Vienna BioCenter is home to ten new Marie Skłodowska-Curie PostDoc Fellows representing six institutes

Valentin Waschulin -Uncovering the link between bacterial growth and secondary metabolite dynamics in soil biocrusts 
Valentin Waschulin will be working on the project “Uncovering the link between bacterial growth and secondary metabolite dynamics in soil biocrusts” (GROWMETA) in Dagmar Woebken’s group. In this project, he will investigate a desert soil crust model system to determine at what point in their growth cycle bacteria produce secondary metabolites. This will shine a light on the ecological roles of useful compounds such as antibiotics.

Ruizhe Pei -Microbial Interactions: Nitrifiers and their Partners in Complex Wastewater Microbiome (INTERACT),
In his project Ruizhe Pei, together with Holger Daims, will explore the governing principles of microbial interactions, focusing on how nitrifiers interact with other microbes using wastewater treatment plants as a model system. They aim to uncover these interactions by applying cutting-edge fluorescence imaging, chemical imaging methods, and stable isotope probing, in collaboration with Michael Wagner (DOME, CeMESS) and Manuel Liebeke (University of Kiel and Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology). With this understanding, they hope to contribute to a deeper knowledge of microbial interactions and more effective nitrogen management in wastewater treatment plants.

Tomohisa Sebastian Tanabe - Microbial sulfonolipid biosynthesis and degradation in the human gut
In his project Sebastian Tanabe aims to elucidate the mechanism of microbially driven sulfonated lipid biosynthesis and degradation in the human gut. In particular, he will study sulfobacins. These sulfonated lipids are synthesized by intestinal bacteria and can modulate the immune system and reduce intestinal inflammation. They are therefore considered as potential therapeutics for targeted intervention in the increasing number of cases of inflammatory bowel disease. However, the effects of sulfobacins on the gut microbiota, degradation processes, and key enzymes of the microbial biosynthetic pathway are unknown. The ecophysiology of the species driving these processes will be elucidated as a crucial prerequisite for microbiota-oriented interventions.

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Ioannis Patramanis - BONETAG: Bone Proteomics for Neanderthal and Denisovan Genotyping
Ioannis Patramanis is a biologist and bioinformatician, studying human evolution. He did his PhD in the University of Copenhagen, the Globe institute, working with phylogenetic methods applied onto palaeoproteomic data. His research focuses on analysing proteins recovered from very degraded material of archaic humans such as teeth and bones. During his Marie Curie fellowship, he will work with Associate Professor Katerina Douka from the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology to improve lab and computational methodologies for ancient protein extraction and analysis.

“I'm very excited about this project! Our intention is to create methodologies and tools that will allow us to assign bones to these extinct populations and advance the field as whole. We intend to validate our protein results across different facilities to ensure confidence and replicability.", explains Ioannis Patramanis.

Maria Cocurullo  - BrightPlaty: Unraveling lunar plasticity in Platynereis dumerilii and the impact of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN)
Maria Cocurullo is a marine biologist specializing in evolutionary developmental biology.  For her MSCA-PF she will join Prof. Kristin Tessmar-Raible’s lab at the Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology. There, she will explore how the moon influences brain activity in P. dumerilii. Through her project, BrightPlaty, she aims to: (1) map out the brain cells that change over the lunar cycle, (2) investigate whether wild worms show the same patterns, and (3) understand how ALAN could impact the plasticity of these brain cells in P. dumerilii. This research has the potential to advance our understanding of how moonlight influences life on Earth and raise awareness about the often overlooked impact of artificial light on marine ecosystems.

Maria Cocurullo explains: "I find this project exciting because it will allow me to explore how the Moon’s cycle shapes marine life in ways we are only beginning to understand. I’ll also have the opportunity to connect lab findings with real-world observations. It’s a chance to dive into something truly unique and important for both basic biology and conservation."z

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Florian Mattenberger, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Nick Irwin 
The fellowship will support Mattenberger’s research on the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer – the process by which new genes are acquired from a different species rather than from an organism’s parents. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is both frequent and extensively studied in bacteria, however, HGT is also known to occur in multicellular organisms, such as plants and animals. "So far, we know little about how genes are transferred to eukaryotes and how they have become so important for their evolution” Mattenberger explained.  

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Sara Wighard, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Alejandro Burga
In her project, Sara Wighard aims to investigate how selfish genetic elements contribute to biological innovation. Selfish genetic elements are genetic parasites that ensure their transmission to the next generation by inserting themselves into the genome of germline cells. However, defense systems comprised of small RNAs and proteins defend the genome against such threats, detecting and silencing selfish elements to preserve DNA integrity. 

Oguzhan Kaya, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Jürgen Knoblich
Oguzhan Kaya aims to understand the bidirectional communication between tumors and healthy neurons in the brain. Brain tumors can severely impair brain function, leading to behavioral changes, loss of motor function and abnormal brain signaling. “Some brain tumors can cause severe seizures, especially in children,” Kaya explained. “I will study how the tumor communicates with the rest of the brain and alters the brain’s electrical signaling to trigger epileptic seizures.

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Sarah Schweighofer, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Jonas Ries
Sarah’s project ‘SuperCut’ will explore the interplay between the mitochondrial fission protein DRP1 and key cell death regulators BAX and BAK during apoptosis, revealing their ultrastructure and dynamics at the nanoscale. Using cutting-edge super-resolution techniques, such as single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) and MINFLUX, ‘SuperCut’ will map the molecular architecture of DRP1 fission sites, their spatial relationship to the apoptotic pore, and track the motion patterns of the proteins along the mitochondrial outer membrane on the temporal and spatial nanoscale. 

“I feel incredibly honored to have been awarded this fellowship, which allows me to combine my two passions: solving biologically relevant questions with advanced microscopy techniques”, Sarah says. “My background in apoptosis research and super-resolution imaging, the collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Frankfurt, and the expertise of the Ries lab create the perfect foundation for groundbreaking discoveries.” 

By mapping the mitochondrial fission machinery during cell death, ‘SuperCut’ aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which it is regulated, explore how its dysregulation contributes to disease, and identify potential therapeutic strategies.

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Guilherme Bastos-Ventura, postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Diana Pinheiro
Guilherme Bastos-Ventura has been awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship which will fund his research on the molecular mechanisms that control the timing of embryonic development.

During embryonic development, thousands of cells move and acquire their different identities in a perfectly coordinated sequence, much like a choreographed dance. However, this “dance” happens at different speeds across species—for example, some fish embryos develop much faster than others, even under the same conditions. Bastos-Ventura’s research aims to understand what sets the pace of development by studying the embryos of model organism zebrafish and the Japanese rice fish medaka, as well as their hybrids. By combining live imaging, computational modelling, and advanced biophysics, he aims to show how cells generate the forces that shape tissues and whether these forces are responsible for the differences in developmental speed across species.

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