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 identifying an inhibitor that opens up the potential for therapeutic applications of SMNDC1
• the Superti-Furga lab developing a new method that allowed the discovery of specific inhibitors of a lactate transporter that is associated with cancer and other disease areas
• the CeMM Adjunct group of CCRI Director Kaan Boztug discovering a completely new disease, linking disruptions of blood formation, the immune system, and inflammation; the study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine
• CeMM received the German Brand Award for its corporate identity and the new claim "Science is our Medicine"
• for the third time, CeMM was one of the winners of the Innovation Awards of the Austrian Society for Consumer Studies and received recognition for its outstanding innovation management, being among the top-5 ranking in organic chemistry and pharmaceuticals
• in December 2023 the CeMM PhD program celebrated its 100th PhD defense, 100 PhD students who have not only given us memorable Halloween parties, but also great scientific achievements

These are just a few examples of our work at CeMM. We would like to thank all the scientific, administrative, technical and core facility members for their hard work. You are the ones making it all possible! We also thank our mother organization, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, our adjunct groups and their host institutions, the Medical University of Vienna, the CCRI, the University of Vienna, the Medical University of Innsbruck, the University of Konstanz, our stakeholders, testimonials and funding organizations for their valuable support. And we are grateful to the members of the CeMM alumni network for their precious time commitment. It is an honor that you stay connected, that you share your knowledge, skills and experience and that we can follow your career paths and personal growth.

New attempts and efforts in 2024:

• implement the principles outlined in the HR Excellence in Research Award that we received by the European Commission, for optimal working and research conditions
• Giulio Superti-Furga was Co-Chair of EU-LIFE for the last two years and will step up as new Chair of EU-LIFE, an alliance of 15 leading research centers in the life sciences advocating for excellence in research and science policy
• start the search for a new Scientific Director at CeMM. Giulio Superti-Furga has become the director of the Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center in Sicily, a new international hub, where the relationship of humans with the environment will serve as a new perspective approach for cutting-edge biomedical and biotechnological research
• we will continue to perform top research at CeMM and develop technologies to explore human biology defeating diseases at their roots

CeMM wishes you all the best for the Christmas Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Giulio Superti-Furga and Anita Ender