Double Strike Against Blood Cancer: Induction of Defective Cell Division Could Improve Therapy
Cell division is a pivotal moment in the life cycle of a cell: when things go wrong, the cell typically triggers growth arrest or its own self-destruction. Researchers in Austria and Italy have now discovered a previously unknown process that initiates cancer cell death in two distinct ways. This newly uncovered mechanism could help fighting blood cancer, as many modern therapies target the last step in cell division in tumor cells. The study was…
CeMM Outing 2024
On 4 October 2024, the CeMM Outing took place. Each year we try to combine social activities with an informative and educational approach. In times of escalating conflicts in the world, we thought it would be important to reflect on Austrian, European and World history, and went to the Vienna Arsenal which houses the Austrian Museum of Military History. We learned that a multi-nation multi-ethnic multi-religion multi-language empire had a…
CeMM Adjunct PI Miriam Unterlass takes over the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research in Würzburg
Congratulations to CeMM Adjunct PI Miriam Unterlass, who will take over the leadership of Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg. The chemist and materials scientist, who has previously taught as Professor of Solid State Chemistry at the University of Konstanz and the TU Vienna, brings her focus on the synthesis of new functional materials to Würzburg, enriching the portfolio of the Fraunhofer ISC and the University of…
Obituary Ernst M. Kopper
We received the sad news that architect Ernst M. Kopper passed away. The CeMM building was designed by architect Kopper who created a structure full of light with much open space for the needs and comfort of modern molecular biology laboratories, for the work and life of scientists, as well as room to house sophisticated high-tech scientific equipment. Ernst M. Kopper was born 1945 in Schulberg near Graz. After studying architecture at Graz…
Welcome AITHYRA, the new Research Institute for Biomedical Artificial Intelligence
The Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) is further expanding its focus on life sciences by opening an institute for Biomedical Artificial Intelligence (AI) based on a € 150 million funding from the German non-profit Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation (BIS). The new institute, called AITHYRA, will make revolutionary advances in biomedicine by developing AI-based research approaches. It will make a significant contribution to the advancement of human…
New CeMM Principal Investigator Abdel Rahman Abdel Fattah
A new research group on multiscale mechanobiology of tissue organization at CeMM: We wish Abdel Rahman Abdel Fattah a great start into this new role as Principal Investigator and Faculty member at CeMM! Abdel’s research interest lies in understanding how cells navigate a mechanical roadmap in order to initiate, achieve, and maintain tissue organization in health and disease. His lab will lead this research direction by building new…
"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.…
