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Worldwide, millions of people suffer from hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, such as those afflicted with sickle-cell disease, malaria or sepsis. These patients face an unprecedented risk of death from bacterial infections and the mechanism for this has remained unclear until now. In the latest edition of Nature Immunology, Sylvia Knapp’s Group at the CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna discovered how hemolysis causes infections…

Endowed by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and awarded by the Network of "Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America" (ASCINA), the prize rewards outstanding scientific achievements of Austrians performed in the United States. During the 13th Austrian Research and Innovation Talk (ARIT), on October 22nd, 2016, in Toronto, Georg Winter, as well as two other Austrian scientists who worked in the USA, received the…

CALR mutations have been discovered by the research team of Robert Kralovics at CeMM as highly disease-specific markers to a blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Recently, the relevance of CALR mutations have been recognized by the WHO, including them as one of the major diagnostic criteria.  As a unique, disease-specific peptide, mutated CALR is also an attractive target to develop therapies. “This licensing agreement enables…

We are happy to announce that Giulio Superti-Furga, CeMM´s Scientific Director, and Kaan Boztug, Director of the newly founded Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases (LBI-RUD) and Adjunct PI at CeMM, together with their teams consisting of researchers from different biomedical disciplines and clinical scientists were awarded with 2 WWTF grants for precision medicine. This Life Science call addressed universities and…

Christine Mannhalter, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics at the Medical University of Vienna and until recently interim president of the Austrian Science Fund is now Head of Genom Austria. The citizen science project of CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna has been launched in November 2014 and aims to explore the scientific, educational, philosophical, ethical, and social implications of personal genome sequencing. For this purpose Genom…

Tissue-resident macrophages are pivotal cells of the immune system. They exist in many shapes, and it has so far remained unclear how they colonize the body and give rise to the observed variety. In a study published in Science, the underlying differentiation and specification mechanisms are unraveled.  Macrophages engulf and destroy everything that is not clearly marked as a healthy part of the organism. For example, they target fragments of…

CeMM-Director Giulio Superti-Furga receives another ERC funding worth 150.000 Euro to further foster the development of precision medicine. Hematological malignancies like leukemia tend to be heterogeneous and genetically complex, which makes it difficult for the treating physician to find the right drug at the right time. This is even more true when it comes to a relapse of the disease that requires the use of off-label drugs. With a new…

In a series of four papers, published in Nature Biotechnology and Nature Communications, an international group of scientists led by CeMM’s Principal Investigator Christoph Bock and Stephan Beck (University College London, UCL) have marked the feasibility of epigenetic analysis for clinical diagnostics and precision medicine.  Epigenetic changes occur in all cancers, and in various other diseases. Measuring these changes provides unprecedented…

The EU-LIFE Scientific Workshop organized by the translational research working group of the EU-LIFE institutes took place from May 12-13, 2016 at CeMM in Vienna. Following successful meetings on “Biology of Cancer” (2014, CRG) and “Epigenetics and Disease” (2015, BRIC), this year’s topic was on "Inflammation and Immunity in Health and Disease". Three sessions explored autoimmunity, T-cells in cancer immunology, and innate pathways in cancer…

Epigenetic modifications are an important factor in cancer development and a promising target for its treatment. With red glowing cells, CeMM researchers in collaboration with groups at Oxford University and IMP Vienna found new small molecules, which trigger specific epigenetic modifications and thus are promising compounds for the treatment of blood born cancers. Their study was published in Nature Chemical Biology. For Stefan Kubicek, red…

Emmanuelle Charpentier held the 10th CeMM Landsteiner Lecture on May 6, 2016, in the festive hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which was filled up to the last place. Her magnificent talk on the CRISPR technology delighted scientists and lay audience alike and was also broadcasted via live stream.  "A fast and easy tool was needed - and that's was CRISPR brought. The CRISPR-Cas technology allows precise gene surgery in any cell and…

Extracting DNA of strawberries, observing your own cells under the Microscope or building “DNA strands” with gummy bears: The CeMM booths at the long night of science presented molecular medicine’s basics and methods in an interactive and playful way – especially to children. On Friday, 22nd of April, the seventh “long night of science” / “Lange Nacht der Forschung”, organized by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy, took place…

DNA damage frequently occurs during cell division, its repair is essential for survival for every organism. Scientists at CeMM have now discovered new mechanisms that maintain genetic material during cell division. Their study was published in Cell Reports and provides new potential approaches for cancer and Alzheimer's therapy.  Reproducing is stressful, a fact well-known to all parents. Yet, it also applies to the smallest units of life: The…

Giulio Superti-Furga, scientific director at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor of Medical Systems Biology at the Medical University of Vienna is to receive the Advanced Investigator Grant of the European Research Council ERC in the amount of approximately 2.5 million euro. The term for the prestigious grant is 5 years. "ERC Grants are the most important promotions for life sciences…

Excessive LDL cholesterol in the blood is dangerous as it penetrates vascular walls, causes chronic inflammation and leads to atherosclerosis and liver inflammation. A group of antibodies, present in the body from birth, counteracts these inflammations and the resulting illnesses.   A certain group of white blood cells – B-1 cells – work against the life-threatening damage to vessels that can lead to heart attack and stroke: These cells produce…