms: JNK-dependent apoptosis triggered by Eiger, the Drosophila homolog of the TNF superfamily. Curr Biol 9, 1263-1268. [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982202009545 doi: 10.1016/S0960-9822(02)00954-5]. PMID 12176339.
• Bischof, J., Basler, K. (2008). Recombinases and Their Use in Gene Activation, Gene Inactivation, and Transgenesis. In: Dahmann, C. (eds) Drosophila. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 420. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18641947/ doi:10.1007/978-1-59745-583-1_10]. Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-817-1.
• T. Valenta, G. Hausmann and K. Basler (2012). The many faces and functions of β-catenin. EMBO J. 31, 2714-36. doi: [https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/emboj.2012.150 https://doi.org/10.1038/emboj.2012.150]. PMID 22617422.
• T. Valenta, M. Gay, S. Steiner, K. Draganova, M. Zemke, R. Hoffmans, P. Cinelli, M. Aguet, L. Sommer and K. Basler (2011). Probing transcription-specific outputs of β-catenin in vivo. Genes Dev. 25, 2631-2643. [https://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/25/24/2631 doi: 10.1101/gad.181289.111]. PMID 22190459.
• T. Kramps, O. Peter, E. Brunner, D. Nellen, B. Froesch, S. Chatterjee, M. Murone, S. Züllig and K. Basler (2002). Wnt/Wingless signaling requires BCL9/Legless-mediated recruitment of Pygopus to the nuclear b-catenin-TCF complex. Cell 109, 47-60. [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867402006797 doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00679-7]. PMID 11955446.

• A.E. Moor, et al. (2016). BCL9/9L-β-catenin signaling is associated with poor outcome in colorectal cancer. EBioMedicine 2, 1932-43. [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352396415301894 doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2015.10.030]. PMID 26844272.

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