Giulio Superti-Furga

Biological, chemical and societal engineering for all-round innovation

Innovation thrives when diverse minds are empowered with freedom, support, and a work atmosphere that encourages their creativity. By fostering radical kindness and collaboration, we create environments where early-career researchers dare to tackle challenges they originally would have avoided. This approach has driven numerous breakthroughs in thelab itself—from protein complex analysis and human genetics-based identification of drug targets to a precision medicine platform and membrane transporter research.

Membrane transporters, critical interfaces between chemistry and biology, regulate chemical access to biological systems. The systematic study of these molecules led to a biotech startup developing drugs that regulate their function. The aim is to unlock insights into disease and the flow of matter across ecosystems by understanding and controlling chemical traffic, while advancing a “One Health” perspective in biomedicine.

Giulio Superti-Furga (CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna)

Georg E. Winter

Therapeutic Innovation Through Chemical Reprogramming of Cellular Degradation Pathways

Small-molecule inhibitors that can target biochemically active sites have been the focus of research over decades. However, those ligands address only ~20% of human proteins, limiting functional interrogation and therapeutic development. To overcome this, Georg E. Winter’s group did research on “chemical neomorphs”—small molecules that reprogram protein function beyond evolutionary constraints by inducing novel protein-protein interactions, without genetic manipulation.

In this lecture, the work on chemical neomorphs reprogramming E3 ubiquitin ligases to degrade “undruggable” disease-causing proteins will be presented. By integrating functional genomics, multi-omics, and synthetic chemistry, these degraders are identified and characterized. Additionally, the concept itself could be expanded beyond this application, for example by developing pharmacologic strategies to rewire transcriptional circuits.

Georg E. Winter (CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine)

Martin Jechlinger

Exploring treatment resistant breast cancer

Breast cancer recurrence, driven by minimal residual disease (MRD), remains the leading cause of breast cancer related mortality despite adjuvant therapy advances. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of MRD persistence are poorly understood due to challenges in patient detection.

Using organotypic 3D culture models and tissue samples, the Jechlinger group combines genomic, metabolomic, and live-cell imaging to dissect MRD survival and dormancy-to-relapse transitions. While MRD phenotypically resembles normal breast cells, it retains a distinct transcriptional profile and metabolic hallmarks of the tumor state—even without oncogene expression or abnormal proliferation. This “metabolic memory” suggests shared vulnerabilities between MRD and tumor cells, offering novel therapeutic targets to prevent recurrence.

Martin Jechlinger (European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg)

Harald H. Sitte

Transport proteins: From structure and function to mechanism

Transport proteins are vital for cellular physiology, mediating the movement of ions, nutrients, and metabolites across membranes. Their diverse architectures—including transmembrane helices, gating domains, and substrate-binding sites—reflect specialized functions tailored to specific substrates.

Recent advances in structural biology have unveiled their 3D organization and dynamic conformational changes, coupled to substrate binding and energy transduction, enabling selective substrate translocation via molecular interactions and allosteric regulation. Understanding these mechanisms not only clarifies fundamental cellular processes but also facilitates drug discovery and the development of therapeutic strategies for diseases.

Harald H. Sitte (Medical University of Vienna)