Two FWF Grants awarded to Vienna BioCenter Researchers
Max Perutz Labs Vienna
Dea Slade
PHF3 function in neuronal differentiation and disorders
The Group leader at Max Perutz Labs Vienna has been awarded a Principal Investigator grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) to investigate how mutations in the gene PHF3 disrupt human brain development. The project will use cutting-edge stem cell and organoid models to uncover how disease-associated PHF3 mutations alter gene regulation during the formation of neurons. By revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying these defects, the research aims to improve our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as microcephaly and autism spectrum disorder.
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Gregor Mendel Institute
Tal Dahan-Meir
The Ecology and Genetics of Seed Size in Arabidopsis
Tal Dahan-Meir, postdoc in the group of Magnus Nordborg at the Gregor Mendel Institute of the Austrian Academy of Science receives a prestigious ESPRIT Grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
The grant will support Dahan-Meir's research on natural variation and environmental adaptation in plant populations. Through her work in southern Sweden, she observed strikingly different seed sizes between coastal and inland populations of Arabidopsis thaliana, despite them being just tens of meters apart. While seed size is a life-history trait known to influence plant fitness, the genetic basis and ecological context underlying this variation remain largely unknown.
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