CeMM

🚀 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 #𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗥𝗼𝘄𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 #𝗖𝗲𝗠𝗠𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱!

On the topic of clinical science, we feature today three CeMM research groups:

🧬 CeMM Adjunct PI Kaan Boztug’s group (St. Anna Kinderkrebsforschung / Universitätsklinikum Bonn) develops precision medicine approaches for childhood immune and hematological diseases.

In 2025, the team introduced an AI-supported precision medicine approach for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (pedAML), a rare and highly aggressive blood cancer in children. This method helps predict treatment responses as soon as pedAML is diagnosed.

At the Theater in der Josefstadt, Boztug said: "There is little incentive for the pharmaceutical industry to invest in this area, because the chances of large revenues are smaller than for common diseases. This is something that academic medicine has to take care of."

👉 https://bit.ly/4tUUNKG

🩺 CeMM Adjunct PI Thomas Reiberger’s group (Medizinische Universität Wien) investigates novel treatment strategies for liver fibrosis and portal hypertension (PH), a dangerous consequence of liver disease that claims over 2 million lives globally each year.

In 2025, the team showed that lingering low-grade inflammation may prevent liver blood vessels from relaxing even after the underlying cause of liver disease is removed, highlighting inflammation as a promising therapeutic target.

At the Burgtheater, the group reflected on the translational impact of their work: “Most of us are physician scientists and we work with patients on a daily basis. The bench-to-bedside principle is something that we live every day,” said Reiberger.

👉 https://bit.ly/3Q43NPQ

🔬 Psoriasis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases, affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. CeMM Adjunct PI Georg Stary’s group (Medizinische Universität Wien) studies tissue-resident immune cells in chronic inflammation, infection, and cancer.

Previous psoriasis treatment approaches focused on inhibiting pro-inflammatory immune cells, which can have the unintended side effect of increasing susceptibility to infection. In 2025, the team uncovered a new potential avenue for treating chronic skin inflammation, such as psoriasis and eczema.

During the group discussion at the 𝘌𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘣𝘬𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘻 (Theatermuseum), Stary said: "Loss of the anti-inflammatory function of regulatory T cells is caused by a malfunction of the cellular metabolism." The researchers showed that restoring this function could offer a more specific approach to future therapies.

👉 https://bit.ly/4dGeik7

📸 Klaus Pichler / CeMM

Congratulations to Miquel Muñoz Ordoño, from the group of CeMM Adjunct PI and AITHYRA Scientific Director LS Georg Winter, who successfully defended today his PhD thesis entitled "Bridging chemical biology and functional genomics: high-throughput mechanistic dissection of small molecule degraders".

During his PhD studies, he developed a novel drug discovery platform to find new molecular glue degraders in collaboration with the Erb lab at Scripps Research. After discovery, he then investigated their mechanism of action by performing loss-of-function screens to understand the molecular machinery employed by the degraders. Moreover, he applied other functional genomics approaches to identify the residues and domains in the involved proteins that are key for the degraders to function.

Your colleagues and friends at CeMM are proud of you, Miquel. Well done! 🎉👏

📸 Matthew Spencer / CeMM

🚀 New edition of our with highlights from our !

On the topic of chemistry, we feature today two CeMM research groups:

🧪 CeMM Adjunct PI Nuno Maulide’s group (Universität Wien) (University of Vienna) pursues novel chemical reactions and molecular architectures to tap into this huge potential, which may then be applied to synthesize biologically and pharmacologically relevant compounds.

In 2025, the team discovered PyrAte, a fluorescent organic salt that, when conjugated with escitalopram, can label the serotonin transporter SERT in mouse brain tissue. Such PyrAte-drug conjugates could help scientists monitor SERT in real time and may also be useful for studying other membrane proteins.

At the 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘔𝘢𝘹 of the University of Vienna, Maulide reflected on the role of serendipity in science: “The most fundamental and exciting scientific discoveries in the last 200 years were those that happened by accident.”

👉 https://bit.ly/4uhOkKW

🧬 Heating water above its boiling point under high pressure changes its properties, making it a valuable medium for diverse reactions. CeMM Adjunct PI Miriam Unterlass’s group (Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC and Universität Würzburg) pioneers hydrothermal synthesis (HTS), using hot water as a sustainable alternative to toxic solvents in organic chemistry.

During their discussion at the Volkstheater Wien, Unterlass emphasized the importance of green chemistry: “Classical synthesis of organic materials is often toxic, both for people and the environment.” Recently, the team developed a new generation of fluorescent dyes, and they are now expanding their repertoire of non-toxic fluorescent dyes for a wide range of biological applications.

👉 https://bit.ly/4uhOl1s

📸 Klaus Pichler / CeMM

🚀 It's time for our campaign again, highlighting the research in our !

Today, we feature two CeMM research groups working on 𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴:

🩸 "We work on endothelial cells, which aren't the most commonly studied cell type, but they are in every single blood vessel, and every part of our body needs a blood vessel and needs it to work. What we give to society, hopefully in the end, is healthier blood vessels and a healthier life," said 𝗖𝗲𝗠𝗠 𝗣𝗜 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗶𝗷 during their discussion at the 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘶𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘶 𝘓𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 of the Medizinische Universität Wien.

Her lab combines single-cell omics and functional vascular assays to study endothelial cell heterogeneity and its role in vascular aging and pathology. They have created a comprehensive atlas of human endothelial cell gene expression patterns across tissues and throughout the lifespan, and new hypotheses emerging from it can now be tested in in vitro blood vessel models.

👉 https://bit.ly/4tAI284

💻 Tissue function depends on proper spatial organization, which can deteriorate with age. Using deep learning to detect subtle structural patterns in large tissue image datasets, 𝗖𝗲𝗠𝗠 𝗣𝗜 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗼’s group is developing tools to study aging in human tissues.

“We are making the invisible visible,” Rendeiro said during the group’s discussion at the Rabenhof Theater. Uncovering hidden patterns in spatial data could eventually enable clinicians to spot signs of disease before any symptoms arise. “Earlier detection and intervention would be game-changing for aging populations,” another group member added.

👉 https://bit.ly/4tzg64w

📸 Klaus Pichler / CeMM

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗴𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀? 🧬

On 11 May 2026, nearly 400 guests joined us at Festive Hall of the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW) for the 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗠𝗠 #𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗲 (University of Washington and Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine), who delivered a fascinating lecture titled “Where babies come from: The invisible storyline of development, from zygote to newborn.”

With wit, clarity, and a deep sense of scientific curiosity, Shendure explored how groundbreaking single-cell sequencing and CRISPR-based technologies are transforming our understanding of life. Rather than a static blueprint, his team’s research reveals development as a continuous, branching "movie" of transitions.

A particularly memorable moment was Shendure’s insight into the biology of birth, revealing the dramatic molecular changes that sweep through the body in just minutes as an organism transitions to life outside the womb.

The evening was beautifully accompanied by the cello-and-accordion duo Marie Spaemann and Christian Bakanic, whose performance blended chamber music with jazz and world influences.

Thank you, Jay Shendure, for taking us on this captivating journey and providing a glimpse into the future of predictive biology!

➡️ Read more: https://bit.ly/49olqjS
➡️ Photo gallery: https://bit.ly/49olmRa

📸 Klaus Pichler / CeMM

🧬 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁-𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Targeted protein degradation has emerged as a powerful strategy to eliminate disease-causing proteins instead of simply blocking them. Now, researchers from Georg Winter's group at CeMM and AITHYRA, together with Alessio Ciulli's group at the Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation (CeTPD) of the University of Dundee, have discovered that a single small molecule can recruit not one, but two independent protein disposal systems at the same time.

Published in 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, the study shows that the degrader molecule targeting the cancer-associated proteins SMARCA2/4 can engage two distinct E3 ligases, enzyme complexes that label proteins for destruction by the proteasome. If one degradation pathway fails, the other can still eliminate the target protein, creating a built-in molecular backup system that could make future degrader therapies less vulnerable to resistance.

These findings expand the design principles of targeted protein degradation and point toward a new generation of therapies built not only for specificity, but also for durability.

🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/4uE2F4b
📄 Publication: https://bit.ly/3OUpWjh

📸 Co-Corresponding author Georg Winter (left) and co-first author Dmitri Segal (right); (© Wolfgang Däuble / CeMM).

📸 Cryo-EM structure of the complex between DCAF16 (red), DDB1(ΔBPB) (purple), DDA1 (orange), and SMARCA2 BD (green), glued by compound 1 (gray); (© Dmitri Segal).

🚀 #𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗥𝗼𝘄𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 #𝗖𝗲𝗠𝗠𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱!

Today, we turn to immunity, featuring four CeMM research groups:

🦠 CeMM PI Clarissa Campbell’s group studies the interplay between external factors such as diet or pathogens, the gut microbiome, and the host, uncovering new concepts and therapeutic avenues for gut disorders.

At the Musikverein Wien, Clarissa and her group emphasized: “We’re not just interested in correlations… we want to identify mechanisms. Only then can better diagnoses and treatments be developed.”

Gut disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome are linked to environmental factors that alter gut microbes. By investigating how bile acids affect host immunity, the team aims to uncover new ways to reduce inflammation in gut disorders.

👉 https://bit.ly/4dnK8mJ

🧬 To better harness the immune system in the fight against cancer, CeMM PI Barbara Maier’s group looks beyond the tumor itself: “Current treatments are very much focused on the tumor itself, but we believe that the next step is to look at systemic immunity… We want to understand how tumors interact with the immune system as a whole,” Maier said at Halle EG im MQ.

The group studies how lymph node architecture may influence premetastatic niche formation in lymph nodes and impair anti-tumor responses. Their findings could help establish a second pillar of immunotherapy for patients with compromised systemic immunity.

👉 https://bit.ly/3OMeQNc

🔬 How does infection alter metabolism and behavior? CeMM Adjunct PI Andreas Bergthaler's group (Medical University of Vienna) investigates host responses to viral infection, aiming to extend our understanding beyond immunology toward whole-organism physiology, which is key to explaining diseases like cachexia.

To understand how the body fuels immune responses while maintaining other essential processes, the team used mouse models of viral infection to study energy trade-offs. As Bergthaler said at the Volksoper Wien, “T cells consume a lot of energy to rapidly activate and proliferate in secondary lymphoid organs, and they compete with other tissues for the available glucose.” The team observed a CD8+ T cell–dependent fuel switch and, interestingly, similar bioenergetic reprogramming in cancer patients.

👉 https://bit.ly/4n9v0wJ

➡️ Looking ahead: CeMM Scientific Director Maria Rescigno established a new research group at CeMM on mucosal immunology in early 2026. She aims to advance our understanding of the gut–brain axis, showing how gut-derived immune signals can shape the brain’s immune borders.

👉 https://bit.ly/4enZlFx

📸 Klaus Pichler / CeMM