ÖAW President Faßmann:“CeMM is one of the leading life science institutes in Austria and beyond. I am very pleased that we were able to find an excellent successor to founding director Giulio Superti-Furga in such a short time. I warmly welcome Maria Rescigno, a highly successful researcher from Italy, to the Austrian Academy of Sciences. We remain committed to our strategy of excellence. Rescigno will introduce new focal points with her microbiome research. The clinical relevance of her work offers hope to many people.”
Research Focus of Maria Rescigno
The laboratory of Maria Rescigno investigates how the human body interacts with and regulates the microbiota, and how this relationship can be harnessed to prevent disease onset or to develop new therapeutic strategies. The main focus lies in the gut–liver–brain axis and its related disorders, including neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. At CeMM, Maria Rescigno aims to expand this research and foster an integrated, collaborative environment to address complex, multifactorial diseases from both genetic and environmental perspectives.
Maria Rescigno has demonstrated that dendritic cells sample luminal antigens and bacteria for the establishment of oral tolerance. She has described the existence of a gut vascular barrier that controls antigen and bacteria entrance in the systemic circulation. This barrier can be modified by bacteria and favor tumor cell metastatization to the liver. She has recently identified a new vascular barrier in the choroid plexus that controls the dialogue between the brain and the rest of the organism and that is closed down during intestinal inflammation to protect the brain. She also improved protocols for cancer immunotherapy by understanding new immune-mediated mechanisms of actions of Cetuximab and of mytomicin C, novel immune checkpoint blocker CHI3L1 and recently immunotherapy via the use of bacterial metabolites.
Maria Rescigno:“As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” Our well-being, in fact, depends on an immense population of invisible microbes - about one and a half kilograms of tiny co-inhabitants, collectively known as the microbiota, that live on all surfaces of our body exposed to the external world. These microorganisms are far from being mere passengers: they help us digest, train our immune system to defend itself, and produce beneficial substances. They are, in every respect, part of who we are.”
High-Caliber Search Committee Led by Helmholtz President
The ÖAW appointed a high-profile search committee to find a suitable candidate for the scientific leadership of CeMM. The committee was chaired by Otmar Wiestler, until recently President of the German Helmholtz Association. Rescigno emerged as the top candidate, and the ÖAW followed the committee’s recommendation.
Rescigno previously served as Vice-Rector for Research at Humanitas University in Milan and Deputy Director of the Humanitas Research Hospital. She has held positions in Cambridge and Oslo. She is a multiple ERC grant recipient, a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, whose most famous member was Galileo Galilei. Her entrepreneurial strengths are evident in several patents, and in 2016 she founded Postbiotica, a microbiota-focused startup.
CeMM Research at the MedUni Vienna/AKH Campus
CeMM has existed for 20 years and 300 people from 50 nations are working at CeMM. The international, independent institute of the ÖAW is dedicated to advancing the molecular understanding of human diseases. Located in the heart of Vienna on the AKH campus, it maintains a close strategic partnership with the Medical University of Vienna. CeMM operates at the interface of basic biomedical research and clinical medicine. It is an internationally recognized training center for PhD students and postdocs in biomedicine and, with six startup companies, a pioneer in translating research into practice. As a partner and current chair of EU-LIFE, CeMM is among the top life science institutes in Europe.