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Kirsten Peter Rabitsch Award

The Kirsten Peter Rabitsch Award is given annually to the most promising PhD student at IMP or IMBA. It is jointly funded by the IMP and the family of Kirsten Peter Rabitsch, laureates are selected by the IMP Scientific Advisory Board.

The Kirsten Peter Rabitsch Award, endowed with 2,000 Euro, is awarded each year to the most promising PhD student at the IMP or IMBA.

The award was installed in 2006 by the IMP and the family of Kirsten Peter Rabitsch, who was a talented and motivated young scientist in the lab of Kim Nasmyth. Kirsten died tragically shortly after completing his PhD. He and his companion Katharina, alongside another traveler, were robbed and subsequently murdered in Bolivia.

To create more awareness and increase safety among travelers, Kirsten’s family and friends later initiated a successful information campaign. Through the annual award, Kirsten’s memory is kept alive and continues to inspire young talents.

The work of all graduates of the VBC PhD Programme who did their research at a lab at the IMP or IMBA and completed their PhD in the previous year is submitted for consideration. The award ceremony follows a competitive selection process by the IMP Scientific Advisory Board, usually during the annual recess – an in-house conference - in October.

2023
Friederike Leesch, IMP
"Characterization of maternal ribosomes and their function in development"
Lab: Andrea Pauli
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2022
Melanie de Almeida, IMP
"Time-controlled CRISPR screens identify AKIRIN2 as the nuclear proteasome import factor in vertebrates"
Lab: Johannes Zuber
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2021
Louisa Hill, IMP
"Factors and regulatory elements controlling immunoglobulin locus contraction during V(D)J recombination"
Lab: Meinrad Busslinger
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2020
Merve Deniz Abdusselamoglu, IMBA
"Regulation of stem cell lineages"
Lab: Jürgen Knoblich
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2019
Julia Batki, IMBA
"Nuclear small RNA-guided silencing of transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster"
Lab: Julius Brennecke
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2018
Annika Nichols, IMP
"Circuit mechanisms and neuroendocrine control of a sleep-like brain state in C. elegans"
Lab: Manuel Zimmer
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2017
Mareike Roth, IMP
"Exploring and exploiting chromatin dependencies in cancer"
Lab: Johannes Zuber
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2016
Beata Mierzwa, IMBA
"ESCRT-III Polymer Dynamics in Cytokinetic Abscission"
Lab: Daniel Gerlich
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2015
Grzegorz Sienski, IMBA
"Dissection of nuclear function of Piwi in Drosophila"
Lab: Julius Brennecke
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2014
Elif Eroglu, IMBA
"The SWI/SNF complex regulates the Prdm protein Hamlet to ensure lineage directionality in Drosophila"
Lab: Jürgen Knoblich
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2013
Amalie Dick, IMBA
"Kinetic Framework of Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Signalling"
Lab: Daniel Gerlich
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2012
Johannes Popow, IMBA
"Identification and characterization of a human tRNA ligase complex"
Lab: Javier Martinez
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2011
Constance Richter, IMBA
"Proliferation control in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster"
Lab: Jürgen Knoblich
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2010
Martin Häsemeyer, IMP
"Identification and characterization of the cellular targets of sex-peptide mediating the post mating switch in female Drosophila melanogaster"
Lab: Barry Dickson
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2009
Evi Kiermaier, IMP
"Construction and characterization of an artificial kinetochore in budding yeast"
Lab: Stefan Westermann
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2008
Jakob Fuhrmann, IMP
"Structural and biochemical characterization of protein arginine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in bacterial stress response."
Lab: Tim Clausen

2007
Ralph Neumüller, IMBA
"Proliferation control in Drosophila stem cell lineages"
Lab: Jürgen Knoblich
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2006
Stephanie Küng, IMP
"Functions of Wapl and Separase in chromosome segregation"
Lab: Jan-Michael Peters
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