Bio

Adriano Rutz is a pharmaceutical scientist. After working in the analytical research laboratory and R&D department of Tradall SA (Bacardi Group), he obtained his PhD in phytochemistry at the University of Geneva. An advocate of open science and open data, he is the proud author of the LOTUS initiative, a new way of sharing knowledge in natural products research. He is currently developing open computational tools and mass spectrometry-based strategies to better understand the chemistry of living organisms.

Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher, ETH Zürich (2022 - present)

Computational metabolomics at the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology.

Research & Teaching Assistant, UNIGE (2017 - 2022)

Development of LC-HRMS/MS based approaches for comprehensive composition assessment of complex plant extracts.
In depth annotation using Spectral Networking. Plant metabolomics.
Teaching activities with Bachelor and Master students.
Maintenance and optimization of analytical instruments (LC).

Junior Research Chemist, Tradall (2016 - 2017)

Working in analytical research and Research & Development laboratories following ISO norms.
New products development, analytical and sensory characterization.
In depth analysis of impact compounds, compounds evolution understanding.
Maintenance and optimization of analytical instruments (GC).

Assistant Pharmacist, Pharmacie de la Terrassière (2015 - 2016)

Internship in the frame of Master’s degree.

Education

Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE (2017 - 2022)

Thesis entitled « Integrative Analytical and Computational Strategies for Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Plant Metabolome Characterization »

B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE (2011 - 2016)

Mention « excellent » for Master’s thesis « GC chiral separation of main enantiomeric compounds as a tool of Quality Control of some botanicals and related specific final product »

Awards

Swiss National ORD Prize (2023)

Awarded for the LOTUS initiative. See more at https://akademien-schweiz.ch/en/medien/press-releases/2023/adriano-rutz-gewinnt-ersten-schweizer-ord-preis/.

Dr. Willmar-Schwabe-Young-Talent-Prize (2023)

Awarded for the LOTUS initiative. See more at https://ga-online.org/dr-willmar-schwabe-young-talent-prize-2023-for-adriano-rutz/.

Skills

Bio/Chemoinformatics
Data oriented, knowledge management
Mass spectrometry
Metabolomics
Natural products chemistry
Scientific software programing (different languages)
Sensory analysis

Leadership

Metabolomics block course

Advanced Course on Mass Spectrometry

Phytochemistry practicals

Artistic gymnastics trainer and national judge

Scientific contribution

SAPID: a Strategy to Analyze Plant Extracts Taste In Depth. Application to the complex taste of Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H.Karst. Permalink

Adriano Rutz; Pascale Deneulin; Ivano Tonutti; Benoit Bach and Jean-Luc Wolfender. (2025). SAPID: a Strategy to Analyze Plant Extracts Taste In Depth. Application to the complex taste of Swertia chirayita (Roxb.) H.Karst. Current Research in Food Science. doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2025.101043.

Automated Composition Assessment of Natural Extracts: Untargeted Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolite Profiling Integrating Semiquantitative Detection Permalink

Rutz, A., Wolfender, J. L. (2023). Automated Composition Assessment of Natural Extracts: Untargeted Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolite Profiling Integrating Semiquantitative Detection. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 71 (46), 18010. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c03099

The LOTUS initiative for open knowledge management in natural products research Permalink

Rutz, A., Sorokina, M., Galgonek, J., Mietchen, D., Willighagen, E., Gaudry, A., Graham, J. G., Stephan, R., Page, R., Vondrášek, J., Steinbeck, C., Pauli, G. F., Wolfender, J. L., Bisson, J., & Allard, P. M. (2022). The LOTUS initiative for open knowledge management in natural products research. eLife, 11, e70780. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.70780

Advocacy

Traitement de données et outils d’annotations MS/MS

June 19, 2024

Plenary and interactive lecture at Ecole thématique METABIODIVEX 2024, Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, France

Where is the “L” in “ORD”?

May 31, 2024

Talk at Hotel Kreuz, Zeughausgasse 41, Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Introduction to Linked Open Data for Computational Mass Spectrometry

April 17, 2024

Talk at Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

Lotus: A Living Knowledge Base for Modern Pharmacognosy

October 16, 2023

Talk at University of Innsbruck, Institute of Pharmacy, Innsbruck, Austria

Prior knowledge as a compass guiding untargeted metabolomics

September 15, 2023

Poster at Swiss Metabolomics Society Annual Meeting, Zürich, Switzerland

Deep metabolome annotation

July 18, 2023

Plenary and interactive lecture at 6e Symposium International de l'AFERP, Saclay, France

A Distillate of the LOTUS Initiative in Natural Products Research: Sharing Information, Building Knowledge, Extracting Wisdom

July 03, 2023

Talk at 71th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research, Dublin, Ireland

Development of a Generic Method for a Comprehensive Composition Assessment for Plants of Industrial Interest – Quali/quantitative profiling by UHPLC-PDA-HRMS-ELSD

January 01, 2019

Talk at Second Austrian Summit on Natural Products, Seefeld, Austria