During Science Week at IMC Krems, young researchers from the Institute Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology were presented the “Krems Cooperation Research Award” and the “Practical Training Semester Award” for their special research achievements.
Mouse model for brain tumours
The winner of the “Krems Cooperation Research Award” in the category “Bachelor” is Laura Breinschmid, graduate of the bachelor’s programme Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. The young researcher received the award, which came with 1,500 euros in prize money, from DI Dr. Harald Leiter, Technopol Manager Krems ecoplus, during the “Life Science Meeting”. Breinschmid convinced the jury with her paper “Characterisation of tumourigenesis in a MYC-driven tumour model”.
In her research work, Laura Breinschmid dealt with a mouse model for brain tumours. What is special about these mice is that they develop a tumour similar to a type that is often diagnosed in children. In the future, these animals can be used to test chemotherapies in preclinical studies and to evaluate side effects of radiation therapies.
The Krems Cooperation Research Award is announced every two years at the Technopol Krems and recognises the work of young scientists in the field of life science and health technologies in the categories Bachelor, Master, dissertations and scientific publications. The Krems Cooperation Research Award is presented by ecoplus Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH and is intended to stimulate young researchers in the life science sector to make a scientific mark in the fields of pharmaceutical/medical (bio)technology, regenerative medicine or clinical medicine (new therapeutic or diagnostic procedures). The awards ceremony for the other categories will take place on 27 June at Kino im Kesselhaus.
Special achievements in practice
The “Practical Training Semester Award” (PTS Award) is a point of focus at the Life Science Meeting. Three biotechnology students were honoured for special achievements during their practical training.
First place of the PTS Award went to Bernadette Winter for her presentation on “The molecular function of Merkel cell polyomavirus in Merkel cell carcinoma”. Vanessa Meier was second for “ARRDC4 in glucagon-mediated glucose homeostasis in vivo” and Daniel Wallinger third for “Characterization of new bacteriophages for therapeutic applications”.
