Content:

1. Chairman ́s Welcome
2. People News
3. Research & Development News
4. Marketing News
5. Campus Association
6. Events
7. Miscellaneous

1. Chairman ́s Welcome:

2nd Issue, 16th August 2004

Dear Colleagues!

Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for your support of the recent activities of the Campus Vienna Biocenter Association. This support is a significant encouragement to continue with our programme of developing a harmonious Campus culture. An important further contribution to this development will be announced in this newsletter – the „Campus Vienna Biocenter Ph.D. Award“ an idea by Renée Schroeder whom I personally like to thank for this initiative. Only continuous initiatives of every

Campus member will guarantee that future activities of the Campus will be as successful as the recent ones have been.

Already, the first issue of our newsletter was well received and I thank everyone for their inputs and subsequent favourable comments. But, I also like inviting you to let us know where you feel future issues could be optimised.

Furthermore our Campus Get-Together in July was a great success with well over 100 people attending. Online images were available two days after the event – and as the hit list showed were very popular. Below the link is given again. The Campus Get-Together offered an ideal and informal occasion for getting to know each other and to aid communication and collaboration. No doubt we will repeat this and you will find details on this below in the events section.

Another noteworthy event was the visit of delegates from the Science Ministry of Israel, on 2nd August 2004, arranged in collaboration with the Austrian BMBWK. It was a pleasure for us presenting the Campus and its myriads of activities. This too was only a start with further visits lined up already. Details you will find in this newsletter.

Also, we currently upgrade the existing website and you will be able to use it extended facilities such as contact details, competence pool, diary and member profiles soon.

All being said, there still remains a lot to be done in order to present the full strength of the Campus to the international biotech scene. Therefore, I encourage everyone to continue assisting us with suggestions, constructive criticism and hands-on support.

Michael Schaude, Chairman
Impressions of the Campus Get-Together are available at http://www.viennabiocenter.org/profiles/gallery.asp

2. People News:

Biovertis Appoints CFO

Campus & Career

In July 2004 Gertraud Unterrainer has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer at Biovertis. Previously she was employed at McKinsey & Company as a consultant for Pharma / Healthcare. Following this, she was Deputy Head of the programme Life Science Austria (AWS, Austria Wirtschaftsservice), responsible for Programme Development, Budgeting, Finances & Personnel. Initially, she received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Vienna. At Biovertis her responsibilities comprise Finance, Administration, Human Resources, Public Affairs and Investor Relations.

Available: Five scientific positions at EUCODIS GmbH (2 Immunologist, 2 Cell Biologists, 1 Biochemist). This newcomer to the Vienna Biotech Scene approached the IMP for recruiting purposes. In order to inform all Campus members the offer has been passed on to the Campus office. Please contact us, at contact@prd.at, should you require further information. More about Eucodis at http://www.eucodis.com .

3. R & D News:

Alzheimer Rat provides Landmark Experimental Model

Axon Neuroscience GmbH introduced its new rat model for Alzheimer’s disease at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia, PA, USA (17th-22nd July, 2004). Michael Novak (CSO) presented the animal model in his talk „Generation of a First Transgenic Rat Model for AD Neurofibrillary Degeneration“

This presentation of the first rat model was well received by the public. The scientific board of the Alzheimer’s Association selected Axon’s achievements for the ‚Hot Topics‘ session of the Philadelphia meeting. (see also http://www.alz.org/internationalconference/Pressreleases/072204_hottopics.asp)

Identical Structures – Different Sequences

Tim Clausen and Robert Kurzbauer of the IMP successfully identified the structure of a molecule-complex (p14/MP1) which plays a key role in signal transduction within the cell. The complex consists of two protein-molecules which are identical in their three dimensional structure, albeit of completely different amino acid sequence. The complex is located at the late endosome and interacts with MAP-kinases. There is a possibility that drugs which block p14/MP1 could be therapeutically useful. The work was carried out in collaboration with Lukas Huber from the Medical University Innsbruck and was published in PNAS on 27th July.

Intercell Successfully Completes Phase II Hepatitis C Trial

Intercell has met the major endpoints of its international multi-center Phase II trial for its novel therapeutic T-cell vaccine targeting a specific population of Hepatitis C patients, the Interferon / Ribavirin non-responders. The study showed that the vaccination induced a significant T-cell response in the most difficult and to date untreatable group of chronic patients. These results are paving the way to extend the clinical trials to naive patients and validate the vaccine composition resulting from Intercell ́s proprietary technologies.

Recent Publications

A silencing pathway to induce H3-K9 and H4-K20 trimethylation at constitutive heterochromatin. In: Genes & Development, Vol. 18, Nr. 11, 1251-1262, June 2004; Group Schotta G, Lachner M, Sarma K, Ebert A, Sengupta R, Reuter G, Reinberg D, Jenuwein T., IMP

A Unified Nomenclature for Protein Subunits of Mediator Complexes Linking Transcriptional Regulators to RNA Polymerase II, In: Molecular Cell, Vol. 14, 553-557, June 2004; Group Nasmyth, K. , IMP

Prediction of sequence signals for lipid post-translational modifications: insights from case studies. In: Proteomics, Vol. 4, 1614-1625, June 2004; Group Eisenhaber B, Eisenhaber F, Maurer-Stroh S, Neuberger G., IMP

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) subtype expression in neuroendocrine tissue and identification of a neuroendocrine tumour-specific Hsp70 truncation. In: Endocrine Related Cancer, Vol. 11, Nr. 2, 377-389, June 2004; Group Zierhut B, Mechtler K, Gartner W, Daneva T, Base W, Weissel M, Niederle B, Wagner L., Department of Medicine III, Division of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Vienna

Sequential roles of Cdc42, Par-6, aPKC, and Lgl in the establishment of epithelial polarity during Drosophila embryogenesis. In: Developmental Cell, Vol. 6, 845-854, June 2004; Group Hutterer A, Betschinger J, Petronczki M, Knoblich JA., IMP

Polyomavirus tumorantigens have a profound effect on gene expression in mouse fibroblasts. In: Nature Oncogene, Vol. 23, Nr. 27, 4707-4721, June 2004; Group Klucky B, Koch B, Radolf M, Steinlein P, Wintersberger E., Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Division of Molecular Biology, Medical University of Vienna

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) rescues osteoclastogenesis in precursors lacking c-Fos. In: Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 279, Nr. 25, 26475-26480, June 2004; Group Matsuo K, Galson DL, Zhao C,

Peng L, Laplace C, Wang KZ, Bachler MA, Amano H, Aburatani H, Ishikawa H, Wagner EF. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan. IMP

Sister-chromatid cohesion mediated by the alternative RF-CCtf18/Dcc1/Ctf8, the helicase Chl1 and the polymerase-alpha-associated protein Ctf4 is essential for chromatid disjunction during meiosis II. In: Journal of Cell Science, Vol. 117, Nr. 16, 3547-3559 July 2004; Group Petronczki M, Chwalla B, Siomos MF, Yokobayashi S, Helmhart W, Deutschbauer AM, Davis RW, Watanabe Y, Nasmyth K., IMP

4. Marketing News

Bender MedSystems Opens US Subsidiary

Bender MedSystems just received approval for its foundation of Bender MedSystems Inc. in South San Francisco, CA. With this new marketing, sales and distribution center, Bender MedSystems will be able to even better serve the US market, currently the most rapidly growing territory for its cytokine products.

Bender MedSystems Sponsors International Symposium

Bender MedSystem sponsors the „Joint German, Austria and Swiss Meeting about Cardiac Insufficiency 2004“. The Meeting, organized by EuroCongress & Events, Germany, takes place from 23rd -25th September in Würzburg, Germany.

5. Campus Association:

„Campus Vienna Biocenter Ph.D. Awards“

The Campus Vienna Biocenter Association announces a new initiative:
The „Campus Vienna Biocenter Ph.D. Awards“ or „CVB Ph.D. Awards“.

Each academic year the CVB Ph.D. Awards will be given to three postgraduate students in acknowledgement of their outstanding Ph.D. thesis. Together with a certificate the winners will receive a € 500-cheque each.

All Ph.D. students, who completed their Ph.D. in the academic year 2003 / 2004 at the CVB are now invited to apply for the CVB Ph.D. Awards 2004. Please notice the application deadline of 15th November 2004.

The winners will be selected by an independent jury. Members of the jury are:

• Jan Michel Peters (IMP)
• Jürgen Knoblich (IMBA)
• Heribert Hirt (GMI)
• Tim Skern (Med Uni Wien)
• Renée Schroeder (Uni Wien)

  In order to be considered for the CVB Ph.D. Award 2004 please submit the following items to Renée Schroeder by e-mail (see below for contact details):

1. Application form 2. Abstract
3. CV
4. List of publications

Currently application forms and abstract forms are available at the Campus Office (contact unterberger@prd.at) and will be available online from September onwards.

Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate contacting

C Schroeder, Renée
T 4277 546 ex 90
E renee.schroeder@univie.ac.at

Good luck!

Campus Association Meets

The steering committee of the Campus Vienna Biocenter Association will meet again on 1st September, at 09.00 am in the seminar room of the building CampusVienna Biocenter 2, ground floor. On the agenda will be activities in context with the Tuppy-Symposium on 8th October 2004 (see also previous newsletter).

International Conference Delegates Will Visit

Participants of a joint Polish-Austrian Biotech Conference will visit the Campus on 16th November 2004. The Campus Association will present the Campus and will arrange for a guided tour. The participants will attend the International Review Conference Biotechnology, 14th -18th November 2004, Vienna. The conference has been organised jointly by the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Society for Biotechnology (and others). The conference focuses on life science research carried out in Austria, Poland and other Central-European countries with the intention to stimulate international co-operation. Campus organisations are welcome to participate. Further details may be obtained from the Campus Office, at <http://www.viennapan.org/conf-biotech/> or from

C Nadolny, Andrzej
T 7135929 ex 303 (Vienna)
E scicont.viennapan@ycn.com

Strong & Flexible

An 8-page folder about the Campus Vienna Biocenter from 2002 is available. Interested persons can get copies at the PR&D office.

The Campus Online

The website of the Campus Vienna Biocenter will soon be extended. Beside the profiles of all member organizations the site offers an intranet with a range of search-functions available to all Campus-members.

Dialog<>Gentechnik

Our last newsletter reported about 13 Campus organizations. Here is a further one: The association dialog<>gentechnik serves as an interface between science and the public. Their aim is to foster a well-grounded dialogue on biosciences and act as a competent information office for the public. The qualified staff provides balanced and comprehensible information, answers questions, contacts experts willing to respond to detailed inquiries, organises events and projects and supports scientists in their public engagement. The dialog<>gentechnik was founded in 1997 under the name Plattform Gentechnik & Wir and registered as an independent society in January 2001. They are supported by seven Austrian scientific societies and by a network of experts. A board of working scientists supervises the activities. The association is financed solely by public funding. More at http://www.dialog-gentechnik.at/

C Streicher, Barbara
T 4277 53035
E office@dialog-gentechnik.at

6. Events:

Harvard Meets Vienna

On 20th July a Club Biotech Lecture about the somatic evolution of cancer took place in IMP lecture hall, Campus Vienna Biocenter. The Austrian scientist Prof. Martin Novak, currently Professor of Biology and Mathematics at Harvard University, USA, talked about the evolution of cancer, genetic instability and tumor suppressor genes that are his current research interests.

What We Can Do With Our Genes?

Prof. Renée Schroeder, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, enthusiastically was giving a lecture during the Viennese „Kinderuni“, 12th -16th July. She talked about the topic „Why am I unique?“. Prof. Renée Schroeder explained what genes are, how they were identified and what scientist know about genes. The auditorium was very interested in this subject and had innovative ideas for what can be done with genes.

European Forum Alpbach 2004

The internationally renown European Forum Alpbach will take place from 19th August until 4th September. This year’s motto in Alpbach: Boundaries and Beyond. The Campus Vienna Biocenter will be represented at the “Alpbach Health Symposium” as well as at the “Alpbach Technology Symposium” by Renée Schroeder (Uni) and Josef Penninger (IMBA). More at: www.alpbach.org

International Science Communication

Till Jelitto, PR&D, has been invited to give a workshop about International Science-PR at the Annual Meeting of the „Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Hochschulpressestellen in Deutschland“ 2004. The meeting will take place at the Vienna University of Technology, 22nd – 24th September. Based on a two years customer relationship with the Austrian Science Fund FWF his workshop will focus on optimizing the international media-coverage of research- news. More at http://www.unipr.ac.at/ag.shtml

Autumn-Welcome-Party

After a „hot“ summer the Campus will welcome autumn with a party. On 23rd September „Maroni & Sturm“ will be offered on the parking place in front of the building Campus Vienna Biocenter 6 to celebrate the new season. Further details soon.

The Campus Runs..

… and hopefully everyone will follow. On 7th September the „Campus Run“ will start at 06.30 pm at the Prater Hauptallee, 1020 Vienna. The Chairman himself will be amongst the field. Meeting point is the „Prater LCC- Lauftreff“. The run will follow Prater Hauptallee to Lusthaus, and back the Belvederallee and Lusthausstraße to the starting point, approximately 4 km (see map). You can get their with U1 (Praterstern) and tramway 21 (Ernst Happel Stadion). Hope we see you running!

7. Miscellaneaous:

Biotechnology Training – A Success-Story

The first cohort of students of the Technical College FH-Campus Wien, study course Biotechnology has finished the basic studies, and are now entering, with the 5th semester, their advanced studies. The majority has decided for biomedicine / bioanalytics whilst a strong minority of 13 students opted for drug synthesis. Two students will go for bioinformatics as a one-year project course with Karl Mechtler from the IMP. The second cohort is in the middle of its basic studies while the third cohort is knocking on the doors already. Out of 120 interested students, were tested and about 100 were invited again to the oral test in June. Fifty-five have been offered a place and 49 have already accepted the offer by paying the tuition fees. The Technical College FH-Campus Wien – Biotechnology, intends to accept 55 students this year. Late comers still have a – small – chance.

More Students and a Café

The University of Vienna has rented the last available square meters in the building Vienna Biocenter 2. Main user will be the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, at the moment still at Rennweg 14. Furthermore, some area in the ground floor is planned as lecture hall for the FH-Campus Wien – Biotechnology with a capacity of 50 persons. Completion date for necessary restructuring and adaptation is set for 30th November 2004. Also, a small café in the ground floor will offer a place for communication and relaxation in future – IMP Canteen beware!

Artists are Scientists Today

On 2nd August the Austrian newspaper „Der Standard“ publishes an interview with the architect Boris, Podrecca. Podrecca designed the new building Campus Vienna Biocenter 2, opened in April 2004 and currently plans the IMBA lab-building for the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He favours to create a symbiosis between open spaces and working areas. A copy of the interview is available from contact@prd.at.

Imprint:

Campus Vienna Biocenter Association
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