Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA)

The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) is a publicly funded basic research institute and part of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Since its foundation in 1999, IMBA has delivered break-throughs to transform our understanding of biology and accelerated development of innovative therapies for human disease. Fifteen different research groups are working towards deciphering fundamental processes in the fields of molecular and cell biology, stem cell and organoid research, small RNA biology, neurobiology, disease modelling, and epigenetics.

Building on its existing strengths in stem cell research, IMBA has created a Stem Cell Core Facility as a part of its initiative for an Austrian Centre for Stem cell Research. Its aim is to support research groups in Austria and abroad that use stem cells in a variety of contexts, from brain and heart development to disease modeling and organoid research. The facility links with academics and clinicians to provide expert service in cutting edge technologies and disseminate knowledge by training the next generation of stem cell researchers. Scientific support also includes services for Bioinformatics, BioOptics, Electron Microscopes, Metabolomics, Next Generation Sequencing, Protein Chemistry.

IMBA, as a leader of Work Package 1 will establish a comprehensive, sharable organoid resource for brain organoids. Brain organoids will be grown in Jürgen Knoblich’s laboratory that has opened the field of cerebral organoid research in 2013 with the description of the most complex brain organoids to date. The Knoblich lab will also contribute to the imaging of brain organoids in Work Package 3 and will also perform a disease centric pilot study in Work Package 6.