ÖGMBT thanks all speakers, attendees, sponsors, helpers and the organizing comitee for their contributions and support!
two international meetings in one - 6 international scientific societies - 370 participants - 6 plenary speakers - 22 invited speakers - 55 short talks/research profile talks - 18 science flashes - 2 PhD award talks - 3 rising star lectures - 130 poster presentations - 28 exhibitors
The 18th ÖGMBT Annual Meeting with the motto “Life Sciences - Stronger Together!” at the Vienna Biocenter/UBB, Vienna
Our annual meeting took place at the Vienna Biocenter/ UBB in Vienna. This year we had three absolute climaxes during the meeting: + We started with the international collaborative FEMSregional COLLAB part. No lecture style discourses were given but lots of opportunities were facilitated to network, get to know each other and discuss potential future cooperations. + The second international part (FEBS3+ Meeting) started with the fulminant lecture of the conductor Katharina Wincor. We were surprised how many parallels one can find between conducting an orchestra and life sciences research. + The "Breakfast - Young Investigator Reception" brought together 35 curious young researchers and 13 experienced international scientists for an inspiring morning full of great conversations (sharing knowledge, personal experiences, career advice, providing valuable insights and practical guidance). The Federal Ministery for Economy, Energy and Tourism sponsored the Life Sciences Research Awards. Polymun Scientific and Boehringer Ingelheim funded the Life Sciences PhD awards. A cordial thank you to all of them. We too thank the organizing comitee Matthias Steiger and Felix Sternberg for their dedicated effort putting this great scientific program together. Gratefully we also reach out to the chairs for inviting international speakers who are renowned experts in their respective fields. They all gave insights in their top-notch research. We also extend a big thank you to all the partnering societies for the smooth collaboration: FEMS (https://fems-microbiology.org/), FEBS (https://www.febs.org/), Czech Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (https://www.csbmb.cz/en/), Slovenian Biochemical Society (https://www.sbd.si/en/index.html), Slovenian Microbiological Society (https://www.smd.si/eng/), Croatian Microbiological Society (https://www.hmd-cms.hr/)
The program was organized in three tracks. The list of the sessions, invited speakers, the detailed program and further details of the meeting can be found in the (dowloadable) program book:
Download the Programbook PDF
The ceremony of the Life Sciences Awards Austria was conducted on the second day of the annual meeting.
Five of the brightest early-stage researchers in Austria received the prestigious awards for their excellent research.
PhD Awards, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and Polymun Scientific:
Spencer D. Balay, IMP Vienna, currently LMU Munich, Germany
Trinh Phan-Canh, Max Perutz Labs, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Research Awards, sponsored by the Federal Ministery for Economy, Energy and Tourism:
Utku Horzum, Pathophysiology at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria
Julia Bubis, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) at the Vienna BioCenter, Austria
Sebastian Hečko, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry at TU Wien, Austria
Awardees from the left to the right: Sebastian Hečko, Trinh Phan-Canh, Julia Bubis, Spencer D. Balay, Utku Horzu. © ÖGMBT 2026
Best Talk & Best Poster Presentation
Moreover, young professionals and early-stage researchers got the opportunity to present their research results in different formats, such as short talks, science flashes and poster presentations at the FEMSregional COLLAB FEBS3+ Annual ÖGMBT Meeting. Thanks to this year’s sponsors, Microsynth, ÖGMBT & FEBS Openbio Journal, monetary prices were awarded to the best talk and the best poster presentation.
Felix Sternberg, Best Poster Presentation: Theresia Sams, Alexandra Khassidov. © ÖGMBT 2026
Best Short Talk: Clara Abobocioae. © ÖGMBT 2026
All participants were invited to visit the industry exhibition with 28 companies and institutions and take part in the exhibitor quiz. The exhibitors generously sponsored prizes for the quiz. The popular Wine & Science evening offered a chance to introduce the companies' products and get to know them as a potential future employer. Hereby, we would like to thank all our sponsors for their long-standing support of the Annual Meeting.
A guided walking tour to the Luftburg in the Prater created unforgettable memories.
We are happy to share the best moments of the Annual Meeting 2026
See you at the 19th ÖGMBT Annual Meeting in Salzburg, September 19 - 21, 2027, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences – mark your calendar!
