As part of the excellent=austria excellence initiative to strengthen top-level research, the Austrian Science Fund FWF has awarded new Emerging Fields grants. Following a multi-stage selection process, six international research consortia were selected and will receive a total of €35 million in funding over the next five years. The aim of the Emerging Fields program is to enable particularly innovative and high-risk research projects with the potential to establish entirely new scientific fields.

Researching the Foundations of Life

One of these consortia focuses on a fundamental biological mystery: how the germline functions—the cell lineage that transmits genetic information across generations. Researchers from IMBA – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) play a key role in the project “Germline Illuminated by Cellular Structural Biology.” Together with partner institutions, they will investigate how germ cells protect, organize, and pass on genetic information.

The germline is the foundation of all life: every human being originates from the fusion of an egg cell and a sperm cell, both of which arise from this lineage. Yet many key processes of the germline remain poorly understood. The interdisciplinary team combines high-resolution imaging technologies with computer simulations to gain unprecedented insights into the structure and organization of these cells.

At the center of the research are fundamental questions of inheritance and reproduction: How do germ cells defend their genetic material against so-called “genetic parasites”? How is DNA packaged in an especially compact form in sperm cells? And how do sperm and egg fuse at the cellular level to enable the creation of new life?

€5.1 Million in Funding

To investigate these processes, researchers from several institutions are collaborating under the coordination of Andrea Pauli from the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP). Sven Klumpe and Julius Brennecke from IMBA — the Austrian Academy of Sciences are involved, as well as Andela Saric from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and David Haselbach from the IMP. The consortium will receive €5.1 million in funding over five years.

Each Emerging Fields project brings together teams of up to 30 scientists working closely together; a mid-term evaluation is scheduled after three years. The FWF made the funding decision based on international peer reviews and the recommendation of a multidisciplinary jury following a multi-stage selection process that included a hearing. A total of 37 project proposals were submitted in this call.

By participating in the new Emerging Field, IMBA strengthens its role in international basic research in cell and developmental biology—and contributes to a better understanding of the origins of life