About me
My academic path took me through world-renowned institutions such as Heidelberg University and Imperial College London, culminating in a Ph.D. from CeMM. Here, I spearheaded one of Austria's largest COVID-19 genomic epidemilogy projects, coordinating an international team of 38 researchers from 19 institutions across four countries in close collaboration with the Austrian public health agency AGES. This project was published in Science Translational Medicine.
Beyond my research, I have a passion for data exploration and communication. Amidst the pandemic, I created the interactive web tool NextstrainAustria to share insights from our national pathogen surveillance with the public. Additionally, as a data enthusiast, I delve into open-source urban data exploration, visualizing and interpreting data of cities from various angles to unveil its full story.
I am excited to harness the power of collaboration by connecting individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. I strongly believe that such interactions are the bedrock of groundbreaking scientific innovation and democratic progress.
To this end, I founded the Vienna Life Science PhD Meetup, fostering collaboration among PhD students from Vienna's top life science institutes. I am proud founder and head of the Rainbow Alliance for Life Sciences and Medicine Vienna, a diversity representation for the over 20.000 employees, scientists, doctors, nurses and students in Vienna's Life Science and Medicine sector.
I have been honored with the Berlin Nature Conservation Prize 2011, the Jugend forscht award, and am alumnus of Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and the DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Academic
Curriculum
2018 - 2023
Ph.D. "Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria"
CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine and Medical University of Vienna
In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria became an early SARS-CoV-2 transmission hub, driven by winter tourism. We merged viral genomic studies with detailed contact tracing data to track the virus's spread from Austria in early 2020. We identified phylogenetic clusters and mutations, highlighting the fixation of two viral alleles in transmission chains and estimating the virus's bottleneck size. Our research offers a detailed view of the virus's mutation patterns in a key international spread center.
2022
Professional Certificate
"Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence"
Imperial College London Business School, United Kingdom
2016 - 2017
M.Sc. Applied Biociences & Biotechnology
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Major: Bioinformatics
Final grade: Distinction and Award for Outstanding Student Runner-Up
2012 - 2015
B.Sc. Molecular Biotechnology
Heidelberg University, Germany
Majors: Drug Discovery and Bioinformatics
Thesis: “Systematic comparison of regulatory elements in recombinant adeno-associated viral genomes”
Final Grade: 1.7
Prices &
Scholarships
- Fellowship
Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs
2024 to 2025
- Bright Spark of the Medical University of Vienna Research Award
Medical University of Vienna
2022
- DOC Fellowship
Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
2020 to 2023
- Outstanding Student Runner-Up Award
Imperial College London
2017
- Scholarship
Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
2013 to 2018
- 4th Prize in the national competition of the “Jugend forscht” research competition
Jugend forscht e.V.
2011
- Laureate of the Berlin Nature Conservation Prize Stiftung Naturschutz Berlin
2011
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Genger, J.-W., Haladik, B., Mangana, C., Lercher, A., Agerer, B., Amman, F., Viczenczova, C., Hohl, T., Hofmann, A., Koblischke, M., Kratzer, B., Li, W., Kartnig, F., Schüller, C., Lin, G., Bock, C., Kralovic, R., Aberle, J., Reiberger, T., Superti-Furga, G., Pickl, W., Hannich, T., Klavins, K., Kubicek, S., Bergthaler, A. (2024). Purine nucleobases enhance CD8+ T cell effector function. Under revision in Nature Metabolism.
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Popa, A.*, Genger, J.-W.*, Nicholson, M. D., Penz, T., Schmid, D., Aberle, S. W., Agerer, B., Lercher, A., Endler, L., Colaço, H., Smyth, M., Schuster, M., Grau, M. L., Martínez-Jiménez, F., Pich, O., Borena, W., Pawelka, E., Keszei, Z., Senekowitsch, M., ... Bergthaler, A. (2020). Genomic epidemiology of superspreading events in Austria reveals mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV- 2. Science Translational Medicine, 12(573). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abe2555
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Nicholson, M.D., Endler, L., Popa, A., Genger, J.-W., Bock, C., Michor, F., and Bergthaler, A. (2021). Response to comment on “Genomic epidemiology of superspreading events in Austria reveals mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2.” Science Translational Medicine 13. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abj3222.
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Agerer, B.*, Koblischke, M.*, Gudipati, V.*, Montaño-Gutierrez, L. F., Smyth, M., Popa, A., Genger, J.-W., Endler, L., Florian, D. M., Mühlgrabner, V., Graninger, M., Aberle, S. W., Husa, A.-M., Shaw, L. E., Lercher, A., Gattinger, P., Torralba-Gombau, R., Trapin, D., Penz, T., ... Bergthaler, A. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 mutations in MHC-I-restricted epitopes evade CD8 + T cell responses. Science Immunology, 6(57), 6461. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abg6461
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Lercher, A.*, Bhattacharya, A.*, Popa, A. M., Caldera, M., Schlapansky, M. F., Baazim, H., Agerer, B., Gürtl, B., Kosack, L., Májek, P., Brunner, J. S., Vitko, D., Pinter, T., Genger, J.-W., Orlova, A., Pikor, N., Reil, D., Ozsvár-Kozma, M., Kalinke, U., ... Bergthaler, A. (2019). Type I Interferon Signaling Disrupts the Hepatic Urea Cycle and Alters Systemic Metabolism to Suppress T Cell Function. Immunity, 51(6), 1074-1087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2019.10.014
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Kreidl P, Schmid D, Maritschnik S, Richter L, Borena W, Genger J.-W., Popa A, Penz T, Bock C, Bergthaler A, et al (2020) Emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Austria. Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, 132, 645–652. 10.1007/s00508-020-01723-9.
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Leber, W., Lammel, O., Redlberger-Fritz, M., Mustafa-Korninger, M.E., Glehr, R.C., Camp, J., Agerer, B., Lercher, A., Popa, A., Genger, J.-W., et al. (2021). Rapid, early and accurate SARS-CoV-2 detection using RT-qPCR in primary care: A prospective cohort study (REAP-1). BMJ Open 11. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045225.
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Emtenani, S., Martin, E.T., Gyoergy, A., Bicher, J., Genger, J.-W., Köcher, T., Akhmanova, M., Guarda, M., Roblek, M., Bergthaler, A., et al. (2022). Macrophage mitochondrial bioenergetics and tissue invasion are boosted by an Atossa-Porthos axis in Drosophila. The EMBO Journal 41. https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2021109049.
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Lin, J.-M.G., di Durazzo, L.D.L., Buphamalai, P., Siklos, M., Genger, J.-W., Hofstaetter, G., Koren, A., Runggatscher, K., Guertl, B., Froese, D.S., et al. (2022). Distinct MTHFD1 enzymatic activities control a switch between adenosine dependency and toxicity. Submitted.
* Authors contributed equally