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Jul 01, 2025

Precise regulation of the innate immune response is critical in the fight against pathogens. A new study by Adrian Söderholm (Versteeg lab), published in Nucleic Acids Research, reveals how cells regulate immune signaling by controlling RNA processing of JAK2, a crucial signal transducer in mediating an innate immune response. The researchers identify the protein ERH as a previously underappreciated but essential factor in the interferon gamma (IFNγ) signaling pathway.
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Celebrating 20 years of transformative basic research at the Perutz

Jun 26, 2025

The Max Perutz Labs celebrated their 20th anniversary on June 24 with a special event honoring two decades of pioneering research in molecular biology. Scientists, alumni, and guests from across the scientific community came together to reflect on past achievements and the journey that shaped the institute into what it is today. The day was filled with memorable moments – from the thought-provoking Perutz Lectures to a spirited panel discussion, a beatboxing flutist, and celebrations that carried late into the night.
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Alwin Köhler awarded ERC Advanced Grant

Jun 17, 2025

Alwin Köhler, group leader and scientific director at the Max Perutz Labs, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant to investigate how nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) remodel nuclear membranes to form functional channels – a process he proposes is closely linked to lipid chemistry and nuclear membrane metabolism. The project seeks to uncover how cells sculpt the nucleus without rupturing it, which is a question that lies at the heart of eukaryotic life. This is Alwin Köhler’s third ERC grant, following earlier Starting and Consolidator Grants.
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Recognizing research talent: Max Perutz PhD fellows 2025

Jun 13, 2025

The Max Perutz PhD Fellowship celebrates outstanding young scientists at the Perutz tackling fundamental biological questions. This year, Magdalena Otto (Leonard lab) and Daniel Velikov (Matos lab) have been awarded the fellowship for their PhD projects in cell signaling and meiosis. Both Magdalena and Daniel are decoding how cells manage complex molecular processes – under stress and during reproduction.
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Flying in the face of conventional wisdom

May 21, 2025

The function of centriolar satellites – cytoplasmic particles found in the vicinity of centrosomes and the base of cilia – has long been enigmatic. From studies of the component protein PCM1, satellites were thought to shuttle proteins to help build the centrosome and cilium. However, a new study from the Dammermann lab published in the Journal of Cell Biology challenges this view, proposing instead that satellites may serve a very different purpose – one tied to translation and translation-coupled protein quality control.
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Three Perutz group leaders secure FWF funding

May 15, 2025

Three group leaders at the Max Perutz Labs have been granted Principal Investigator Projects by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), securing a total of nearly €1.5 million in research funding. Sebastian Falk will investigate the molecular connection between mRNA splicing and decay within the exosome, while Robert Konrat will develop advanced NMR techniques for studying intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which play critical roles in health and disease. Peter Schlögelhofer’s project focuses on the non-cohesive roles of the cohesin complex in shaping chromosome architecture during meiosis.
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A kinase goes into the recycling business

May 09, 2025

RAF1 is best known as a key signal transducer in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, where it controls cell proliferation and survival. Emerging evidence, however, suggests it may have additional, unexpected roles. In a new study published in Cell Reports, PhD student and first author Stefanie Toifl (Baccarini lab) uncovers a surprising function: together with newly identified substrates, RAF1 is required for efficient autophagic lysosome reformation.
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Edvinas Stankunas named Medical University of Vienna Researcher of the Month

May 01, 2025

Each month, the Medical University of Vienna highlights selected researchers and their work. In May, Edvinas Stankunas, a PhD student in the Köhler lab, is featured for his first-author publication in Nature Cell Biology in 2024.
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A not so futile cycle?

Apr 29, 2025

The E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM52 is one of the most unstable proteins in the human proteome. Curiously, however, despite having been lost in most mammals, TRIM52 has been retained in humans and old-world primates. In work recently published in Nature Communications, former PhD student Alexandra Shulkina (Versteeg lab) reveals that TRIM52 confers a fitness advantage to cells by helping to resolve topoisomerase 2 DNA lesions.

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