Dr. Michelle Frei

Assistant Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Michelle Frei. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Michelle Frei studied Chemistry at ETH Zurich, obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in 2014 and Master of Science under the supervision of Prof. François Diederich in 2015. She pursued her PhD in the lab of Prof. Kai Johnsson at EPF Lausanne, as well as the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg from 2016 to 2020. During this time, she spent time as a visiting scientist in the Advanced Light Microscopy Facility at EMBL, Heidelberg. Her dissertation, which focused on developing new chemical tools for advanced fluorescence microscopy, was awarded the EPFL Thesis Distinction Prix Schläfli in Chemistry in 2023. Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Michelle conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, under Prof. Jin Zhang from 2021 to 2024. In 2023, Michelle was appointed as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Chemical Biology and Molecular Imaging in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. Her research lies in the interdisciplinary area of Chemistry and Biology, aiming to develop chemically inspired tools to visualize and investigate complex cellular processes including signal transduction and metabolism. She primarily focuses on the development of new fluorescent reporters and biosensors paired with advanced fluorescence microscopy.

Research Interests

Requirements for ETH Zurich

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.4
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
TOEFL
Total
Required:100
GRE General
Verbal
Required:159
Verbal Percentile
Required:80
Quantitative
Required:168
Quantitative Percentile
Required:81
Analytical Writing
Required:4.5
Writing Percentile
Required:85
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in a related field (Engineering, Natural Sciences, or Mathematics) Minimum 180 ECTS credits Subject-specific knowledge equivalent to ETH Bachelor's programs
Application Checklist
  • Bachelor's degree diploma or transcript
  • Official academic transcripts
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Letter of Motivation (1 page)
  • Two academic recommendation letters
  • English language proficiency certificate
  • GRE General Test (for non-EU/EFTA applicants)
Specialization Notes

The GRE is mandatory for students who did not obtain their Bachelor's degree in an EU/EFTA state. Some departments (e.g., Computer Science) have specific ECTS credit requirements in core subjects.