2021

The god of sun at the forefront of immunodeficiency-research Scientists link mutations in the transcription factor Helios to a novel disease characterized by immunodeficiency and immune dysregulation. When scientists at St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (St. Anna CCRI) identified an immune dysregulation caused by a biallelic germline mutation affecting Helios – a transcription factor […]

Tackling two tasks at once: Alternative method to animal testing for developing therapies against childhood cancer Congratulations to St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (St. Anna CCRI) scientists Univ. Prof. Dr. Heinrich Kovar and Dr. Branka Radic-Sarikas for winning a grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) under the program “Alternative methods to animal testing”.

ISTT Young Investigator Award 2021! The ISTT (International Society for Transgenic Technologies) Young Investigator Award identifies and recognizes young scientists who advance the science and technologies in the generation and analysis of transgenic animal models for biomedical research and biotechnology applications. Davide Seruggia received the award for his successful complex projects requiring advanced CRISPR technology:

The ONTHETRRAC research team discovered new aspects of tumor heterogeneity and developed tools that are important for accurate diagnosis, prognosis and for overcoming treatment resistance of the nerve tumor neuroblastoma in children. In the December newsletter 2021 its work was therefore honored as a “success story” by the research promotion network European Research Area (ERA-NET).

New FWF-grant approved: Decoding the epigenome and its regulation in neuroblastoma CONGRATS to Irfete Fetahu, PhD, postdoc at St. Anna CCRI on receiving a Stand-Alone Grant from the Austrian Science fund FWF. Together with her PI Sabine-Taschner-Mandl from the Tumor Biology group and colleagues, Irfete has the ambitious goal to decode the epigenome and its

Somatic Sex – the development of malignant diseases reinterpreted How do malignant diseases develop? In his recent publication, Oskar Haas from St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute suggests that the unique chromosome patterns, which define specific tumor types, arise from an accidental fusion of two normal cells – a process that simulates the fertilization of

“Rare diseases are also an emergency!” (27.10.2021)“Rare diseases are also an emergency!” – That was the message from the European Reference Networks (ERNs) for rare diseases to members of the European Parliament at a joint meeting in Strasbourg. Currently, the EU spends a lot of money on combating the pandemics, which is undoubtedly a major

Sabine Taschner-Mandl is elected to the executive board of Europe’s neuroblastoma network SIOPEN Developing new therapies for childhood nerve tumors and identifying more molecular markers for better diagnosis – this is what Sabine Taschner-Mandl strives for in her new role as Executive Committee Board Member of the European Neuroblastoma Research Group SIOPEN. Sabine Taschner-Mandl, PhD,

Childhood cancer is different from cancer in adults. Thus, it needs research specifically tailored to pediatric tumors, which requires dedicated funding. The need for medicines suitable for children, as well as improvements in long-term follow-up care for cancer survivors have been discussed with EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, M.Ed., and Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein,

Kaan Boztug awarded the “Işil Berat Barlan Award for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases” The scientist receives this award for his pioneering research on immunodeficiencies. Disturbances in the balance of the immune system can be the starting point for a number of diseases such as increased susceptibility to infections, autoimmune diseases and cancer. The study of congenital

Bone marrow metastases for the first time analyzed cell by cell When childhood nerve tumors, so-called neuroblastomas, form metastases, they preferentially do so in the bone marrow. A study by St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute shows for the first time the exact cell composition of such metastases. This knowledge forms the basis for the

Four FWF Stand Alone Projects recently approved at St. Anna CCRI The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) awards four scientists from St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (St. Anna CCRI) with Stand Alone Grants, each of which is worth almost € 400,000. Congratulations to the grantees Kaan Boztug, Eva König, Thomas Lion, and Eleni Tomazou! Getting

Nerve tumor in children: study identifies better tolerable chemotherapy without loss of efficacy The initial chemotherapy of aggressive childhood nerve tumors, so-called high-risk neuroblastomas, is crucial for ultimate survival. It has now been shown that the chemotherapy regimen used by the European Neuroblastoma Study Group is equally efficacious but better tolerated than a highly effective

Do you speak immunology? A new language for congenital immune disorders A detailed vocabulary to identify and explore rare, congenital immune disorders around the world? That is exactly what is now available thanks to a new study led by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases in Vienna and the University Medical Center

“1000 Ideas” to boost childhood cancer research: St. Anna CCRI earns two grants in competitive FWF program Two projects from St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (St. Anna CCRI) receive funding from the “1000 Ideas Programme” of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The aim of this program is to support daring and original research ideas

Hot off the press: a new role for histone modifications in genomic imprinting Imprinted genes are expressed from either the paternal or maternal allele. Reporting in Nature Communications, scientists led by Martin Leeb have now discovered 71 previously unrecognized imprinted genes in preimplantation blastocysts. The study found that imprinting created by differential histone marks plays