FWF Funding goes to three researchers at Vienna BioCenter
Max Perutz Labs
Elif Karagöz - Mechanistic Cell and Developmental Biology
Pavel Kovarik - Chromatin, RNA and Chromosome Biology
Elif Karagöz and Pavel Kovarik have been awarded more than € 850,000 in Principal Investigator Grants from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The new funding deepens RNA research at the Perutz, supporting two projects that explore how RNA-binding proteins fine-tune cellular stress and immune responses at the post-transcriptional level.
While the Karagöz lab investigates how IGF2BP3 modulates gene expression during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, the Kovarik lab explores how the anti-inflammatory protein TTP helps maintain immune homeostasis by controlling inflammation.
Read more about their work here
Faculty of Life Science (University of Vienna)
Attila Placido Sachslehner - Department of Evolutionary Biology
Mentor: Mihaela Pavlicev
Attila Placido Sachslehner's FWF ESPRIT project "Stress and Transglutamination lead to Cornification" investigates the molecular evolution of cornification, a key innovation that enabled terrestrial vertebrates to adapt to life on land. The project studies Transglutaminase 1 (TGM1), an enzyme that evolved in stem-chordates and is critical for epithelial differentiation, and its interaction with S100 proteins, which are critical for stress responses.
By using advanced techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, transcriptomics, and proteomics, he will investigate the role of TGM1-like homologs in lancelets (small marine animals) to understand their original function. The project also examines how TGM1 and S100 proteins work together in aquatic vertebrates like zebrafish under drought stress. This research aims to uncover the molecular basis which contributed to the evolution of cornified skin, providing new insights into how vertebrates adapted to life on land.