2018 Annual Report 2 Editorial Right on target Thanks to the latest methods in genetics and molecu- jects at the MedUni Vienna General Hospital Campus lar biology, illness is no longer viewed as a general di- to build the innovative centres for precision medicine, agnosis, but as a unique situation in the life of a unique translational medicine and technology transfer, as well human being. In terms of their individual nature, di- as the MedUni Campus Mariannengasse preclinical agnoses are comparable to fingerprints. A molecular construction project, are in full swing. They are set to fingerprint allows for precise, tailored prevention and provide us with a strong foundation for the future of re- therapy. This is medicine that is as precisely targeted search, patient care and teaching. as possible – appropriately referred to as precision medicine. A bright future which has been preceded by a success- ful, but also at times dark past, which as a socially Medicine 4.0 means that the doctors of the 21st cen- responsible organisation we recognised in the 2018 tury have access to new technology, in particular in commemoration year. Together with the University of post-genomic digital medicine, which is already dra- Vienna, we remembered the events of 80 years previ- matically changing the professional requirements of ously at an international conference entitled The An- researchers and doctors and the skills they need. schluss in March 1938: Repercussions for Medicine and Society. This drew attention to the lessons learned The strategy defined in the 2024 Roadmap in the Med- from this turning point in the university’s history that ical University of Vienna Development Plan will meet must not be forgotten, and the approach we need to these challenges. Preparations and planning for the take towards it today. biggest investments in our history, in construction pro- Professor Markus Müller Rector, Medical University of Vienna 3 8 18 Medicine 4.0 Research, 08 Healthier thanks to big data, teaching and digital transformation and precision medicine patient care 10 Research outcomes attract worldwide attention 24 Committed to good health 12 Patient care with a global 24 The triple track – driving progress reputation 25 International partnerships and 14 Learning from the best third-party funding 26 Medical excellence 26 Medical care 27 Measurable success Opening up 27 Focused programmes of study 28 Research with a clear focus new 29 The future of dentistry perspectives 18 Strategic project for world-class medicine 20 Getting more out of life 4 Contents 36 40 47 Contents Living better 44 Specific protein a target in Working Alzheimer’s therapy and healthier 45 Better quality of life for together rheumatoid arthritis patients for longer 47 Atypical virus a cause of for medicine kidney diseases 32 Treating chronic heart failure 48 How the lungs get their 58 Scientific partnerships, individually immune cells education and careers 35 Predicting venous thrombosis 49 Chikungunya virus vaccine and pulmonary embolism on the horizon 36 Cutting-edge mathematics 50 Enzymes and their influence on makes breast cancer therapy autoimmune diseases The more precise 51 Lone watchmen able to 37 Life expectancy doubled warn the immune system organisational in cases of B-cell lymphoma 52 Brown fat cells 39 Not smoking improves survival could help weight loss structure of rate for prostate cancer 53 Investigating a basis for 40 Eye scan diagnosis: new cancer treatments MedUni Vienna worldwide impact of 54 First long-term treatment option MedUni Vienna development for rare blood disease 66 Organisational structure 42 Inconclusive mammography 55 Medication: improved treatment 74 Financial statements results: MRI as an alternative success thanks to statistics to biopsy 5 Medicine 4.0 A fundamental transformation is under way in medicine – known in the business world as industry 4.0. Big data and the digital transformation – the driving forces behind this change – are paving the way to precision medicine, which will focus on each person’s unique characteristics. Markus Müller Rector We are all witnesses to a unique development in the history of mankind. Current developments in digitisation and molecular medicine have led to an un- precedented acceleration of medical progress. Healthier thanks to big data, digitisation and precision medicine We are currently right in the middle A revolution reactive role, and towards predictive of a process in which medicine is not in medicine and preventive medicine. In practical only being reconceived, but rebuilt. terms, among other things this will Medicine is increasingly becoming This groundbreaking new approach help individuals to lead healthy lives personalised and, due to technologi- opens up completely new possibilities for longer. And costs in the health sys- cal advances, more and more able not – for instance, for treating illnesses tem – in spite of demographic changes only to recognise disorders and risk more effectively, curing certain disor- and an aging society with a higher risk factors, but also to understand the ders for the first time, or preventing of illness – will remain under control. underlying causes in each individual the onset of a disease as soon as it patient and predict the course of dis- starts to develop. In this way, medicine An important factor in so-called preci- ease. is moving away from its traditional, sion medicine – or personalised med- 8 Eva Dichand Chair of the University Council MedUni Vienna carries out leading edge research and provides its students with for- ward-looking expertise, while Medicine 4.0 icine – is each person’s entirely indi- Identify complexity vidual, inherited genetic disposition, and understand it patients are afforded the most which can give rise to them being at advanced treatments available. greater risk of a particular disease. The individual patterns behind This is a great position to be specific diseases are so different, in – which we are working Big data and digitisation and all present such a high degree of to further build on. complexity, that they remain hidden Massive amounts of data must be to physicians applying convention- collected and combined in order to al diagnosis techniques. To gain new, identify such patterns. This includes, fundamental insights into complexi- for example, clinical, epidemiological, ty science, MedUni Vienna appointed imaging, molecular genetics and even Austria’s first Professor of the Science economic data. Analysis of these data of Complex Systems, Stefan Thurner, is resulting in completely new under- in 2009. Professor Thurner was named standing of pathogenesis, disease pre- Scientist of the Year by Austria’s edu- vention and individualised therapies. cation and science journalists in 2017. the computing power nor the data en- The major advances that have already abling these opportunities were avail- been made today using personalised Large volumes of data – such as those able. Now both are, and large numbers medicine, such as in the treatment of associated with big data, digitisation of datasets can be represented as cancer, autoimmune disorders and and artificial intelligence – form the networks. Viewing quantities of data rare diseases, show that this is not basis for complexity research. In con- in this way allows researchers to de- about fantasies of the future. These trast to the possibilities this opens up scribe these systems scientifically successes are benefiting patients in today, traditional research in the nat- and make progress – an approach that ways that would not have been imag- ural sciences could only make use of the Center for Precision Medicine (see inable just a few years ago. a few “building blocks”, since neither more from page 16) wants to exploit. Recognition for Sigmund Freud On 4 June 1938 at 15.25, the Orient Express departed from Vienna’s West- bahnhof station, destined for Paris. Among the passengers on board was one of the most important figures of the era: Sigmund Freud, aged 82. He was leaving the city he loved but which had finally caused him great an- guish. He would never return. Precisely 80 years later, a larger-than-life statue of Freud was erected and unveiled in front of the MedUni Vienna Rectorate, as a symbol of recognition of his achievements. David Freud, great-grandson of Sigmund Freud, and Heinz Fassmann, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research were present at the unveiling cere- mony. 9 Michaela Fritz Vice Rector for In a highly Research and Innovation competitive inter- national environment, MedUni Vienna must put in place the frameworks and research infrastructure it needs to retain and attract the best talent and to be able to implement innovative ideas. The Center for Translational Med- Research outcomes icine and Therapeutics will play an important part in this. attract worldwide attention MedUni Vienna has established re- Its central finding was that there are diction model that improves evalua- search clusters (read more on page genetic relationships between certain tion of this risk in journal The Lancet 28) for medical imaging, immunology, neurological disorders. Haemotology (read more on page 35). cancer research/oncology, cardio- vascular medicine and medical neu- Predicting venous Worldwide recognition roscience in order to focus clinical thrombosis and for eye scan diagnosis and basic research efforts in these pulmonary embolism fields. The clusters again produced MedUni Vienna has become a global outstanding research findings in 2018 Cancer patients are at higher risk of pioneer and driver of the digital revo- – many of which were based on preci- venous thrombosis and pulmonary lution in ophthalmology. The research sion medicine approaches (read more embolism – which can be fatal if not carried out by Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, from page 30) – which attracted at- diagnosed. Ingrid Pabinger, Deputy Head of the Department of Ophthal- tention worldwide and were published Head of the Division of Hematology mology and Optometrics, has played in top academic journals. A number of and Hemostaseology at the Depart- a major part in this.