
FWF "Emerging Fields" Grant for Brain Resilience
We congratulate the Consortium of the newly funded "Brain Resilience" grant! CeMM PI Christoph Bock is part of a team of world-renowned scientists that received one of the first "Emerging Fields" grants of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Over five years, the research groups coordinated by Igor Adameyko, MedUni Vienna will receive up to 6 million Euro to investigate brain resilience against disease. The brain of mammals is formed through…

Georg Winter joins global Cancer Grand Challenges team taking on solid tumours in children
The team, which is co-led by Martin Eilers of the University of Würzburg, Germany, and Yaël Mossé of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, US, will receive up to $25m over five years to take on the challenge of solid tumours in children. A global, interdisciplinary team of researchers, including CeMM PI Georg Winter, has been selected to receive a Cancer Grand Challenges award of up to $25m over five years to tackle the solid tumours in children…

Giulio Superti-Furga awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class
On 26 February 2024, Giulio Superti-Furga had the pleasure and honor to receive the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class (Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz I. Klasse für Wissenschaft und Kunst) from the Austrian President Professor Alexander Van der Bellen. The Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class is awarded based on the recommendation of the Federal Government. Established in 1955, this Austrian state…

New System Triggers Cellular Waste Disposal
Established treatments for cancer and other diseases often focus on inhibiting harmful enzymes to mitigate their effects. However, a more innovative approach has emerged: harnessing the cell's natural waste disposal system not just to deactivate but to entirely eradicate these proteins. Researchers at CeMM have already demonstrated the efficacy of this approach through two distinct methods. Now, in collaboration with colleagues from the…

Vienna Science Ball 2024
CeMM members had a great time at the Wiener Ball der Wissenschaften - Vienna Science Ball 2024! Thanks to the organizers for the terrific programme and special focus on climate, fantastic music, a joyful quadrille, the opportunity to be at the Orchesterloge and the chance to have a nice CeMM group picture with a lot of happy faces. The Vienna Science Ball is an exceptional opportunity to mingle with our colleagues and friends from the research…

New therapeutic approach for the treatment of sarcoidosis
A research team led by Georg Stary (Medical University of Vienna and CeMM) has identified a new approach to treating the inflammatory disease sarcoidosis. In a clinical study, the inhibition of a specific signaling pathway showed clear success in the treatment of granulomas in the skin. This opens up new therapeutic paths for sarcoidosis and similar inflammatory diseases. The results were published in the journal Lancet Rheumatology. Sarcoidosis…

CCRI - CeMM Collaboration Agreement
CCRI Directors Kaan Boztug and Jörg Bürger, and CeMM Directors Giulio Superti-Furga and Anita Ender have signed a partnership agreement which further strengthens scientific collaborations and training aspects. CeMM’s research is strongly oriented towards medical needs and integrates research on fundamental biological processes with clinical expertise to gain new insights into human pathophysiology and develop innovative diagnostic and…

Vaccine boosts innate immunity in people with dormant immune cells
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is one of the world’s oldest and most widely used vaccines. It was developed in the early 20th century to provide protection from tuberculosis. Surprisingly, this vaccine protects not only against tuberculosis but also reduces the risk for various other infections, through a mechanism called trained immunity. A new study led by Christoph Bock and Mihai Netea found that epigenetic cell states predict whether or not…

Giulio Superti-Furga and Marta Miączyńska are appointed new chair and co-chair of EU-LIFE
Giulio Superti-Furga, Scientific Director of the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Marta Miączyńska, Director of the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB), have been appointed new Chair and Co-Chair of the EU-LIFE alliance of leading life science research institutes in Europe. Over the next two years, Giulio and Marta will work closely with Marta Agostinho,…

Season Greetings 2023
We would like to thank our CeMM members and collaborators for their efforts and dedication to research. 2023 was a successful year with many achievements and we paved the way for new projects and endeavors in the upcoming year. An excerpt about CeMM accomplishments in 2023: the ERC Starting Grants of Barbara Maier and Clarissa Campbell the Kubicek lab pinpointing the exact location of the SMNDC1 protein within the cell nucleus and…

Artist Jun Yang designed chair’s backrest for CeMM’s Brain Lounge
On Thursday, 30 November 2023, CeMM welcomed artist Jun Yang for the inauguration of the new chair backrest that he specially designed for CeMM’s Brain Lounge, which completes the carousel. During the event, Jun Yang presented his piece of art entitled “The Voyage of Barbarella” and discussed with CeMM PhD students the process of conception and creation, how the story and narration can be the art as much as the physical representation. He spent…

12th CeMM S.M.A.R.T. Lecture with Prof. Barbara Seidlhofer
On 27 November, Barbara Seidlhofer, Professor of English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Vienna, gave an inspiring 12th S.M.A.R.T. Lecture at CeMM. In this session, Professor Seidlhofer discussed the topic of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), i.e. the means of communication regarded as the most convenient (and workable) one by speakers from a different first-language background. More often than not, there are no native speakers of…

Newly discovered compound blocks signalling pathway of immune response
Scientists at CeMM, the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Lausanne succeeded for the first time in identifying and characterizing a new small molecule called "Feeblin", which can inhibit the interaction of the transporter protein SLC15A4 with the adapter protein TASL. Both proteins are part of proinflammatory signalling pathways in the body. In particular, patients with autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus (SLE) could…

Giulio Superti-Furga becomes director of the Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center in Sicily
CeMM Director Giulio Superti-Furga, a renowned molecular biologist in Austria, takes on a new task: The Italian Ri.MED Foundation and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) selected the native Italian for the position of director of the new Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center (BRBC) currently under construction in Sicily. Superti-Furga will initially support the Ri.MED Foundation with consultancy services of one week per month,…

CeMM stands in solidarity with Israel
CeMM strongly condemns the attacks and war in Israel and wholeheartedly wishes to express solidarity with the citizens across Israel. We send our support to scientific colleagues, collaborators, and CeMM friends and alumni in these difficult times.