New sponsored chairs arrived at the CeMM terrace
After 10 years in the CeMM building, we have made some renovations in the cafeteria and our iconic terrace overlooking Vienna’s historical center. Despite the challenging times we are living, it is a priority for CeMM to provide an inviting and comfortable space for safe interactions and cooperation not only among our colleagues but also our guests. At the end of 2020, we launched the “One Chair One for CeMM” fundraising campaign to help support…
Successful collaboration among 3 CeMM groups results in the development of a novel synthesis for the quinoxaline functional group
The discipline of chemistry deals with understanding (analysis) and making and transforming (synthesis) of matter. The size-range with which chemistry is most concerned with is that of molecules as building blocks of matter. Molecules are nothing but connected atoms, and when aiming at making, i.e. synthesizing, them, it is useful to chemists to subdivide them into subsets, which are so-called "functions" or "functional groups". Although every…
CeMM bids farewell to Sylvia Knapp and Christoph Binder
Sylvia Knapp and Christoph Binder have been CeMM pioneers and have been associated with their groups with us for 15 years. On 31 March 2021 their CeMM research contracts end and we would like to say a big heartfelt thank you for the scientific contributions, the networking and personal engagement. Both joined CeMM at the first round of Principal Investigator hiring and have been critical in setting the stage for future directions and hires at…
Acids to drugs - catalytic access to paracetamol
Among the many pharmaceuticals in use every day, one of the most well-recognized substances is the century-old pain killer Paracetamol. Paracetamol is part of a family of compounds, the so-called para-aminophenols, which also includes other biologically active molecules, such as Diloxanide Furoate, which is used against amoeba infections, or the beta blocker Practolol. These molecules are typically synthesised using harsh acids, in processes that…
Andreas Bergthaler receives FWF Urgent Funding for further studies on SARS-CoV-2
CeMM congratulates our Principal Investigator Andreas Bergthaler: He is one of the four newly funded researchers who are further expanding their corona research with funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). With funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Austria’s top researchers have the opportunity to study the Corona pandemic and its consequences. In recent months, 19 research teams were able to get started under the SARS-CoV-2 urgent…
New therapeutic approach discovered for reducing the risk of thrombosis
Thrombotic occlusion of blood vessels, which leads to myocardial infarctions, strokes and venous thromboembolisms, is the major cause of death in the western hemisphere. Therefore, it is of critical importance to understand mechanisms preventing thrombus formation. A new study by the research group of Christoph Binder, Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor at…
SARS-CoV-2 mutations can complicate immune surveillance of human T-killer cells
The body’s immune response plays a crucial role in the course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to antibodies, the so-called T-killer cells, are also responsible for detecting viruses in the body and eliminating them. Scientists from the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna have now shown that SARS-CoV-2 can make itself unrecognizable to the immune response by…
Solgate closes its first financing round with IST cube and private investors
Joint CeMM-IST Austria start-up develops new class of drugs targeting solute carrier proteins <link 1211 - internal-link "Opens internal link in current window">Solgate GmbH</link>, an Austrian early-stage biotech company, announces the completion of its first financing round from a group of venture and private investors. Solgate was incorporated in 2020 by a high-profile founding team and with intellectual property from the leading research…
New research groups at CeMM: Barbara Maier, Georg Busslinger and Davide Seruggia
At the beginning of 2021, Barbara Maier, Georg Busslinger and Davide Seruggia joined CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Barbara Maier as Principal Investigator at CeMM, Georg Busslinger and Davide Seruggia as CeMM Adjunct Principal Investigators, Georg having his main affiliation at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Medical University of Vienna and Davide at St. Anna…
Inhibition of the BAF complex causes rapid loss of DNA accessibility
When human cells have to adapt due to a wide variety of external influences, the BAF complex plays a central role because it controls the accessibility of the DNA and thus the information stored in it. In every fifth human cancer, a mutation is found in one of the BAF complex genes. Scientists from the research group of Principal Investigator Stefan Kubicek at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences…
5th RESOLUTE Consortium Meeting (27-29 January 2021)
On 27 - 29 January 2021, the 5th RESOLUTE Consortium Meeting took place virtually. RESOLUTE is a public-private partnership, funded with a grant from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and coordinated by CeMM and Pfizer, with 13 partners from academia and industry. Its mission is to increase the study of solute carriers for medical research and potential drug development, and it strives to become a reference hub for SLC research and open…
How does next-generation sequencing work and how long does it take?
An interdisciplinary team led by Andreas Bergthaler and Christoph Bock at CeMM is sequencing around 400 virus samples from Austria per week for the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). The goal is to look for specific SARS-CoV-2 variants with multiple spike protein mutations, and to learn more about the molecular understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic and the causative pathogen. The enclosed illustration demonstrates the standard…
Denise P. Barlow Award Call is open
The second call of the Denise P. Barlow Award for best thesis on biological mechanisms is now open. Denise was a CeMM Principal Investigator for ten years until her passing and was also associated with other three research institutions in Vienna: as a group leader in IMP, a professor in Max Perutz Labs and she was also provided with laboratory space at IMBA. These four institutions decided to launch a yearly academic talent award in Denise’s…
Mutational Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria: UK and South Africa variants found in Austria
Over the last few weeks, the United Kingdom and South Africa have faced a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases leading to enhanced epidemiological and virological investigations. Analysis of viral genome sequence data identified a sizeable proportion of cases belonging to new phylogenetic clusters. The new SARS-CoV-2 variants are defined by nonsynonymous, several of which are found in the viral spike protein, and still of uncertain functional…
Christoph Bock becomes Professor of Medical Informatics at MedUni Vienna
Christoph Bock has been appointed as professor of medical informatics at the Medical University of Vienna and head of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support at CeMSIIS, starting 1 January 2021. The bioinformatician and genome researcher joins MedUni Vienna from the neighboring CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He will continue to lead his research group at CeMM, complementary…
