We were proud to see IMBA represented by Elly Tanaka and postdoc Tal Scully at today’s FWF press conference, highlighting how the Wittgenstein Award supports bold, curiosity-driven research. Elly also presented IMBA’s “neugierige Köpfe” initiative, which inspires students through hands-on science.

A fantastic opportunity to recognise outstanding PhD students and recent grads in molecular life sciences. Know someone exceptional? Nominate by 30 June 👇 www.imp.ac.at/birnstiel-aw...

Transposable elements—or “jumping genes”—are emerging as key regulators of development. In a new review in Advances in Genetics, researchers from the Jachowicz lab at IMBA show how these mobile DNA sequences act as a dynamic layer of gene regulation: www.sciencedirect.com/science/chap...

IMBA Senior Scientist Sasha Mendjan won the 2nd place of the Houska Prize 2026 (Uni category), Austria’s leading private research prize, presented annually by the B&C Private Foundation: https://imba.science/4mGENtO

We are #hiring! Join the de Groot lab as a PhD student in Computational Biology & Theoretical Modeling. Deadline: April 15. How to apply. 👇

Congratulations to Lucrezia Galli on the completion of her PhD! Galli, a researcher in the Tanaka lab, presented her dissertation titled “Re-establishment of the forelimb sensory innervation upon axolotl limb regeneration” during her PhD defense.

Congratulations to Oisorjo Chakraborty on the completion of his PhD! Chakraborty, a researcher in the Grade lab, presented his dissertation titled “Olfactory neurogenesis after visual impairment: a role in cross-modal enhancement” during his PhD defense.

Congratulations to Manuel Matzinger from the Proteomics Technology Hub of IMP, IMBA and GMI for securing funding from the FWF!

New pre-print from the Grade (IMBA) and Arévalo labs! After traumatic brain injury, astrocytes help clear debris from damaged tissue. Female astrocytes remove myelin debris more efficiently than male astrocytes, helping preserve neuronal activity and memory: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

From IMBA postdoc to group leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB)! Read the interview to learn how Ulrich Hohmann, former IMBA postdoc in the labs of Clemens Plaschka at the IMP and Julius Brennecke at IMBA, is handling this career step: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

At SY-Stem today, Lorenz Studer, Sloan Kettering Institute, delivered the closing keynote presentation on “Developing human PSC-based cell therapies for CNS and PNS disorders.”

Coffee breaks are an important part of conferences. At SY-Stem today, attendees had time for conversations, to ask questions sparked by presentations, and to connect with researchers they might not otherwise approach.

Today at SY-Stem: Marianne Bronner, California Institute of Technology, presented on “Gene regulatory subcircuits controlling neural crest stem cell fate along the body axis.”

A consortium of group leaders from IMP, IMBA (Vienna BioCenter) and ISTA has been awarded an FWF Emerging Fields grant to study how germ cells safeguard and pass on genetic information across generations.

Nicolas Rivron, Group Leader at IMBA, received an Honorable Mention for the 2026 ISSCR Early Career Impact Award. The award recognizes his joint work with Naomi Moris on stem cell–based embryo models and their ethical governance: https://imba.science/4rQrqcq

Explore the explainer thread outlining new findings from work led by Max Spicer in the Gerlich lab on chromosome structure and dynamics.

We are hiring! Join the Jachowicz lab as a postdoctoral researcher. The project focuses on understanding the dynamics of ncRNAs using high-resolution and single-molecule microscopy approaches. Link below 👇

Congratulations to our Anna Osnato (Rivron lab) and Mark Noble (Knoblich lab), postdocs at IMBA, who have been awarded prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships.

We are hiring! Join the Stapornwongkul lab as a Master's student to develop novel optogenetic tools and investigate how spatiotemporal metabolic dynamics affect patterning and morphogenesis of in vitro human gastrulation. Link below 👇

Final registration reminder for SY-Stem 2026. The deadline is on Monday, February 16.

🚨 New paper alert! Axolotls regrow limbs and tails, but not with the same strategy. Ji-Feng Fei and Elly Tanaka show in Science Advances that muscle stem cells in tail and limb behave differently, revealing a divide between regeneration modes: https://imba.science/4tgMRod

Sven Klumpe, joint Group Leader at IMBA and the IMP has received a grant by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Biohub to support fibsem-os, an open-source software platform for focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy. Read more 👉 https://imba.science/4tiwEP9

🎉 Congratulations to Kalki Kukreja, postdoc in Nicolas Rivron’s lab on receiving an APART-USA Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)! She will study the earliest stages of human development and explore how early human cells decide what they will become: https://imba.science/4qirJeD

🎉 Congratulations to Olena Kim, postdoc in Jürgen Knoblich’s lab on receiving an APART-MINT Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)! Her project explores how genetic mutations disrupt brain development in tuberous sclerosis, a rare childhood epilepsy: https://imba.science/4rojBKf

We are hiring! Join our Sterile Processing Unit as a technical assistant and provide scientists at the IMP, IMBA, and GMI with sterile laboratory glass and plastic goods.

Daan de Groot is joining IMBA as group leader, and he is hiring now! https://imba.science/3M9sfxg The de Groot Lab will study how cells make fate decisions during embryonic development, a research area with broad implications for both fundamental biology and biomedical applications. Welcome to

IMBA Group Leader Nicolas Rivron has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for his research on human blastoid models of early development: https://imba.science/4t0OUfR

We are hiring! Join the de Groot lab at IMBA as a computational research manager and play a pivotal role in shaping its computational infrastructure and culture. Link below 👇

We are hiring! Join the de Groot lab at IMBA as a computational research manager and play a pivotal role in shaping its computational infrastructure and culture. Link below 👇

We are hiring! Join the Gerlich lab as a scientific programmer/bioinformatician and join an interdisciplinary team studying fundamental mechanisms of chromosome organization, DNA repair, and cell division.

Congratulations to Stela Jelenic on the completion of her PhD! Jelenic presented her dissertation titled “How Germ Granule Localization Shapes Argonaute Specificity and Fidelity in Small RNA Loading” during her PhD defense.

We are hiring! Join the Knoblich lab as a Master's student and investigate how healthy network activity is established in human brain development and to identify the mechanisms by which genetic perturbations derail this process. #research #vienna #austria #europe #studyabroad #biology

🎉 Congratulations to Jürgen Knoblich and Nicolas Rivron! Both scientists got awarded Austrian Science Fund (FWF) grants for research projects using stem cell-based models to advance our knowledge of cell transplantation therapies and human implantation, respectively. More:

Congratulations to Ines Prlesi on the completion of her PhD! Prlesi presented her dissertation titled “The role of sister chromatid conformation during homology-directed repair of DNA double-strand breaks” during her PhD defense.

Congratulations to Katherina Tavernini on the completion of her PhD! Tavernini presented her dissertation titled “BMP4 induces a quiescent-like state in human radial glia neural stem cells” during her PhD defense.

Congratulations to Júlia Portell I De Montserrat on the completion of her PhD! Portell I De Montserrat presented her dissertation titled “Target RNA recognition drives PlWl* complex assembly for effector recruitment and transposon silencing” during her PhD defense.

SY-Stem 2026 is here! The symposium focusing on the next generation of stem cell researchers returns to the Vienna BioCenter from 11–13 March 2026. Register online: sy-stem.org

The Vienna BioCenter Summer School 2026 call is now open for talented undergrads, it's a great for those interested in graduate study in the life sciences. Daniel Gerlich from Institute of Molecular Biotechnology is recruiting! Please share https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/

I am happy to share that my postdoctoral work in the @gerlichlab.bsky.social at @imbavienna.bsky.social is finally out 🎉! Our study reveals how cohesin guides focused and accurate homology search. Read more 👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Follow along for key insights and updates! 🧵

IMBA scientists have joined forces with three other organizations to accelerate research and potential treatments for Coffin-Siris syndrome, a rare ARID1B-linked disorder causing severe neurodevelopmental delays: https://imba.science/48wLU1o

🚨 New Science paper from the Gerlich lab! The team shows how cohesin helps broken DNA find the right template: by opening local DNA loops to shrink the search area and by keeping the damaged strand close to its sister copy: science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw0566

Now hiring! The Mendjan Lab at IMBA in Vienna is looking for postdoctoral researchers to work on an ERC-funded project aiming to study human heart development and disease through pioneering cardiac organoid technology. More: https://imba.science/3Me3dgo #research #jobs #europe #biology

Now hiring! Join the Jachowicz Lab at IMBA in Vienna as a research assistant and work directly on an ERC-funded project aiming to understand changes in 3D genome organization and transcriptome during early mouse development. #research #jobs #europe #biology

Congratulations to Žiga Vičič, PhD student in Joanna Jachowicz’s lab, who received the “Out of the Box Award” jointly with Felix Haslhofer (@maxperutzlabs.ac.at) for their project aiming to develop a modular cell-line system to facilitate the study of protein function. More: imba.science/4rjDAe5

IMBA is recognized among Austria’s top public, non-university research institutions for its strong contribution to innovation and patent development, according to a new European study: www.oeaw.ac.at/imba/researc...

🚨 New paper alert! Scientists in the Burga lab show for the first time how toxin-antidote elements—selfish genetic elements that perpetuate by poisoning those embryos that don’t inherit them—evolved from normal cellular proteins. More: https://imba.science/3M3fRyq

Weekend long read, anyone? The @fwf-at.bsky.social features IMBA Scientific Director Elly Tanaka in a new article that lays out how she pioneered research in regeneration biology, bringing axolotls as a model organism to the molecular era.

New paper alert! Researchers at the Proteomics Tech Hub at the Vienna BioCenter have developed a new cross-linking mass spectrometry workflow that allows scientists to more easily detect and study protein interactions that were previously undetectable. More: https://imba.science/47QaCJA

Great career opportunity at @viennabiocenter.bsky.social: The @impvienna.bsky.social is looking for a new Junior Group Leader in cell and molecular biology, synthetic biology, genomics, gene regulation, development, cancer, immunology or infection biology. More: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

Congratulations to Max Kellner, former PhD student in Josef Penninger’s lab, who was awarded a Vienna BioCenter PhD Award for his thesis, in which he developed bat-derived organoids to investigate why bats can carry highly pathogenic viruses without falling ill. More: https://imba.science/4r5X0TE