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

Viruses shut down antiviral defences to evade detection—but this can backfire. Researchers uncovered how human immune cells sense viral sabotage and trigger inflammation. UC Berkeley study with contributions from IMP’s Moritz Gaidt: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw4937

To regulate gene activity, proteasomes - waste disposal machines of cells - must enter the nucleus. IMP Researchers now show how the adaptor protein AKIRIN2 helps ferry this massive complex through the nuclear pore: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69162-0

Sven Klumpe, joint Group Leader at the IMP and IMBA 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

🔬 Our Research Milestones essays are back! This feature highlights Alipasha Vaziri, former Group Leader at the IMP and Max Perutz Labs. At the IMP, he developed imaging technologies that enabled large-scale recording of neuronal activity at single-cell resolution:

Paper alert! 📢 How do cells fight viruses without harming themselves? 🧬 In @natcomms.nature.com, the @versteegga.bsky.social lab uncover a previously unknown safeguard that keeps DNA-mutating antiviral enzymes in check, protecting the genome while preserving antiviral defense ➡️ tinyurl.com/4xbxz9e8

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.

Plasma cells are the immune system’s antibody factories, producing the molecules that protect us after infection or vaccination. They originate from B cell. Yet how B cells make the switch to become plasma cells—and which genes control this transition—isn’t known. Researchers from the lab of

Plasma cells are the immune system’s antibody factories, and they originate from B-cells. Researchers from our Busslinger lab developed a new CRISPR screening method to find the genes that control this transition inside living mice:

New work from our Haselbach lab with collaborators captures ribosomes 𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 and reveals a flexible, modular strategy behind their assembly, rather than a strict assembly line. Published in _Nucleic Acids Research _👉 https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkag036

Check out our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com .com where we used #cryoEM together with biochemical and mutational analyses investigated the cotranslational protein folding by Ssb in yeast. Publication: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67685-6 Check below for the cryoEM centric feed. 👇

BLOC-1 and BORC help move and position lysosomes inside cells. New work from the Haselbach and Clausen labs shows they are not uniform complexes, but families of related protein assemblies. Published in PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2515691123

🧪Scientists from our Haselbach lab captured how proteins begin to fold as they’re being made. Using cryo-EM, they visualised chaperones guiding nascent proteins on the ribosome: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67685-6

SY-Stem 2026 brings two outstanding keynote speakers to the Vienna BioCenter. SY-Stem is a symposium focusing on the next generation of stem cell researchers, organized by the @impvienna.bsky.social & @imbavienna.bsky.social March 11-13, 2026 Program and registration: www.sy-stem.org

Not that long ago, in vivo mouse enhancer design was a dream. Today, it's a reality! Using transfer deep learning to design de novo synthetic embryonic enhancers active in the heart, limb, and CNS. Great collab with @alex-stark.bsky.social lab! @ucibiosci.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social

Activator-promoter compatibility in mammals - Hcfc1 is a key and intrinsically CGI-promoter-specific co-activator that cannot activate non-CGI promoters. Lead by @nemcko.bsky.social & Kevin Sabath in collab. with @plaschkalab.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/2)

Congratulations to our Anna Obenauf, Senior Group Leader at the IMP, for receiving the EJI Ita Askonas Prize 2025 for her pioneering work uncovering how cancer evolution, therapy resistance, and immune evasion are intertwined. ➡️

🎉 Congrats to IMP group leaders Joris van der Veeken & Moritz Gaidt on receiving FWF Stand-Alone grants! Their projects will explore how gene regulation shapes immune cell identity & function. A 3rd grant supports Manuel Matzinger:

In a new paper in the EMBO Journal, researchers in the Pavri lab and collaborators, show how “genetic grammar” affect the rate at which somatic hypermutation, the process by which T cells purposely mutate their DNA to generate evolved antibodies : https://bit.ly/4aHetMg

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

Clemens Plaschka, Senior Group Leader at the IMP, has been awarded an ERC Consolidator grant! His project on the fate control of messenger RNA (mRNA) will be supported with funding over the next five years. ➡️ Read more:

Nature featured work from our Pauli lab, where AlphaFold-Multimer helped reveal how Tmem81 and two sperm proteins create the pocket for the egg protein Bouncer to bind. Andrea Pauli: “AlphaFold speeds up discovery, we use it for every project.” 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Congratulations to Paul Kirchgatterer, PhD student in Moritz Gaidt’s lab, who was awarded the Out of the Box Award for his project aiming to identify vulnerable viral genes that can be targeted to develop antiviral treatments. More: bit.ly/4pCLYDH

“…[at the IMP] collaborations can develop naturally across many projects…” We sat down with Jacob Schreiber after he wrapped up his one-year stay at the IMP, and he told us all about it: www.imp.ac.at/news/article... @jmschreiber91.bsky.social, @viennabiocenter.bsky.social

How does messenger RNA (mRNA) get out of the nucleus to become a protein? Eukaryotic mRNA is packaged, exported, and then translated in the cytoplasm. But how do these steps work? And what are open questions? Check out our new review for our take: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... (1/3)

Scientists around former IMP group leader David Keays (@lmumuenchen.bsky.social show that #pigeons detect magnetic fields through their inner ear. Their discovery was now published in the journal @science.org: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... More: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

Congratulations to Anais Elewaut, former PhD student in Anna Obenauf’s lab, who was awarded the Denise P. Barlow Award for her exceptional doctoral research on how tumours evade the immune system. More: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

Finally out in @nature.com! We uncovered a mechanistic framework for a general and conserved mRNA nuclear export pathway. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... 1/

New paper alert! Researchers at the Proteomics Tech Hub at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social 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: bit.ly/4nV5n1w

🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions! Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery. Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

Congrats to our Paul Welzl and Robert Kalis! 🎉 🏆 Paul (Plaschka & Balzarotti labs) received the 2025 Lauwers Award for his Monday Seminar talk on super-resolved mRNA imaging. 🏆 Robert (Zuber lab) won a Vienna BioCenter PhD Award for his work on cancer cell metabolism.

New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at @imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys

What’s it like doing a PhD between two labs? In our latest Behind the Science, Júlia Portell i de Montserrat, shared PhD student in the Plaschka lab at the IMP and the Brennecke lab at @imbavienna.bsky.social, tells us more about her unusual but rewarding PhD journey: bit.ly/3IHXtdp

Scientists from DKFZ and @impvienna.bsky.social have discovered that the acidic pH value in tumor tissue is a decisive factor in how pancreatic cancer cells adapt their energy metabolism in order to survive under adverse conditions. @wilhelmpalm.bsky.social @science.org t1p.de/wm8je

Just out in @science.org: Together with the lab of @wilhelmpalm.bsky.social, we used sequential in-vitro/in-vivo CRISPR screens to decipher metabolic adaptations in tumors. We find that acidosis is a dominant factor that shapes energy metabolism and stress resilience. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧪 How does cancer turn sour into power? Cancer cells thrive in hostile, acidic environments. A team led by Johannes Zuber (IMP) & Wilhelm Palm (DKFZ) shows that acidosis acts as a master switch, rewiring tumour metabolism and boosting resilience. ➡️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Before Jürgen Knoblich became known for his groundbreaking brain organoid research, he studied asymmetric cell division in Drosophila at the @impvienna.bsky.social. 📖 Read the full milestone essay: https://www.imp.ac.at/achievements/research-milestones/knoblich-asymmetric-cell-division

Our PhD program offers many training activities and courses for your future career. Check out the range of fully-funded PhD positions in our Autumn call before 10 October 2025: www.vbcphd.at

Congratulations to Sakurako Nagumo Wong, former PhD student in the @knoblich-lab.bsky.social at @imbavienna.bsky.social, who was awarded the 2025 Rabitsch Award for her remarkable contributions to the study of human cortical development and neurodevelopmental disorders. Read more: bit.ly/4ntgI9r

Manuel Matzinger, Senior Core Scientist & Deputy Head of the Proteomics Tech Hub of IMP, IMBA and GMI, received the Society Medal of the Austrian Proteomics and Metabolomics Association (APMA) for his pioneering contributions to single-cell proteomics. More: www.viennabiocenter.org/about/news/m...

🎉Congrats to our @vdeneke.bsky.social, postdoc in the @pauligroup.bsky.social, who has received the 2025 Life Sciences Research Award Austria from the ÖGMBT! She's recognised for her groundbreaking work on the molecular mechanisms of fertilisation: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

Explore projects in Stem Cells, development + more in our Autumn PhD call which is OPEN! 20+ fully funded positions across diverse life science disciplines. 👉 www.vbcphd.at Apply by 10 Oct 2025

Congratulations to our @obenaufa.bsky.social on receiving the highly prestigious Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award 2025! 🎉 Read more in this interview with Anna: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

Exciting news! We're thrilled to announce the six outstanding laureates of the International Birnstiel Award for Doctoral Studies in Molecular Life Sciences 2025! 🏆Congratulations to all awardees and honourable mentions! 🎉 1/ ➡️ www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

David Baltimore, Nobel laureate, pioneering biologist, and friend of the IMP since its foundation, passed away at the age of 87. Obituary: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

New paper by our Plaschka lab with Brennecke’s lab at IMBA! Researchers at the Vienna BioCenter have solved a 20-year-old mystery in genome biology, revealing how PIWI proteins engage partner molecules to silence “jumping genes” that threaten genetic stability.

The Vienna BioCenter PhD program in Molecular BioSciences will offer 20+ fully-funded positions in the Autumn Call which is now open. Have a look at what our campus has to offer: www.vbcphd.at

The Vienna BioCenter PhD program in Molecular BioSciences will offer 20+ fully-funded positions in the Autumn Call which is now open. Please share. Further details: www.vbcphd.at

Researchers around @clausenlab.bsky.social & @dangrabarczyk.bsky.social have unveiled the three-dimensional structure of UBR4, a giant protein complex that safeguards cells by targeting defective proteins for destruction—offering fresh insights into health & disease. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Happy to share our work on the structure and function of the unusual E3 ligase ZNFX1 @cp-cell.bsky.social. It uses a nucleic acid-activated transthiolation mechanism, ubiquitinating and clustering RNA to protect cells in an immune response. @clausenlab.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...