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2015/2016 IMP Research Report RESEARCH REPORT 2015–2016 Cover: Connective tissue cells of axolotl finger. (see also p. 34) CONTENTS 02 Highlights 04 Introduction Jan-Michael Peters & Harald Isemann 06 Facts & Figures 8 Current Research 10 Meinrad Busslinger 12 Tim Clausen 14 Luisa Cochella 16 Wulf Haubensak 18 David Keays 20 Thomas Marlovits 22 Anna Obenauf 24 Andrea Pauli 26 Rushad Pavri 28 Jan-Michael Peters 30 Alexander Stark 32 Andrew Straw 34 Elly Tanaka 36 Alipasha Vaziri 38 Stefan Westermann 40 Manuel Zimmer 42 Johannes Zuber 44 What the group leaders say 46 In-house Services 48 BioOptics 49 Bioinformatics 50 Molecular Biology Service 51 Max Perutz Library 52 Mass Spectrometry and Protein Chemistry 53 Comparative Medicine and Transgenic Services 56 The IMP and the VBC 57 Scientific Advisory Board 58 Vienna Biocenter Core Facilities (VBCF) 60 Vienna Biocenter training programme 62 IMP seminar series 66 IMP’s awards and honours 68 Publications 74 Sponsors & partners 76 Imprint IMP RESEARCH REPORT 2015–2016 HIGHLIGHTS As of late 2016, the IMP has a new home. The move marks the grand finale in a series of highlights that the institute enjoyed in 2015/16. The scientific JANUARY Max-Birnstiel Lecture by the search committee for the milestones of the IMP 2015 James Allison of the MD Anderson first IMP Director in the 1980s. are often marked Cancer Center in Houston, Texas: Jeff Schatz passes away not long by publications, “Boosting the Immune System after the lecture, in October 2015. awards, grants and to Fight Cancer”. honours, or talks Max-Birnstiel Lecture by by distinguished MARCH Dignitaries from IMP, Ruslan Medzhitov, Professor of guest lecturers in our 2015 Boehringer Ingelheim, the city of Immunobiology at Yale School on-going seminar Vienna and others gather for of Medicine in New Haven, series. Each of these the ground-breaking ceremony Connecticut, USA: “Inflammation, items is emphasised of the new IMP building. The homeostasis and disease”. by designated chapters construction of the new IMP in this report. building demonstrates Boehringer SEPTEMBER Max-Birnstiel Lecture by Ingelheim’s continued commit- 2015 George Church of the Harvard ment to support basic research in Medical School in Cambridge, molecular life sciences. Massachusetts, USA: “New Technologies for Reading and IMP group leader Stefan Writing Biology”. Westermann is appointed professor for molecular genetics OCTOBER Andrea Pauli joins the IMP as at the University Duisburg- 2015 a new group leader. Following Essen, Germany. postdoctoral research at Harvard University in Cambridge, MAY IMP and IMBA scientists organise Massachusetts, USA, Andrea 2015 the 10th annual “Microsymposium Pauli studies the functions of on Small RNA Biology”. short translated open reading frames (ORFs) in the context of Max-Birnstiel Lecture by development in the zebrafish. Christof Koch, President and Chief Scientific Officer at the NOVEMBER The 13th International PhD Allen Institute for Brain Science 2015 Symposium of the Vienna in Seattle, Washington, USA: Biocenter (VBC) looks at “Neuronal and Theoretical “Communication” on intra- Foundations of Consciousness”. cellular, inter-cellular, intra-organismal and inter- The IMP hosts the 3-day EMBO individual levels. workshop on “SMC proteins – Chromosomal organizers from Max-Birnstiel Lecture by bacteria to human”. Robert Kingston of the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, JUNE The biochemist Gottfried “Jeff” Massachusetts, USA: 2015 Schatz reads from his novel “Epigenetic mechanism during Postdoc. A former Scientific development: Polycomb and Advisory Board member of the chromatin dynamics”. IMP, Jeff Schatz also chaired 2 IMP RESEARCH REPORT 2015–2016 DECEMBER Max-Birnstiel Lecture by 2015 Nobel laureate Randy Shekman of the University of California, Berkeley, USA: “Biogenesis and function of the autophagosome membrane”. Anna Obenauf joins the IMP as a new group leader. Following postdoctoral research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer SEPTEMBER Max-Birnstiel Lecture by Center in New York City, Anna 2016 Wolf Singer of the Max Planck Obenauf studies the molecular Institute for Brain Research in mechanisms of metastasis Frankfurt, Germany: “The in cancer. cerebral cortex, a substrate for computing in high dimensional JANUARY IMP Group Leader Andrew Straw dynamic state space”. 2016 is appointed professor at the Bernstein Center Freiburg of the NOVEMBER IMP Group Leader Anna Obenauf University of Freiburg, Germany. 2016 is awarded one of five grants for “Precision Medicine” by the Max-Birnstiel Lecture by Judith Vienna Science and Technology Frydman of Stanford University in Fund WWTF. California, USA: “Protein folding in the cell and the proteostasis The internationally recognized network: biological mechanism biologist Elly Tanaka takes and disease implications”. up a position as Senior Scientist at the IMP. Her lab will study APRIL Max-Birnstiel Lecture by the regeneration of injured body 2016 Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse parts in different models, of the Crick Research Institute including the axolotl. Before in London, UK: “Controlling moving to the IMP, Elly Tanaka the Cell Cycle”. was professor at the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany MAY IMP and IMBA scientists organise and director of the DFG Center 2016 the 11th annual “Microsymposium for Regenerative Therapies. on Small RNA Biology”. Max-Birnstiel Lecture by JULY Max-Birnstiel Lecture by Carol Adrian Bird of the University of 2016 Greider of the Johns Hopkins Edinburgh: “DNA sequence and School of Medicine in Baltimore, the Epigenome”. Maryland, USA: “Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer and The IMP moves to the new Stem Cell Failure”. building at Campus-Vienna- Biocenter 1. IMP RESEARCH REPORT 2015–2016 3 INTRODUCTION JAN-MICHAEL PETERS MANAGING DIRECTOR / A research paradise – SCIENCE IMP’s changes, challenges HARALD ISEMANN MANAGING DIRECTOR / and future FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION In the two years since the last Research Report, What have been the biggest challenges? IMP has seen some big changes: new group leaders, changes in research topics, new technologies and Isemann: The IMP continues to be challenged to now a new building. Here Dr. Jan-Michael Peters, remain state-of-the-art in various fields – this is Managing Director Science, and Mag. Harald Isemann, a broad challenge we have seen over the past two years Managing Director Finance and Administration, and will continue to see in the future. We must allocate talk about the last two years and look to the future sufficient resources to emerging technologies like of the IMP. those Jan mentioned, while ensuring core facilities operate smoothly with existing technologies. This has What changes have you seen in the research always been a constant process, but the pace at being done at IMP? which we are phasing in these new technologies has increased significantly. Peters: There have been some major changes in We take a strategic approach to tackling future the directions of our research and the technologies we challenges, and there is a great degree of flexibility use in the last two years. The arrival of new groups in the research being done here. As such, we organize has strengthened cancer research at the IMP and resources around answering the most important introduced exciting new topics in developmental and questions in biology, and make available the techno- regenerative biology. Also, the discovery of immune logies and infrastructure that are needed to do that. checkpoint therapy has led to new investigations by One of the major lessons we have learned from different groups here. operating the IMP over the last 30 years is that Almost everybody’s work at the IMP has been the research building needs to be flexible, just like changed by new technologies. New methods have made the research. The flexibility of the building to it possible to analyze different features of the human adapt to new challenges is a very important detail, genome through high-throughput sequencing because we don’t know what we will be facing in approaches, which we not only use but also develop five or ten years. The new building is technically well further here at IMP. We can now visualize cells and equipped to deal with unknown future developments, the molecules they are composed of at astounding and will provide an appealing environment that resolutions: there have been important developments also enhances communication between scientists. in light microscopy and the ability to image both fixed and living cells. And cryo-electron microscopy, which involves using very low temperatures to freeze and image molecules, is making it possible to analyze the structure of protein complexes with unprecedented detail. 4 IMP RESEARCH REPORT 2015–2016 What impact do you hope IMP’s work and thereby create new knowledge. That work can also will have? really propel people’s careers; some of our alumni are now directing research institutes internationally. Peters: Our major aim is to make discoveries. We want to understand how cells function, how they Isemann: We have a very attractive, internationally divide, how they form tissues, how they function in competitive PhD programme and we are committed organs as complex as the brain, how organisms to getting the very best people. Although we look for develop and how the information in the genome is people who want to succeed in research, not everybody used to build such organisms. will decide to pursue a scientific career. The IMP is The IMP is a place where this type of knowledge is a good foundation at every level for a career in research created. Our work is curiosity-driven basic research – and we also want to train, educate and prepare young it satisfies our curiosity and gives us a better scientists for world-class performance in different understanding of fundamental biological processes. areas, be that academia, industry, administration or But in some cases, our discoveries hopefully also something else. provide the understanding that is needed to develop The IMP can also be a good starting place for those better therapies. who are looking for a career in industry or biotech.
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