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FWF grant for Bojan Žagrović to explore hidden potential of frameshift mutations

May 12, 2026

Perutz group leader Bojan Žagrović has been awarded funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for a three-year project investigating how frameshift mutations reshape proteins and drive evolution. Frameshift mutations alter the genetic reading frame, dramatically changing the resulting protein sequence. Consequently, they are generally considered to be deleterious. Bojan and his collaborators aim to challenge this long-standing view by combining novel computational approaches, AI-based protein structure prediction, and experimental validation to study whether some frameshifted proteins can still adopt functional, native-like structures.
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The more, the merrier? How extra chromosomes help cancer cells survive

Apr 28, 2026

Cancer cells often turn an abnormal number of chromosomes – aneuploidy – from a harmful condition into a survival advantage. By studying engineered aneuploid yeast strains, the Campbell lab shows in a study published in EMBO Reports that drug resistance does not arise from single genes, but from subtle, combined changes across many genes at once. These findings may help to explain why aneuploidy is so common in cancer and influence how scientists search for therapeutic targets.
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Condensates and gene control: Theresia Brennecke awarded BIF PhD Fellowship

Apr 09, 2026

Theresia Brennecke from the Köhler lab has been awarded a prestigious PhD Fellowship from the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) to study how biomolecular condensates influence gene transcription in cells. The highly competitive BIF fellowship – where applicants compete with the top 5% of students worldwide – provides up to 3.5 years of funding and access to an international network of fellows, with fewer than 10% of candidates selected following a rigorous evaluation by external experts and the BIF board.
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Traffic control at the molecular scale

Mar 25, 2026

During protein synthesis, ribosomes stall when they encounter damaged mRNA or when cells are depleted of essential factors. Unresolved, stalled ribosomes have the potential to create harmful traffic jams inside the cell. A new study from the Karagöz lab, published in EMBO Journal, reveals how ribosome-associated quality control and UFMylation machinery cooperate to resolve stalled ribosomes at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). By uncovering the mechanistic interplay between these pathways, the researchers explain how cells overcome the physical constraints imposed by membrane-associated translation. Their findings provide an important link between ER proteostasis and ribosome rescue mechanisms.
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FWF funding advances immune cell and imaging research

Mar 18, 2026

Two new research projects at the Perutz have been awarded funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Led by group leaders Pavel Kovarik and Jonas Ries, the projects explore two very different but equally fundamental aspects of biology: how immune cells in the lungs rapidly adapt to infections and tissue damage, and how proteins move and change shape inside living cells. Together, the two grants provide more than €1.1 million in funding over three years.
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FWF ESPRIT fellowship for postdoc Zach Marin to capture subcellular motion

Mar 16, 2026

Postdoctoral researcher Zach Marin (Ries lab) has been awarded an FWF ESPRIT Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) to pursue an innovative microscopy project at the Perutz. Providing funding over three years, Zach’s project ‘Live-Cell Imaging of Clathrin Dynamics at the Nanoscale’ aims to develop faster super-resolution imaging approaches to visualize structural dynamics inside living cells at unprecedented resolution. The ESPRIT Postdoc fellowship supports early career researchers in preparing to establish their own research group in the future.
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Rethinking stem cell culture

Mar 13, 2026

Studying the earliest stages of human development depends on stem cell models that are both biologically faithful and technically practicable. In a new study published in EMBO Journal, PhD student Michael Oberhuemer (Leeb lab) reports a simpler way to culture human naïve pluripotent stem cells – without relying on mouse feeder cells. By replacing these animal-derived support cells with a serum-based substrate and validating the approach together with multiple European collaborators, the team delivers a scalable and developmentally accurate culture system that lowers the barriers to human stem cell research.
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Elif Karagöz leads FWF Emerging Fields research consortium

Mar 09, 2026

Perutz group leader Elif Karagöz will coordinate the prestigious FWF Emerging Fields consortium project ‘Translating the Ribosome Code of Pediatric Cancers’. Funded with nearly €6 million by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the initiative brings together researchers from leading Vienna-based institutions, combining expertise that spans basic, translational, and patient-focused research. The collaborative project aims to uncover how ribosomes regulate protein production in childhood cancers and to explore whether this hidden layer of gene regulation can be harnessed to develop novel therapeutic strategies.
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The Perutz welcomes new group leader Danny Nedialkova

Mar 02, 2026

Danny Nedialkova will launch her lab at the Max Perutz Labs this April. Danny joins the Perutz from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, where she has been leading a research group focused on the ‘Mechanisms of Protein Biogenesis’ since 2017. With her internationally recognized expertise in RNA biology and translation regulation, she strengthens the institute’s research focus on the fundamental mechanisms controlling cellular physiology and their perturbation in disease settings.

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