Ernst Niggli has a medical degree from the University of Bern (1980) and finished his dissertation on tissue biomechanics at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University and ETH Zurich (with Prof. Walz).

Following this he investigated the mechanical activity of cardiac muscle cells using electrophysiology and laser diffraction methods in the Department of Physiology in Bern (with Profs. Weidmann and Weingart). Supported by an SNF fellowship he went to Baltimore (USA) to work on cardiac muscle excitation-contraction coupling in the laboratory of Prof. Lederer. There he laid the foundation for the use of confocal calcium imaging in cardiac muscle research and adapted the UV-flash photolysis technique to be applied simultaneously (Niggli & Lederer, Nature 1990 349:621-; Niggli & Lederer, Science 1990 250:565-).

In 1990, he returned to Bern as a junior group leader to continue his work on cardiac muscle excitation-contraction coupling and calcium signaling, using confocal calcium imaging, the patch-clamp technique, and UV-laser flash photolysis of caged compounds as important biophysical techniques in these studies. Later, he integrated multi-photon excitation photolysis as a powerful tool to examine the putative elementary Ca_²⁺ release signals (Ca_²⁺ “quarks”, Niggli, Annu Rev Physiol 61:1999 311-) and the still not fully characterized mechanisms of Ca_²⁺ release termination (DelPrincipe et al., Nature Cell Biol 1999:1 323-).

His team has made substantial contributions to many modern concepts of cardiac muscle Ca_²⁺ signaling and excitation contraction coupling. More recently, research of his team has focused on various Ca_²⁺ channels and transporters in cardiac muscle, and their regulation and role in cardiac health and disease (e.g. cardiac hypertrophy, dystrophic cardiomyopathy, maladaptation, hyperphosphorylation). This strategy is based on the concept that understanding of basic mechanisms and their pathological alterations will open the door for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

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