Prof. Martin Messner is a University Professor at the University of Innsbruck, leading the Controlling Institute within the Department of Organization and Learning. His work focuses on management accounting, performance measurement, and the intersection of accounting practices with organizational behavior. He holds editorial leadership roles, including Editor-in-Chief of Accounting, Organizations and Society (2021–present) and previously served on the Management Accounting Research editorial board (2015–2019). Prior to his current position, he was an Assistant Professor at HEC Paris (2006–2011). Research Interests: His research explores performance measurement systems, ethics in management control, and the evolving roles of accounting in organizational narratives and governance. He investigates topics like algorithmic decision-making, narrative reporting, and entrepreneurial governance structures. Professional Activities: Member of the European Accounting Association’s Publications Committee Co-organizer of the MASOP Workshops (2008–2023) His publications span academic journals and edited volumes, addressing themes such as zero-based budgeting, data scientist identities, and the ethical implications of control systems. He actively bridges theoretical and practical accounting issues through interdisciplinary collaboration.
Giovanni Dosi is a Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy . He co-directs the Intellectual Property Task Force at Columbia University's Initiative for Policy Dialogue and serves as a Continental Europe Editor for Industrial and Corporate Change . Recognized as an ISI Highly Cited Researcher and a Corresponding Member of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei , his work spans evolutionary economics and innovation studies. Education: Laurea in Philosophy (1976, University of Milan), PhD in Economics (1983, University of Sussex) Dosi’s research focuses on Economics of Innovation , Industrial Dynamics , and Agent-Based Macroeconomics , analyzing how technological and organizational innovations drive capitalist systems. His work examines global value chains, productivity slowdowns, and the role of policy in innovation ecosystems. Scientific Awards: 2022 Penrose Award (EURAM) for evolutionary economics 2016 Wiley TIM Distinguished Scholar Award ISI Highly Cited Researcher (since 2010) Honorary Professor, Manchester Business School (since 2009) Commendatore al merito della Repubblica Italiana (since 2014)
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Becker is a full Professor at the University of Vienna, holding a position within the Faculty of Chemistry and the Department of Biological Chemistry. His research profile shows extensive activity in protein chemistry and biochemistry, with particular focus on post-translational modifications and their implications in disease mechanisms. His work bridges chemical biology, biochemistry, and biomedical applications, contributing significantly to the academic and research landscape at one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious universities. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna Department of Biological Chemistry Active research leader with numerous ongoing projects Significant publication record spanning multiple disciplines Professor Becker's research primarily focuses on protein chemistry, particularly post-translational modifications and their role in protein function and dysfunction. His work spans multiple interconnected areas including ubiquitination, protein aggregation, prion protein behavior, and biomimetic approaches to protein analysis. His research has significant implications for understanding neurodegenerative diseases and developing novel therapeutic approaches. The fingerprint analysis of his work shows strong connections to biochemistry, molecular biology, and chemistry, with particular emphasis on cysteine chemistry, glycosylation, and amino acid modifications. Analysis of Professor Becker's recent publications (2021-2025) reveals a consistent research trajectory focused on protein modification techniques and their biological implications. His work shows increasing sophistication in chemical biology approaches to study protein function, with particular emphasis on ubiquitination pathways and protein aggregation mechanisms. The integration of chemical synthesis methods with biological analysis represents a hallmark of his research approach. His publications span high-impact journals in biochemistry, chemical biology, and peptide science, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his contributions. Professor Becker has received notable recognition for his research contributions, most prominently the Cathay Award in 2020. This award acknowledges his significant contributions to the field of protein chemistry and chemical biology. His work appears to have practical applications in therapeutic development, particularly in the areas of targeted protein degradation and immunotherapy, which likely contributed to this recognition. Cathay Award (2020) Professor Becker leads multiple significant research projects, including 'Targeted protein degradation - from small molecules to complex organelles' (2020-2024), 'Taktira: Development of an improved, low-side-effect and sustainable immunotherapy' (2019-2023), and 'Structure Zoom: Zooming in on protein functional sites with atomic resolution' (2018-2021). These projects demonstrate substantial grant funding and collaborative research efforts across multiple institutions. His active participation in 290 recorded activities through 2025 indicates a highly engaged research program with numerous collaborators and trainees. Targeted protein degradation project (2020-2024) Taktira immunotherapy project (2019-2023) Structure Zoom project (2018-2021) Professor Becker's research environment includes a robust team of collaborators and junior researchers, as evidenced by the numerous co-authored publications and activities. His work intersects with multiple research groups studying protein function, modification, and therapeutic applications. The international collaboration network shown in his profile indicates significant engagement with researchers across multiple countries, creating a dynamic research ecosystem focused on advancing protein science and its biomedical applications.
Staffan Kjelleberg is a Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and Director of the Singapore National Biofilm Consortium (SNBC) and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE). He holds previous positions as Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, and has led major research initiatives globally. His academic career spans over four decades, with roles including Head of School at UNSW and Professorships at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Education: BSc (Chemistry and Biology, 1975), PhD (Microbiology, 1981), and Docent (Microbiology, 1983) from the University of Gothenburg. He has authored over 384 journal papers with significant citations, reflecting his leadership in microbial biofilm research. Research focuses on microbial biofilms and microbiomes, addressing environmental sustainability, public health, and industrial applications. He employs an interdisciplinary approach to study biofilm community dynamics, matrix properties, and translational technologies for biofilm control. Key contributions include discoveries on quorum sensing inhibitors, biofilm dispersal mechanisms, and eDNA roles in biofilm structure. Honours include Fellowships from the Australian and American Academies of Microbiology, Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher status, and Editor roles for 15 international journals. He leads major programs like the Marine Climate Change Science initiative and has co-directed global research centers such as the Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation. Advising and grants: While specific student names are not listed, his extensive leadership in research programs indicates mentorship of numerous scholars. His work bridges fundamental and applied microbiology, impacting environmental and biomedical fields. Labs/Teams: Directs SCELSE and SNBC, co-founded the Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, and collaborates internationally on biofilm and microbiome research.
Professor Margaret-Anne Hutton serves as Chair of French and Comparative Literature at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and founded the Institute for Contemporary and Comparative Literature (ICCL) in 2010. The ICCL functions as the institutional framework for the interdisciplinary project 'What is the contemporary?' (2015-2018), which secured two major Leverhulme Trust grants. Her research centers on post-2000 literature with specialized expertise in crime fiction , 9/11 fiction , and WWII testimonial texts . She pioneers theoretical frameworks for understanding 'the contemporary', examining how literature processes historical trauma and constructs temporal consciousness across cultural contexts. Her methodological approach bridges literary analysis with historical and philosophical inquiry. Hutton's publication trajectory reveals consistent engagement with traumatic 20th/21st-century events through comparative lenses. Her work demonstrates how French literature interrogates Holocaust memory, 9/11 geopolitics, and ethical dilemmas in contemporary fiction. The Leverhulme-funded project exemplifies her leadership in creating cross-disciplinary dialogues about temporal frameworks in modern cultural production. As founder of the ICCL, Hutton has established a dynamic research ecosystem exploring contemporaneity through collaborative initiatives. The institute facilitates international scholarly exchange on how literature defines and responds to the present moment, connecting French studies with global literary currents and theoretical debates.
Shaul Pollak is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Microbial Ecology within the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna. His research focuses on bacterial interactions in ecosystems, particularly their roles in plant pathogen protection and carbon cycling across soil and marine environments. He leads a research group investigating how microbial processes scale from genetic mechanisms to planetary biogeochemical cycles. His primary research interests include microbial community assembly, bacterial metabolism of complex biopolymers, and evolutionary genomics of marine cyanobacteria. Current projects leverage genomic dark matter to predict soil carbon fluxes, examine plant-bacteria interactions under environmental change, and explore the diversity of Prochlorococcus marinus. His interdisciplinary approach integrates genomics, high-throughput experiments, and machine learning to bridge ecological and evolutionary theory. Analysis of his 2022-2025 publications reveals consistent themes in microbial community dynamics, with emphasis on polysaccharide degradation mechanisms, phage-bacteria interactions, and genomic predictors of bacterial metabolic functions. His work demonstrates how bacterial trade-offs and cross-feeding structures shape ecosystem processes from ocean biogeochemistry to human gut microbiome organization. Dr. Pollak actively recruits PhD students and postdoctoral researchers through university stipend programs, with current group members including Thomas Gaehtgens, Gerhard Gruber, Jyothsna Pujar, Qi Qi, Lior Shachar, Marco Sing, and Joana Valèrio. His laboratory maintains active collaborations across soil and marine microbial ecology projects, with research infrastructure supported by University of Vienna resources and external funding.
Thomas Reinthaler is a researcher at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, specializing in microbial oceanography and biogeochemical processes. His work investigates the role of prokaryotic organisms in marine carbon cycling, the influence of environmental factors like temperature and UV irradiation on microbial activity, and metabolic adaptations in deep-sea environments under in situ pressure conditions. Research Interests Reinthaler's research spans microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and oceanography. Key areas include dark ocean carbon cycling, anaplerotic carbon fixation, hydrostatic pressure effects on microbial communities, and the interplay between prokaryotic gene expression and environmental stressors like UV radiation. His work also addresses microbial contributions to the biological pump and nutrient recycling in mesopelagic zones. Publication Trends Recent publications highlight metaproteomic analyses of dark ocean trophic interactions, sulfur cycling dynamics, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in coastal systems. He has advanced methodologies for in situ pressure experiments and contributed to resolving paradoxes in carbon budget calculations through studies on heterotrophic autotrophy and microbial substrate utilization patterns. Projects and Activities BASS Project : Biochemical processes and air-sea exchange in the sea surface microlayer (active 2022–2025). Prokaryoten Project : Funded research on prokaryotic activity in the North Atlantic (2011–2016). Organized the 2024 Symposium on Microbial Oceanography and presented at the ECOTIP Photoexhibit (2024).
Peer Bork is a Professor at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, where he serves as Strategic Head of Bioinformatics and co-head of the Structural and Computational Biology Unit. He also holds honorary professorships at the University of Würzburg (Germany) and Fudan University (China). Educational background: PhD in Biochemistry (1990) Habilitation in Theoretical Biophysics (1995) Research interests span bioinformatics , systems biology , and microbiome analysis , focusing on functional prediction, comparative genomics, and data integration. His work explores global patterns in microbial communities, including enterotypes, drug-microbiome interactions, and planetary-scale gene fluxes. Scientific impact includes over 550 publications (70+ in Nature , Science , and Cell ) and groundbreaking discoveries like the human gut enterotypes and microbiome-based cancer biomarkers . Key projects include the SPIRE microbiome resource and the TARA Oceans expedition . Honors and leadership: EMBO member (2000) Nature Creative Mentoring Award (2008) ERC Advanced Investigator Grants (2011, 2015) Leopoldina member (2014) Honorary doctorate (University of Utrecht, 2017) Co-founder of 5 biotech companies Collaborative networks include partnerships with institutions in Berlin (Max-Delbrück-Center), Würzburg (Germany), and Shanghai (China), as well as global initiatives like the TREC expedition for environmental microbiome analysis.
Bano Mehdi-Schulz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), leading the 'Eco-hydrological and Land Use Modelling' group at the Institute of Hydrology and Water Management. She is a Substitute Member of the Ethics Committee. Her research focuses on ecohydrology, integrating hydrological and agricultural sciences to address water quality impacts from anthropogenic changes and future climate scenarios. Education: B.Sc. in Soil Science, M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering, and Ph.D. from McGill University's Department of Geography. Awards include the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (2009) and FWF Elise Richter Fellowship (2019). Her work bridges natural and social sciences, employing models to assess land use change and water resource management. Research Interests: Quantifying impacts of land use and climate change on water quality, ecohydrological modeling uncertainty, sustainable intensification strategies, and nitrate transport dynamics. Her team explores how farming practices and climate interact to influence water systems, with projects like ALUCSI (FWF-funded) and NitroClimAT (ACRP). Grants & Projects: Recent projects include ALUCSI (2019-2023), NitroClimAT (2018-2022), and UnLoadC3 (2014-2017). Current student advisees include researchers studying SWAT model uncertainty, sustainable intensification pathways, and water quality in East African basins. Labs/Teams: Leads the Eco-hydrological and Land Use Modelling group, collaborating with institutions like IIASA and SEC. Research emphasizes model coupling (e.g., SECLAND-SWAT) and satellite data integration for data-scarce regions.
Sabine Plenk is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Landscape Architecture , part of the Department of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Sciences at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) . Her work focuses on plant use in open spaces , emphasizing perennial planting design , ecological vegetation , and urban green space aesthetics . University: BOKU Vienna Institute: Landscape Architecture Academic Rank: Assistant Professor Her research explores: Naturalistic planting design for climate-resilient urban environments Ecological perennial plantings in municipal contexts Biodiversity-enhancing plant mixtures for public spaces Low-maintenance vegetation systems in Lower Austria Recent publications highlight perennial mixtures and ecological planting concepts applied in urban settings like Vienna's Adele-Jellinek-Park and Graz's Reininghauspark . Notable projects include sustainable stormwater planter vegetation and healing gardens for healthcare facilities. Scientific contributions: Nominated for Energy Globe Oberösterreich (2020) Awarded Floreales d'Angers (1996) Keynote speaker at international conferences She has supervised numerous Master's theses on topics ranging from climate-adaptive tree understory plantings to edible perennial landscapes , and serves on advisory boards for ecological garden design.
Christine Stumpp is a Professor at the Institute of Soil Physics and Rural Water Management , affiliated with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) . Her work integrates hydrology , soil physics , and stable isotope analysis to address critical issues in groundwater recharge , climate change impacts on water systems , and microplastic transport in soils .
Dagmar Woebken is Associate Professor and Head of the Department for Microbiology and Ecosystem Science at the University of Vienna, where she leads the Division of Microbial Ecology. Her research investigates microbial survival strategies in challenging soil habitats, particularly focusing on adaptation mechanisms to environmental stressors. Research encompasses three primary themes: Dormancy and reactivation dynamics in desert soil microbial communities Assembly and function of plant-associated microbiomes Ecological success factors of Acidobacteria in terrestrial environments Her group employs molecular techniques including metagenomics, stable isotope probing, and single-cell approaches (NanoSIMS, Raman microspectroscopy) combined with cultivation-based methods. Publications demonstrate expertise in: Microbial adaptation to extreme environments Plant-microbe-nutrient interactions Genomic basis of bacterial ecological strategies Recent work increasingly utilizes advanced imaging and isotopic tracing to investigate microbial processes at cellular scales. Dr. Woebken pioneered the NifMAP bioinformatic pipeline for analyzing nitrogen-fixing communities and developed methods combining Gold-FISH with NanoSIMS for targeted analysis of plant-associated bacteria. She leads research projects on microbial symbioses funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). She directs a research group investigating microbial ecology across ecosystems from deserts to forests. Current projects include studies of ant-plant-microbe associations and microbe-mediated nitrogen cycling in grasslands. The group maintains collaborations with international institutions and participates in public outreach through science communication platforms.
Prof. Hans de Kroon is a Full Professor at the Department of Experimental Plant Ecology, Radboud University. He has held roles including Research Director of the Institute for Water and Wetland Research (2010–2018) and currently chairs the Netherlands Ecological Research Network. His research focuses on plant interactions, root ecology, biodiversity regulation, and community dynamics. He collaborates across disciplines with NGOs, industry, and governmental institutions to address ecological sustainability challenges. His work emphasizes understanding species coexistence, biodiversity maintenance, and the impacts of environmental changes. Notable contributions include studies on insect biomass decline and neonicotinoid effects, which garnered global attention. Awards include the Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau and multiple Hermesdorf prizes for impactful publications. Prof. de Kroon’s projects integrate empirical and statistical tools to explore ecosystem biodiversity, often involving collaborative networks. His research bridges fundamental ecology with applied solutions for ecological management and conservation.
Kostas Triantis is an Associate Professor of Biodiversity of Ecosystems at the Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He holds a PhD from the University of Crete and has held post-doctoral positions at institutions including Oxford University and the University of Azores. His research focuses on island biogeography, macroecology, conservation biology, and the biogeography of Aegean invertebrates. He has served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Bayreuth and held roles in Greece’s Ministry of Environment. Triantis is a leading expert in land snail biodiversity and has contributed to over 70 peer-reviewed articles. Awards include Marie Curie Fellowship and editorial roles in journals like Journal of Biogeography . His work addresses species-area relationships, island ecosystems, and conservation strategies for endangered species. Current projects include understanding biodiversity patterns in the Aegean under the Anthropocene and global avian extinction dynamics. Education: PhD and MSc in Biology, University of Crete Post-doctoral fellowships at Oxford, Azores, and Patras Research Interests: Island biogeography, conservation biology, macroecology, ecological modeling, Aegean biodiversity His articles explore topics like ant biodiversity on Aegean islands, global avian functional diversity loss, and extinction debt on oceanic islands. Triantis collaborates internationally on projects such as the European Red List of terrestrial molluscs and biodiversity databases like MEDIS. He actively contributes to conservation policy through IUCN Red Listing assessments for over 200 Greek land snail species. Grants & Projects: Principal Investigator: 'Understanding the Anthropocene: the case of the Aegean Islands' (Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, 2020–2023) Co-PI: 'Biodiversity on Oceanic Islands' (Portugal’s FCT, 2012–2015) Triantis leads the University of Athens’ Ecology and Taxonomy Department’s research on island ecosystems, emphasizing the interplay between ecological theory and conservation practice. His lab focuses on integrating spatial data and evolutionary dynamics to address biodiversity challenges.
Bettina Glasl is a Senior Scientist at the University of Vienna within the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (Division of Microbial Ecology). Her research focuses on symbiotic interactions between marine reef invertebrates (e.g., corals, sponges) and microbial communities, emphasizing their role in ecosystem health and resilience. Academic Rank: Researcher Email: bettina.glasl@univie.ac.at Her work combines field experiments, aquarium-based studies, and advanced techniques like meta'omics, chemical imaging, and microscopy to investigate adaptations of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in sponge symbiosis. Articles highlight microbial indicators for reef health, nitrifying symbionts, and environmental stress responses. Recent publications (2024–2017) analyze microbial dynamics in coral mucus, seasonal microbiome variation, and rehabilitation strategies for coral reefs. Keywords include Microbial Ecology , Coral Reef Resilience , and Marine Symbiosis , with subfields like Taurine Metabolism and Vertical Transmission of Symbionts .
