Currently home to 135+ research groups, the Vienna BioCenter is Central Europe’s largest hub of life sciences excellence. The establishment of this new institute, named the AITHYRA Institute, marks another significant step in its growth. Backed by €150 million from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation over its first 12 years, AITHYRA will be part of the ÖAW and deeply integrated into Austria’s vibrant academic landscape. It will join the ranks of successful institutes like IMBA and GMI, already part of the Vienna BioCenter campus.
During a press conference at ÖAW headquarters, stakeholders revealed that AI expert Michael Bronstein, currently at the University of Oxford, will serve as the institute’s first scientific director. AITHYRA is expected to commence operations by the year’s end, initially based at the Marx Box within the Vienna BioCenter, before moving into its future building funded by the City of Vienna.
“The creation of the AITHYRA Institute at the Vienna BioCenter is extremely fortunate both for the campus and for the science that is pursued here,” said Harald Isemann, chairman of the Vienna BioCenter association. “The cross-cutting nature of artificial intelligence places the new institute perfectly to link the three pillars of the campus: research, business, and education. I am excited to welcome the AITHYRA Institute to the Vienna BioCenter soon—it will fit in perfectly and I hope it will benefit from the minds and creativity of the 2800 people who already work here.”
Further Information
Announcement by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (GER)
Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation
Meet founding director Michael Bronstein (Video)