About
NEW: This year's ÖGMBT Annual Meeting will follow a special split format with the first part from 14.9.-15.9. organized as a FEMS Regional COLLAB meeting and a second part from 15.9.-17.9. organized as a FEBS3+ meeting. Tuesday the 15.9. will feature a joint program. Both parts are organized together with scientific societies fromn adjoining countries. Participants can chosse to either register for one or the other part or for both together.
Welcome letter
Dear ÖGMBT Members and Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that the 18th ÖGMBT Annual Meeting will take place in Vienna under the motto: "Life Sciences -- Stronger Together"
For nearly two decades, the ÖGMBT Annual Meeting has reflected the breadth and connectivity of the Austrian life science landscape, bringing together scientists and professionals from academia, industry, applied research, and every career stage.
Its particular strength has always been interdisciplinarity: the capacity to enable dialogue across molecular, cellular, organismal, technological, and translational domains. This diversity is not a limitation. It is a prerequisite for innovation.
This year, we build on that foundation more deliberately than ever.
AN EXPANDED INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION: For the first time, the Vienna meeting opens with structured international collaboration. A FEMS Regional COLLAB Satellite Meeting, organised jointly with the Croatian and Slovenian partner societies, will launch the event with an interactive format designed for direct exchange rather than formal presentations, spanning Biotechnology, Eco Innovations, Health Horizons, and Engagement & Growth. Alongside this, the FEBS3+ framework brings active participation from the Czech and Slovenian FEBS societies and enriches the meeting with dedicated international sessions, a diverse community of participants from across Europe, and additional travel grants for young scientists — together creating meaningful opportunities for cross-border exchange that go well beyond financial support.
A SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME THAT REFLECTS THE FIELD TODAY: The main programme spans the full breadth of contemporary life science research. Dedicated sessions address the growing role of artificial intelligence in experimental design, data interpretation, and translational implementation -- with space for both its promise and its current limitations. Renowned speakers will highlight advances in aging and senescence research, an area of rapidly increasing global relevance.
Across the programme, you will find sessions on enabling technologies for advanced cell culture applications; environmental health determinants including microplastics and PFAS; computational biology and protein design; metabolism and mitochondrial biology; molecular nutrition; oncology and precision medicine; regenerative medicine; and bioengineering. Whether your work sits at the bench, the bedside, or the interface of both, there is a conversation here for you.
We warmly invite you to join us in Vienna, to engage with colleagues, exchange ideas, and contribute to a life science community that is, together, greater than the sum of its parts.
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| Felix Sternberg Organizing Chair FEBS3+ |
Matthias Steiger Organizing Chair FEMS Regional COLLAB |
FEMS Regional COLLAB
Expand your network. Shape new collaborations
Scientists often need partners with complementary expertise to solve complex problems. At this meeting, you will meet exactly those people – and many of them are closer than you think.
FEMS Regional COLLAB is a new type of FEMS meeting in Vienna, 14-15 September 2026, designed to help microbiologists build meaningful, long-lasting collaborations across Central Europe. Coming directly before the ÖGMBT Annual Meeting (a FEBS3+ meeting), it creates the perfect moment to connect with regional peers. FEMS Regional COLLAB focuses on Central Europe and is co-shaped by three FEMS member societies from Austria, Croatia and Slovenia.
Why a regional meeting?
The goal is to connect researchers who live and work near each other, making it easier to start and sustain collaborations, project consortia, and joint funding applications. International guests are very welcome and bring valuable complementary perspectives to the regional network!
Bridging academia, industry, and funders
We see a strong need to connect academic research with application and impact at an early project stage.
This meeting creates structured opportunities for:
- Academic scientists to explore exploitation potential and application routes for microbial solutions with industry partners.
- Industry researchers to meet academic groups, outline real-world challenges, and co-develop research ideas.
- Funding agencies to present schemes and, importantly, listen to academia and industry about emerging needs and future topic calls.
Main objectives
During FEMS Regional COLLAB, we aim to:
- Get to know each other and learn from each other’s expertise.
- Identify opportunities for future joint and cross-border research projects.
- Explore what makes collaborations with industry successful in practice.
What you can expect
This is a regional matchmaking event, designed for scientists from academia, industry and funding stakeholders.
We keep plenary content short and interaction time long.
Participants will:
- Meet peers and like-minded colleagues from neighbouring countries, facing similar scientific and practical challenges, and leave with a concrete list of people you can contact directly.
- Learn from scientists working on the same themes and methodologies you are dealing with in your own projects.
- Experience how dedicated time for networking and discussion helps you grow as a professional and sparks new ideas.
Who should attend?
FEMS Regional COLLAB is ideal for:
- Scientists at all career stages who are curious, collaborative, and eager to build new networks.
- Late-stage PhD students, early postdocs, tenure-track researchers and early PIs who want to:
- form new project consortia
- prepare European or bilateral funding applications
- find complementary expertise in the region
- Company and industry partners who want to engage with academia, present challenges, and co-design solutions and consortia.
- Funding agencies interested in presenting programmes and learning directly from researchers and industry where support is most needed.
Meeting format
We use an engaging, highly interactive format that maximizes participation:
Plenary kick-off – Short scene-setting talks and a panel outlining scientific themes and collaboration opportunities.
Scientific introduction talks – Brief presentations from research groups highlighting groups expertise diversity in key microbiology areas:
- Biotechnology: synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, microbial bioprocesses, enzyme engineering – solving applied problems.
- Eco innovations: circular bioeconomy, waste valorization, sustainable biorefineries, microbiome engineering – addressing environmental challenges.
- Health horizons: antimicrobial resistance, microbiome therapeutics, viral diagnostics, vaccine platforms – exploring medical frontiers.
Table discussion rounds – Moderated small-group discussions where everyone can contribute, designed to connect people with shared interests.
Poster session & reception – Intensively networked poster session followed by an informal reception to continue conversations.
Dedicated stakeholder rooms – Separate spaces for industry, funding bodies, and publishing to enable focused dialogue, open new perspectives, and broaden horizons.
Open Space Technology – Participant-driven sessions where attendees propose and lead breakout topics, consolidating discussions into concrete action plans with clear next steps.
FEBS3+
Expand your horizon
The ÖGMBT Annual Meeting is one of the most significant scientific events in Austria in the molecular biosciences. Topic wise it is a very broad event, including medical aspects of the life sciences, applied aspects and a diverse set of basic research. It is a good mix of invited international talks and talks by students (all in English), a company trade show including exhibitors quiz and many networking activities.It is a true melting pot bringing together top experts for exchange, showcasing the work of early career researchers, helps the attending students get a notion of the field and allows everyone a look beyond the horizon of their own specialization and shows what is happening in Austria in the field of life sciences.
Who should attend?
Bachelor/Master students- Free online registration for Bachelor and Master students who are ÖGMBT members
- Get an overview of the Austrian life sciences community and first hand insights about career opportunities
- Meet representatives from academia & industry and start your network
- Find your next exciting project or internship and connect with peers from related life sciences fields
- Participate at exclusive career-related workshop
- Learn about the most recent research in Austria and trending scientific topics
- Listen to winners of the Life Sciences Awards Austria 2026
- Meet key players from academia & industry and get invaluable personal contacts for your career
- Find your next position or collaborators from related life sciences fields
- Submit an abstract for the possibility for a short talk or poster presentation including a chance to win best posters or best talk prizes
- Listen to sessions organized by PhD students and YLSA volunteers
- Learn about the most recent research in Austria and trending scientific topics
- Listen to winners of the Life Sciences Awards Austria 2026
- Establish new research collaborations with new group leaders and industrial partnerships
- Update your insights on current research trends in Austria and cutting-edge technologies used in different life sciences disciplines
- Find your next interns, PhD students or Postdocs among the meeting’s attendees
- Find new costumers for your products & services and strengthen your market position
- Make high-quality contacts with stakeholders in academia yielding new paths of cooperation
- Contribute to the scientific program as speaker by submitting abstracts describing your recent research
- Present your company as exhibitor and take part in the exhibitor quiz
- Support the ÖGMBT by being sponsor
Join the ÖGMBT
Become an ÖGMBT-member and take advantage of lower registration fees. Click HERE for information on ÖGMBT membership benefits and subscribe for membership online before registering for the Annual Meeting.
Language
The scientific program of the 18th ÖGMBT Annual Meeting is held in English.
Warning: Participant contact details scam
You may have rceived an e-mail offering to sell participant contact information. ÖGMBT does not share or sell such information with other organizations.
Organizers
The ÖGMBT Office (Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology) is fully in charge of organizing the Annual Meeting. This guarantees continuity and a high standard of organization.
For any further information or inquiries related to the 18th ÖGMBT Annual Meeting feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
