IMBA is among Austria's leading contributors to exceptional life science research. In QED Science's new analysis of 57,455 bioRxiv preprints, Austria emerged as the strongest overperformer relative to its size. Of the 31 Austrian preprints in "The 1%", 8 include IMBA: https://imba.science/4eHpBsW

🎉 Congratulations to IMBA Senior Group Leader Jürgen Knoblich on receiving an ERC Advanced Grant! His project CASCO will use brain organoids to study how neuronal diversity shapes functional brain networks: https://imba.science/43RW8Yh

The labs of Julius Brennecke and Clemens Plaschka reveal a molecular decision point that determines whether RNA molecules are exported for use or targeted for destruction. Now published in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations to Max Spicer on the completion of his PhD! The title of Spicer’s talk was “Electrostatic control of apoptotic chromatin compaction”.

We remember Gregory Hannon as an active member of IMBA’s Scientific Advisory Board. An obituary has now been published, co-authored by IMBA Senior Group Leader Julius Brennecke.

Until 30 June 2026, the exhibition Discovering Women Researchers will be on display in the foyer in front of the IMBA/GMI lecture hall. The exhibition highlights the stories, achievements, and lasting impact of women researchers at the Austrian Academy of Sciences:

Stem-cell embryo organoids are helping scientists model early pregnancy in the lab, opening new paths to treat infertility, miscarriage, and pre-eclampsia. The IMBA lab of Nicolas Rivron was featured by New Scientist. www.newscientist.com/article/2527...

Join us on June 18 at ISTA for a day dedicated to developmental and stem cell biology, with talks, poster sessions, flash talks, and opportunities to connect across the Vienna life science community. More. 👇

IMBA Scientific Director Elly Tanaka has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, joining the world's oldest scientific academy. Founded in 1660, the Royal Society has counted Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein among its fellows. More: 👇

How do breast tumors evade the immune system? An international team led by Josef Penninger’s lab at IMBA has identified a mechanism that allows breast cancers to escape immune attack, shedding light on why some patients do not respond to immunotherapy. Paper below. 👇

We are hiring! Join the BioOptics team as a Microscopy Specialist with a focus on multiphoton intravital microscopy. Link below.👇

IMBA Group Leader Joanna Jachowicz has received an FWF Principal Investigator Project grant to study how LINE-1 RNA molecules — once considered “junk DNA” — help regulate gene activity during early mammalian development. ➡️ Read more: https://bit.ly/49b992j

We are hiring! Join the Grade lab as a postdoctoral researcher to explore a development-inspired approach to cortical repair. Link below.👇

IMBA has secured MSCA “Choose Europe for Science” funding to launch the “da Vinci” Postdoctoral Fellowship Network. Six postdoctoral fellows will be trained at the intersection of AI and experimental biology, strengthening Europe’s future in data-driven discovery: https://bit.ly/4eJLU2O

📣 Registration is open for the 20th Microsymposium on RNA Biology! Join in at the Vienna BioCenter for three days of cutting-edge science, discussion & networking. 📅 17-19 June 2026 🧬 Poster abstract deadline: 19 May Info & registration: www.oeaw.ac.at/imba/seminar...

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.