Sascha Amann wins Rabitsch Award 2026
Sascha Josef Amann has received the 2026 Rabitsch Award for his PhD thesis on the regulation of the 26S proteasome. Amann recently completed his doctoral studies in David Haselbach’s lab at the IMP. Since 2006, the Rabitsch Award annually recognises the achievements of an exceptional PhD student at the IMP or IMBA.
The annual Rabitsch Award honours an exceptional PhD student from the IMP or IMBA (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology). This year’s award went to Sascha Amann from the lab of David Haselbach for his PhD thesis titled “Means and Modes of 26S Proteasomal Substrate Degradation: Regulation by Ubiquitin Chains and the Endogenous Factor PITHD1” which he successfully defended in the summer. Amann’s research explored how different ubiquitin chains help the proteasome —the cell’s waste disposal machine— recognise proteins marked for degradation, and how PITHD1 can interfere with this recognition.
The proteasome is a molecular machine responsible for breaking down proteins that are damaged or no longer needed. Proteins destined for degradation are commonly marked with chains of a small protein called ubiquitin. During his PhD, Amann investigated how different types of ubiquitin chains interact with the proteasome’s 19S regulatory particle, which recognises, processes and unfolds substrates before they are degraded within the 20S core particle.
Combining biochemistry with cryo-electron microscopy, Amann recreated the interaction between the proteasome and substrates carrying different types of ubiquitin chains and determined their three-dimensional structures. This revealed how the proteasome recognises these different molecular tags. In a second project, he studied PITHD1, a protein that can block the proteasome from recognising proteins marked for degradation. This may allow cells to slow down protein breakdown during periods of dormancy, when they also produce fewer new proteins.
Amann joined the Haselbach Lab as a master’s student in 2020, when he began working on the project that would later become the basis of his doctoral research. He started his PhD in February 2021. His work reflects a central interest of the Haselbach Lab: using structural and biophysical approaches to discover the mechanistic principles underlying the function and regulation of molecular machines.
About Sascha Amann
Sascha Amann completed his doctoral studies in David Haselbach’s lab at the IMP. Combining cryo-electron microscopy and biochemistry, he studied how the proteasome degrades proteins tagged with ubiquitin. His work addressed two central questions: how different types of ubiquitin chains influence the rate of protein degradation, and how PITHD1 inhibits this process. Amann is currently continuing his work in the Haselbach Lab, finalising manuscripts from his own research and collaborative projects. He next plans to pursue a postdoctoral position and continue investigating the mechanisms of molecular machines.
About the Rabitsch Award
The Rabitsch Award is named after Kirsten Peter Rabitsch, a former PhD Student in Kim Nasmyth’s lab at the IMP. He was a promising scientist and had just completed his doctorate when he died tragically in Bolivia in 2006. The prize of 2,000 Euro is sponsored jointly by the IMP and Kirsten’s parents Hermann Rabitsch and Joana Krizanits. It is awarded each year during the IMP/IMBA Recess and goes to an exceptional PhD Student from one of the two institutes.
List of Rabitsch Award laureates
About the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program
Sascha Amann was a doctoral student of the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program. Are you interested in a world-class career in molecular biology? Find out more and apply in the current call until 15 October: training.vbc.ac.at/phd-program/
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