"ChatGPT" for biomedical simulations: Study shows potential of large language models for research
The artificial intelligence (AI) model GPT-4, known from its application in ChatGPT, shows impressive capabilities in biomedical research and can be used in many ways for simulations. A simulator developed at MedUni Vienna and CeMM and based on GPT-4 shows increased accuracy in classifying the importance of genes in cancer cells, as well as in the prognosis of cancer patients. The results of the study were published in the journal Computers in…
Active substance identified for the prevention of chlamydial infections
Despite the significant increase in sexually transmitted diseases in recent years, there is currently no vaccine available against common bacterial pathogens such as chlamydia. In the search for ways to prevent infection, a research team from MedUni Vienna and CeMM has identified the active substance pentamidine as a promising candidate for the prophylaxis of chlamydial infections and possibly other bacterial sexually transmitted diseases. The…
Congratulations to CeMM Director Giulio Superti-Furga for receiving the Lennart Philipson Award 2024
Giulio Superti-Furga has been awarded the 2024 Lennart Philipson Award at the EMBL 50th Anniversary Scientific Symposium in Heidelberg. The Lennart Philipson Award was created to honour EMBL’s second Director General, Lennart Philipson (1982-1993). The Award recognises outstanding and validated contributions in translational research and/or technology innovation across the complete spectrum of life sciences. Giulio Superti-Furga received the…
New Adapter Molecule Expands Therapeutic Potential Around the Cell's Waste Disposal System
Disease-causing proteins can be removed from the cell through targeted protein degradation. For this, the protein must be connected to one of the approximately 600 endogenous so-called ubiquitin ligases. So far, clinical success has only been achieved with two of these ligases. A team of researchers at CeMM, led by Georg Winter, has now discovered an adapter for a new ligase, potentially significantly expanding the range of medical applications.…
Inspired by Nature: Synthetic Nightshade Molecule Effective Against Leukemia Cells
Nightshade plants produce a diverse array of compounds with therapeutic potential. Researchers at CeMM have now identified an artificial variant inspired by the Withanolides group that acts highly specifically against leukemia cells. Using state-of-the-art chemical and genetic high-throughput analyses, the team led by Georg Winter not only confirmed its effectiveness but also elucidated its mechanism of action: the molecule disrupts the…
CeMM Scientific Advisory Board Meeting, 9-12 June 2024
We thank our Scientific Advisory Board members Carl-Henrik Heldin (SAB Chair), Emmanuelle Charpentier, Aaron Ciechanover, Janet Kelso, Hidde Ploegh and Derek Tan for their precious time, fruitful discussions and valuable feedback. Academy President Heinz Faßmann met the SAB to receive feedback and recommendations and we appreciate that he expressed encouraging words to CeMM Faculty. CeMM’s international Scientific Advisory Board members visit…
Happy #PRIDE2024
The Rainbow Alliance for Life Sciences and Medicine is an independent initiative of students, doctors, employees, and scientists at CeMM, the Medical University and AKH Vienna, as well as the research institutes at the Vienna Biocenter. Under the motto "Diversity is in our DNA" the alliance aims to show that while our genome is composed of just four letters — A, T, G, and C — their combinations create an immense complexity and, thus, the…
CeMM at Long Night of Research / Lange Nacht der Forschung #LNF24
Thank you to the CeMM Postdoc representatives who organized this year’s Long Night of Research #LNF24 activities at CeMM, and all volunteers who supported this event. It was a pleasure to welcome our visitors and to see their interest in research and medicine. At various activity stations for children and adults, CeMM members tried to give a glimpse into wet lab methods and introduced Virtual Reality technology for exploring biological data,…
Wilhelm Exner Medal 2024 awarded to Giulio Superti-Furga
Congratulations to CeMM Director Giulio Superti-Furga, and MPI Director Ferdi Schüth, for receiving the Wilhelm Exner Medal this year. Wilhelm Exner (1840-1931) was president of the Austrian Business Association. Exner established the modern type of vocational schools in Austria, was one of the creators of the Chamber of Labor and was co-founder of the Vienna Technical Museum. The law for examination and material testing goes also back to him.…
17th CeMM Landsteiner Lecture by Molly Stevens and the 2023 Denise P. Barlow Award Ceremony
On May 13, 2024, the 17th CeMM Karl Landsteiner Lecture featured Dame Molly Stevens, John Black Professor of Bionanoscience at the University of Oxford and also Professor at Imperial College London and the Karolinska Institute. Her captivating lecture offered attendees, numbering around 350, profound insights into her groundbreaking research on designer biomaterials for applications in disease diagnostics and regenerative medicine. The event…
Obituary Hans Tuppy
We received the sad news that one of the most influential and highly respected scientists, science policymaker and politician of the 2nd Republic of Austria, Hans Tuppy, passed away in his 100th year of life. In his long, and active lifespan his footprint, dedication, and impact as a pioneering researcher in the field of biochemistry, as an academic teacher, and as a leading figure in the research/science policy arena – never denying his attitude…
EU-LIFE Community Meeting 2024
It was a pleasure to be the host of the 11th EU-LIFE Community Meeting at CeMM in Vienna. Giulio Superti-Furga, Anita Ender and several CeMM representatives welcomed Marta Agostinho and the EU-LIFE office team, and the Board of Directors and Working Group members of the 15 EU-LIFE partner institutes. The official EU-LIFE Community Meeting took place on Thursday, 25.4.2024, with more than 100 participants, contributing to 9 different Working…
2. Place of Houska-Prize 2024 for Giulio Superti-Furga and his team at CeMM
Congratulations to Giulio Superti-Furga and his team for having been awarded the 2. Houska Prize 2024 of the B&C Private Foundation in the highly competitive category ‘University Research’. The Houska Prize Jury recognized the accomplishment of having identified Feeblin as a new therapeutic approach for autoimmune diseases and for the effort to translate this finding by developing a new drug in cooperation with the domestic business partner and…
Ready and Vigilant: Immune Cells on Standby
When pathogens invade the body, the immune system must react immediately to prevent or contain an infection. But how do our defence cells stay ready when no attacker is in sight? Scientists from Vienna have found a surprising explanation: They are constantly stimulated by healthy tissue. This keeps them active and ready to respond to pathogens. Based on this insight, future medications could be devised to selectively enhance our immune system’s…
A shortcut for drug discovery: Novel method predicts on a large scale how small molecules interact with proteins
For most human proteins, there are no small molecules known to bind them chemically (so called “ligands”). Ligands frequently represent important starting points for drug development but this knowledge gap critically hampers the development of novel medicines. Researchers at CeMM, in a collaboration with Pfizer, have now leveraged and scaled a method to measure the binding activity of hundreds of small molecules against thousands of human…
