News

February 23, 2010
The scientific and artistic community gathers with sponsors and Minister Karl to celebrate the new landmark facade
On Tuesday evening, some 200 people gathered in a tent at the feet of the new CeMM building to celebrate the inauguration of the new 400 m2 glass facade by artist Peter Kogler. Following the welcome addresses of CeMM scientific director Giulio Superti-Furga and Peter Kogler, a speech by the federal minister of science and research, Dr. Beatrix Karl, hailed the importance of basic research for medicine and innovation, stressed the pivotal role of CeMM on the medical campus and congratulated for the successful bringing together of art and science. The private sponsors and prominent guests cheered to the new facade when spotlights illuminated the artwork on the building by architect Ernst Kopper. Among the well-wishers CeMM were the Rector of the MUW Prof. Wolfgang Schütz, AKH Director Prof. Reinhard Krepler, former presidents of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Werner Welzig and Prof. Herbert Mang, the newly-elected president of the ERC Prof. Helga Nowotny, numerous architects, museum directors and artists, including Anna Jermolaewa, Herwig Kempinger, Hans Kupelwieser as well too many research partners and friends to be all mentioned. The event was an extremely successful testimonial for cross-cultural integration and a celebration of the creative impetus common to art and science.

CeMM Direktor Giulio Superti-Furga, Bundesministerin Dr. Beatrix Karl, Künstler Peter Kogler

February 23, 2010
CeMM‘s art facade has been presented to the media today
during a press conference at the feet of the new CeMM building. The renowned artist Peter Kogler has created a very large glass abstract artwork covering the entire front facade of the new CeMM building inspired by molecular and cellular networks studied at CeMM and symbolizing a new transparent partnership between medical research and society. The work, accessible to thousands of daily hospital visitors, patients, workers and students is likely to become a city landmark. CeMM is especially grateful to the 50 individual sponsors that root the initiative into a large and varied basis of supporters of art and scientific research. The art project also embodies the strong will of the Ministry of Science and Research, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Medical University of Vienna and the Vienna General Hospital in making CeMM the focus of a new collaboration paradigm for medical research.
Press Release and Photos

Architekt Ernst Kopper, CeMM Direktor Giulio Superti-Furga, Künstler Peter Kogler

December 16, 2009
Experimental cancer therapy with digitalis-like drugs
under question
In a study published in the journal Plos ONE, Sebastian Nijman and his team, together with the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Medical University Vienna challenge the experimental use of cardiac glycosides in cancer patients.
Link to Press Release

November 23, 2009
ERC Advanced Investigator Grant awarded to
Giulio Superti-Furga
Giulio Superti-Furga, CeMM Director, received the prestigious grant awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). The program targets established research leaders and innovative, interdisciplinary and pioneering research projects. An international review panel appoints this grant based on scientific excellence of the principal investigator and scientific quality of the research proposal. With the 2 Mio. € support, Giulio Superti-Furga and his team will study the body’s immediate reaction to infections within the overall CeMM goal to bridge basic molecular biology and applied medicine.
Link to Press Release

November 6, 2009
Karl Landsteiner-Prize awarded to Giulio-Superti-Furga
Prof. Giulio Superti-Furga, Scientific Director and CEO of the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM), was awarded the Karl Landsteiner-Prize by the Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI) for his paper "An orthogonal proteomic-genomic screen identifies AIM2 as a cytoplasmic DNA sensor for the inflammasome" Nat.Immunol.(2009) 10:266-272. At the same occasion in Salzburg, Prof. Superti-Furga congratulated Prof. Dr. Georg Stingl, secretary of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who had received the prestigious Karl Landsteiner-Medal.

Prof. Dr. Giulio Superti-Furga (r.) and Prof. Dr. Georg Stingl in Salzburg.

October 27, 2009
A biomedical adventurers’ guide to navigating between careers in academia and industry
A perspective by Giulio Superti-Furga.
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Perspective

October 12, 2009
“Wiener Zukunftspreis 2009” of the City of Vienna awarded to Sebastian Nijman
Sebastian Nijman, principal investigator at the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Science (CeMM), was awarded the “Wiener Zukunftspreis” of the City of Vienna in the category “Newcomer & Start-ups” for his project “Searching for cancer Achilles’ heels“. The award was presented in collaboration with NEWS media and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Dr. Michael Häupl (r.), Mayor of the City of Vienna, offers his congratiulations to CeMM PI and award winner Sebastian Nijman.

October 3, 2009
Willhelm-Türk-Award of the Austrian Society for Hematology and Oncology awarded to Damla Olcaydu
Damla Olcaydu, Medical Doctor and Pre Doctoral Fellow at the Research Center of Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Science (CeMM) and at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV) was awarded the William-Türk-Preis of the Austrian Society for Hematology and Oncology (OeGHO) for her publication "A common JAK2 haplotype confers susceptibility to myeloproliferative neoplasms“.
More Information

Award winner Damla Olcaydu at work in the CeMM Laboratory (PI Robert Kralovics).

September 23, 2009
Innovative experimental therapy for acute lung injury and secondary pneumonia discovered
A research team led by Sylvia Knapp at CeMM, in cooperation with the Departments of Medicine I, Dermatology, Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics and Pathology of the Medical University of Vienna, discovered a novel therapeutic approach to attenuate acute lung injury and improve outcome during secondary pneumonia. These findings are significant as they push us one step closer in preventing pneumonia in intensive care patients. Our results are published in the advance online publication of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine: Matt et al. B{beta}15-42 Protects Against Acid-Induced Acute Lung Injury and Secondary Pseudomonas Pneumonia In Vivo.
Link to Article

September 1, 2009
Christoph Binder appointed as Professor for Atherosclerosis Research
Today CeMM Principal Investigator Christoph Binder has been appointed as Junior Professor for Atherosclerosis Research at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV). Christoph Binder is a member of CeMM’s faculty and holds a joint PI position between CeMM and the MUV as part of a tight cooperation between the organizations. CeMM is proud about this recognition of his achievements and congratulates the new Junior Professor.
Download Biosketch

July 17, 2009
Important Pneumonia Defense Mechanism Uncovered
A team of scientists around Sylvia Knapp at the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM) in cooperation with the Departments of Medicine I and Pathology of the Medical University of Vienna for the first time uncovered a beneficial pneumonia immune defense mechanism involving the receptor TREM-1, a potent amplifier of the inflammatory response to microbial infections.
Published online this week in The Journal of Immunology: TREM-1 Activation Alters the Dynamics of Pulmonary IRAK-M Expression In Vivo and Improves Host Defense during Pneumococcal Pneumonia by Heimo Lagler, Omar Sharif et al.
Download article in The Journal of Immunology

July 6, 2009
We are looking for Principal Investigators to start during 2010/2011 in the new purpose-made research building in the middle of Vienna’s medical campus. Extended application deadline: September 4, 2009 Further information under 'Open Positions'
Download Announcement

June 2, 2009
Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, Knight Officer, awarded to Giulio Superti-Furga: We congratulate CeMM Director Superti-Furga who received the decoration by H.E. Dr. Massimo Spinetti, Italian Ambassador to Austria, in recognition of his achievements as outstanding representative in the scientific and academic field of Austria.

May 28, 2009
Macro non-coding RNAs
Two review articles on macro non-coding RNAs and their role in genomic imprinting and imprinted gene expression published by Denise Barlow and members of her research group at CeMM.
See article RNA Biology
Download article in Development

May 5, 2009
This year’s CeMM Karl Landsteiner was given by Dr. Vishva Dixit, Vice President of Research, Genentech Inc. San Francisco. The lecture was held in the early evening of May 4 in the festive hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Former Landsteiner Lecturers:
2008 - Kári Stefánsson, deCode genetics, IS
2007 - John Kuriyan, UC Berkeley, USA
Download Poster Vishva Dixit

April 29, 2009
Annual Report 2008: Read our second research report! 2008 has been another very important year in this center’s young life.
Please Download PDF or contact Anita Ender aender@cemm.oeaw.ac.at for a printed version.
Download Annual Report 2008 (PDF, 10.4 Mb)

April 13, 2009
Unknown Leukemia Protein Complex Identified
Scientists at the Director’s Group of CeMM for the first time mapped the precise molecular network of the oncogene Bcr-Abl. Bcr-Abl is a paradigmatic drug target in chronic myeloid leukemia. The results appeared as an advanced online publication in PNAS (The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America): Charting the molecular network of the drug target Bcr-Abl by Marc Brehme, Oliver Hantschel et al.
Download PNAS paper
Download press release, English
Download press release, German
Further information (photo, CV) under 'Downloads'

April 13, 2009
Fundamental property of natural antibodies detected
A team led by Christoph Binder at CeMM and the Department of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics (KIMCL) of the Medical University Vienna has discovered a hitherto unrecognized property for about a third of all natural antibodies. This finding points to an important function of the antibodies in numerous chronic inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular diseases. In the future, these results could be exploited for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Published online in JCI (The Journal of Clinical Investigation): Oxidation-specific epitopes are dominant targets of innate natural antibodies in mice and humans by Meng-Yun Cho et al.
Download JCI paper
Download press release, English
Download press release, German
Further information (photo, CV) under 'Downloads'

March 24, 2009
Topping-out ceremony for new CeMM building
Today CeMM celebrated the completion of the framework for its new building, which is located at the very heart of the Vienna General Hospital (AKH) and Medical University (MUW) campus. Johannes Hahn, Minister for Science and Research, took part in the ceremony and underlined the importance of CeMM for biomedical research in Austria. The whole project is on schedule, with the envisaged date of relocation in early 2010.
Download press release, German
Download photo (minister Hahn with CeMM principal investigators and directors, © Michael Sazel)
More information about the building (noch verlinken)

March 15, 2009
CeMM Identifies Inherited Susceptibility for a Blood Malignancy In cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna, CeMM scientists show that a common gene variant increases the risk of developing a certain type of blood malignancy. This is the first time in cancer research that a gene variant is found to preferentially acquire a disease-causing mutation. The results appeared in the online publication route of the journal Nature Genetics on Sunday, 15 March 2009: A common JAK2 haplotype confers susceptibility to myeloproliferative neoplasms. Damla Olcaydu (CeMM), Ashot Harutyunyan (CeMM), Roland Jäger (CeMM), Tiina Berg (CeMM), Bettina Gisslinger (MUW), Ingrid Pabinger (MUW), Heinz Gisslinger (MUW), Robert Kralovics (CeMM). Nature Genetics. DOI 10.1038/ng.341.
Download Nature Genetics paper
Download press release, English
Download press release, German
Further information (photo, CV) under 'Downloads'

March 3, 2009
Advance notice – CeMM Karl Landsteiner Lecture, 4 May 2009: This year's speaker at the CeMM Karl Landsteiner Lecture will be Vishva Dixit, Vice President Physiological Chemistry at Genentech. The US biotech company is considered by many to be the founder of the biotechnology industry.
http://www.gene.com/gene/about/corporate/history/
More than 30 years after its creation, Genentech is one of the leading biotech businesses in the world. The Lecture will be held at the premises of the Academy of Sciences and will begin at 6.30pm. The exact topic will be announced along with the official program.
For further information please contact aender@cemm.oeaw.ac.at.

February 26, 2009
Paper in Scientific Journal BMC Structural Biology: Jonathan A Winger (UC Berkeley), Oliver Hantschel (CeMM), Giulio Superti-Furga (CeMM), John Kuriyan (UC Berkeley). The structure of the leukemia drug imatinib bound to human quinone reductase 2 (NQO2). BMC Structural Biology 2009, 9:7doi:10.1186/1472-6807-9-7. 24 February 2009
Download PDF

February 24, 2009
Upcoming CeMMinars
Ben Ebert from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute will be the next speaker of the CeMM seminar series on 23 March 2009. Ebert is interested in using genomic technologies to study hematopoietic malignancies and red blood cell production. For more information:
http://www.hsci.harvard.edu/pri-fac-profile/1624
Please find attached the schedule of the upcoming CeMMinars until September 2009.
Download CeMMinar schedule

February 20, 2009
New CeMM Administrative Director
Georg Casari joins CeMM as new Administrative Director. He complements the existing CeMM management team with Scientific Director Giulio Superti-Furga and Managing Director Gerhard Schadler.
Download CV Georg Casari

February 9, 2009
CeMM PI Robert Kralovics wins MPD grant
CeMM Principal Investigator Robert Kralovics won the New Investigator Grant of the American MPD Foundation. Robert Kralovics receives the grant together with researchers from the University of California, the Saint Antoine Hospital (France) and the University of Chicago. The scientists have been chosen because of their dedication to MPD research, the quality of the submitted research proposal and in part for their willingness to collaborate with other researchers. MPDs (Myeloproliferative Disorders) are a closely related group of hematological malignancies in which the bone marrow cells that produce the body's blood cells develop and function abnormally.
For more information:
http://www.mpdfoundation.org/2009GrantAnnouncement.php5

February 6, 2009
Paper in scientific journal Development: Paulina A. Latos, Stefan H. Stricker, Laura Steenpass, Florian M. Pauler (CeMM), Ru Huang (CeMM), Basak H. Senergin (CeMM), Kakkad Regha, Martha V. Koerner (CeMM), Katarzyna E. Warczok (CeMM), Christine Unger and Denise P. Barlow (CeMM). An in vitro ES cell imprinting model shows that imprinted expression of the Igf2r gene arises from an allele-specific expression bias. Development 136, 437-448 (2009) doi:10.1242/dev.032060
Download PDF

February 5, 2009
Petition to the Austrian Government
The Austrian government plans to severely cut the budget for research. If these plans become reality they are a serious threat for the future of research and innovation in the country. We therefore urgently ask you to sign the attached petition. You simply have to write your name into an online from that you find on:
http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at/forschung-ist-zukunft
The petition and the list of supporters will be handed over to the government.
Download Petition (PDF, English)
Download Petition (PDF, German)

January 26, 2009
Press Conference: Top scientists worry about possible cuts in the government’s budget for research
CeMM Scientific Director Giulio Superti-Furga and his colleagues Josef Penninger (IMBA), Rainer Blatt (IQOQI) and Anton Zeilinger (IQOQI) are worried about possible cuts in the funding of basic research by the new government in Austria. In a press conference they explained that such a policy deters top-scientists from coming to Austria, unsettles young researchers and has negative economic consequences for the entire country. The scientists might be forced to stop some of their most promising projects.
Download Press Release, German

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