SNI PhD School Successful defenses of doctoral dissertations In recent months, several doctoral students from the SNI PhD School have given successful defenses of their dissertations. These young researchers carried out their underlying practical work at various departments of the University of Basel or at the Paul Scherrer Institute. As well as sound theoretical and practical knowledge, the multifaceted program of the SNI PhD School also provided them with valuable knowledge when it comes to founding a start-up and in the areas of communica- tion and rhetoric. While working on their doctorates, the researchers also had numerous opportunities to present their findings to members of the SNI network and discuss their results. Here we provide a brief overview of the topics that have been addressed by graduates in recent months. We congratulate all the new doctors on their successful defenses and wish them all the best for the future! Assembly of nanoharpoon in response to attack In his doctoral dissertation, Dr. Mitchell Brüderlin studied the type VI secretion system of the bacte- rium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This system acts like a nanoharpoon, which the bacterium uses to inject toxins into neighboring cells — albeit only in re- sponse to attack. Brüderlin simulated attacks of this kind using the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). He was able to show that an injury to the outer membrane is sufficient for the bacteria to assemble the secre- tion system within seconds and fire back — in ex- actly the direction from which the attack came. Video 18 SNI INSight December 2025