CeMM Researchers Win Three “Transfer Science to Spin-off” Grants From the Christian Doppler Research Association
Juraj Konc, Danica Drpić and Christoph Bock (f.l.t.r.) © Bubu Dujmic / CeMM
CeMM celebrates a major success in the 2024 call of the Christian Doppler Research Association´s Transfer Science to Spin-off program. Three CeMM researchers – Project Scientist Danica Drpić (from the team of Adjunct Principal Investigator Miriam Unterlass), Adjunct Principal Investigator Georg Winter (together with his Postdoc Juraj Konc), and Principal Investigator Christoph Bock – have each been awarded a grant to advance innovative research projects toward commercialization.
With being awarded slightly more than €2 million, the results underscore CeMM’s strength in translating cutting-edge basic research into applications with real-world medical and societal impact.
The Transfer Science to Spin-off program supports outstanding scientific projects with strong entrepreneurial potential, enabling researchers to bridge the gap between academic discovery and spin-off formation.
The three funded projects are:
watER dyes – The hydrothermal synthesis of fluorescence dyes
Principal Investigator: Danica Drpić – Amount awarded: €744,606
Fluorescence microscopy is a key technology in cell biology, yet many existing fluorescent dyes are costly, toxic, or environmentally harmful. Danica Drpić and her team have developed a new class of fluorescent probes, “watER dyes,” which are synthesized hydrothermally using only hot water – a cost-efficient and eco-friendly process. These next-generation dyes show high specificity for cellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and lipid vesicles, opening new possibilities for live-cell imaging, diagnostics, and organoid research.
RBM39 degrader–antibody conjugates for pediatric cancers
Principal Investigators: Georg Winter and Juraj Konc – Amount awarded: €578,134
This project aims to pioneer a new therapeutic approach for pediatric cancers by combining targeted protein degradation with antibody precision. The team will develop degrader–antibody conjugates (DACs) to selectively eliminate cancer-driving proteins in high-risk neuroblastoma and other hard-to-treat childhood cancers. The work builds on CeMM’s expertise in targeted protein degradation and has strong potential to generate new, safer, and more effective treatment strategies for children with cancer.
CRISPR CAR T cell immunotherapy: Discovery to clinical testing – all in Vienna
Principal Investigator: Christoph Bock – Amount awarded: €749,701
Cell and gene therapies are transforming modern medicine, and CAR T cells are among the most promising immunotherapies. Building on a CeMM-led ERC-funded discovery platform, Christoph Bock’s team will further develop CRISPR-enhanced CAR T cells toward clinical application. In close collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna, the project aims to prepare clinical translation.
Together, these three projects exemplify CeMM’s mission to bridge basic research and medical innovation – from discovery to translation and entrepreneurship.
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