The VDSs are an innovative project of doctoral training at the University of Vienna, aiming to bring together the most committed doctoral candidates and supervisors, in order to enhance the quality of doctoral education in Austria. The VDSs are also intended to promote connections between different fields of science and boost an interdisciplinary, more effective research. This is in recognition of the fact that the most important discoveries and exciting findings come from addressing scientific problems from different perspectives.
The symposium has been a first and very successful attempt of the VDSs to bring together scientists of different areas to promote the exchange of knowledge and techniques.
A warm welcome from the Vice Rector of the University of Vienna, Heinz Fassmann, the Head of the Center of Doctoral Studies, Lucas Zinner, and VDS Molecules of Life (MoL) student representative Amelie Schoenenwald opened the first day of the symposium, immediately followed by the first keynote speaker. Each VDS invited a world-leading scientist in their field, scientists whose research is at the crossroads of different disciplines. Their achievements are a clear example that collaboration and integration of different disciplines are the key to success.
The VDS CoBeNe hosted Prof. Asya Rolls, an assistant professor at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Prof. Rolls, whose successful career includes awards such as the Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research, presented her latest major findings on the tight connection between mind and body. In particular, she showed how positive emotional states influence and boost the immune system. These findings can be important for improving therapeutic approaches to pathologies strongly influenced by the immune response or to explain phenomena like the “placebo effect”.
Very different was the talk held by the guest of the VDS Mathematics, Prof. Pierre-Louis Lions of the Collège de France. Prof. Lions is particularly famous for his contribution to the study of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) and other findings relevant for the field of mathematics and physics, and has been awarded the Fields Medal (sometimes called the “Nobel Prize” of Mathematics). Prof. Lions presented his recent theory of mean-field games, a novel class of PDEs, and its potential applications to several real situations, especially in economics.
The guest speaker of the VDS MoL, Prof. Thomas Pollard, is a Professor at Yale and his academic successes include being President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Prof. Pollard's research focuses on the study of the cytoskeleton and the cytokinesis and shows how the combination of molecular biology, high-end microscopy and mathematical models can lead to major discoveries. An example is the new microscopy technique developed by his team, allowing the visualization of the growth of actin filaments in real time.
Prof. Seth Lloyd, invited by the VDS Physics, is the Director of the WM Center for Extreme Quantum Information Theory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prof. Lloyd focuses on the role of information in physical and mechanical systems, particularly in quantum mechanics. He also proposed the first technologically feasible design of a quantum computer. In his talk, Prof. Lloyd discussed quantum machine learning and specifically the applicability of quantum computers to find patterns in big data, where conventional computers fail. Moreover, he discussed possible applications of the quantum approach to chemistry, finance and other fields.
The symposium also hosted a panel discussion open to the public, led by MoL student Stefan Benke. During the event, the four keynote speakers discussed hot topics such as the necessity to improve communication between scientists and society and the dangers and opportunities of making raw data freely available.
Science, research and innovation are not only hard work but also creativity and fun. To celebrate this, the students of the VDSs staged an impressive science slam. The competition challenged the students to find alternative and artistic ways to present their PhD projects. The competition included the projection of videos, costumes, dancing performances and music. An award ceremony announced the winner of the two “best poster” prizes, the “best talk” prize and the science slam prize, followed by the closing remarks from Prof. Schloegelhofer (the deputy coordinator of the VDS MoL) and Lisa Weiss, a student of the VDS Physics.
“This conference has truly shown that mathematicians, physicists, molecular biologists and scientists studying different aspects of brain function can talk to each other and get excited about each other’s science, and has hopefully sown the seed of future collaborations. Our students gave impressive talks and poster presentations, were perfect as chairpersons and inspiring and funny as science slam participants. It was great to be part of it and we cannot thank the representatives of the PhD students enough, who put together such an interesting and enjoyable program,” says Manuela Baccarini, coordinator and founder of MoL.
In conclusion, although it is clear that the road to a perfect PhD training and research approach is still long and uphill, we can say that, for the VDSs, it had a very promising start.
Profiling and programming in vitro human neuronal diversity at single-cell resolution
18th Microsymposium on RNA Biology
The „Microsymposium on RNA Biology“ is an international conference that brings together young scientists, junior and senior group leaders, and company representatives from all over the world to present and discuss their latest findings in the exciting field of small RNAs and beyond. The Microsymposium was founded in 2005 and has established itself as the major small RNA meeting in Europe. It is organized by the four research institutions IMBA, IMP, GMI and the Max Perutz Labs as well as by the RNA community of the Vienna BioCenter.
Transformation Reactions of Organic Contaminants and Oxygen: From Field Sites to Reaction Mechanisms
Title to be announced
Multiscale plant bioimaging using advanced microscopy
Parthenogenesis, cryptobiosis, and the survival in extreme environmental conditions
Evading ageing: Mitochondrial and proteostatic adaptations in oocytes
Genomes in Rhodnius prolixus symbiotic system
Stem cells, immune evasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer
Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2024
The Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium is an annual international meeting taking place in the beautiful capital of Austria, aiming to bring together scholars from various fields studying ubiquitin/Ubl biology and protein degradation in a personal, family-like atmosphere, as suggested by the name.
The evolution and development of mollusc shells
Unraveling the Complexity of Crossover Regulation in C. elegans
Dynamics of 3D Genome Structure and Function
How superworms can help to solve our plastic waste crisis
New players in an old pathway: biology of methanogens of the TACK superphylum
Shaping morphogen gradients: from molecules to tissues and back
Studying stressed cells by in situ structural biology
Exploring Microbial Resilience: Unravelling Escherichia coliand#x27;s Stress Response at the Level of Protein Synthesis
Arbuscular mycorrhiza development and function
Deep homology and deep diversity: Evolving genetic toolkits for making and sensing light
The evolution of cell type identity and tissue microecology at the fetal-maternal interface
The unanticipated roles of PICIs and phages in bacterial evolution
Chemical targeting of subcellular protein localization
Origin and diversification of gut-derived organs in chordates
Job's Dilemma for the Genome: Why Bad Things Happen to Good Chromosomes
Connections between carbon and nitrogen cycling in the ocean
Understanding how the DNA-loop-extruding protein complex Condensin folds a chromatinized genome into mitotic chromosomes
From Roads to Rivers? Occurrence and environmental fate of tire and road wear particles and of tire-related chemicals
FENS 2024 Satellite event: Home cage behavior monitoring at the interface of animal welfare and neuroscience
Striking physiology and cell biology of (marine) environmental microorganisms
Mechanisms controlling maintenance of cohesin dependent loops
Title to be announced