IMC Krems: Top player in the domestic research landscape

The Institute of Biotechnology at IMC Krems, together with the Medical University of Vienna, already received funding in spring as part of doc.funds connect. The fact that another grant was awarded underlines the outstanding excellence in research and teaching at IMC Krems and opens up exciting career prospects for new doctoral students in promising fields of research.

Universities pull together

The Austrian Science Fund FWF supports cooperative doctoral programmes within the framework of doc.funds. In the spring of this year, IMC Krems received funding as part of doc.funds connect for “TOPICO – Transformation of Pre-Clinics into Clinics by Organoids” under the direction of Prof.(FH) Mag. Dr. Priv.-Doz. Harald Hundsberger, Institute of Biotechnology at IMC Krems, together with the Medical University of Vienna. The project covers research on the therapeutic resistance of cancer cells. The FWF is now providing further career opportunities for doctoral students who want to gain a foothold in promising fields of research – and IMC Krems is once again involved.

Excellent research cooperation

The doc.funds and doc.funds.connect funding programmes strengthen joint doctoral training at universities and universities of applied sciences. Thanks to funding from the Fonds Zukunft Österreich (Austrian Future Fund) and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), structured doctoral training at Austrian research institutions is being further expanded. The concept of the research team from IMC Krems, the Medical University of Vienna and the University for Continuing Education in Krems (UWK) was also convincing in the latest round of approvals. The EUR 1.1 million project is headed by Prof. Dr. Viktoria Weber, Vice Rector of the University for Continuing Education Krems. Prof.(FH) Mag. Dr. Christoph Wiesner, Professor at the Institute of Biotechnology, is responsible on the part of IMC Krems.

Doctoral programme “EVision: Extracellular Vesicles in Inflammation”

The current project focuses on important topics. Inflammation is an essential part of regeneration after infections or injuries. Dysregulation can lead to acute overreactions or chronic inflammation, which represents an enormous challenge for the healthcare system. The molecular mechanisms that control the transition from regenerative to degenerative effects are still largely unknown. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a central role in communication between cells. They can modulate the functions of their target cells via their molecular cargo. The aim of EVision is to investigate the role of EVs in the regulation of inflammation in order to gain a better understanding from a systemic perspective. The project is coordinated by the University of Continuing Education Krems with the participating partners IMC Krems and Medical University of Vienna.
“The FWF funding programme doc.funds enables the scientific training of doctoral students within the framework of structured doctoral programmes at Austrian research institutions – and IMC Krems is one of them. We are proud to offer our young researchers excellent framework conditions,” IMC Managing Director Ulrike Prommer says.

Managing Director Dr. Udo Brändle, LL.M. (Com) adds: “In this way, synergies in the domestic research landscape are exploited. Austria invests in the research competence of our universities of applied sciences while our researchers benefit greatly from this. In addition, this expertise flows into teaching and strengthens the quality of education.”

National Award for IMC researcher 

The high level at which IMC researchers work was recently demonstrated when Anna Stierschneider was awarded the National Award for the best dissertation, the Award of Excellence of the BMBWF. Anna Stierschneider, PhD is a senior postdoc at IMC Krems and worked on the elucidation of the molecular and regulatory mechanisms of TLR4 signalling in inflammation and cancer. She has developed optogenetically manipulated cell lines that enable spatio-temporally precise and reversible photoactivation of TLR4. With her research, Anna Stierschneider has made an important contribution to the elucidation of TLR4 signalling and opened up new possibilities for future research into inflammatory and cancer processes. The National Award once again highlights the high level of research at IMC Krems.