Since 2014, Milan Vrábel has led the Chemistry of Bioconjugates group at IOCB Prague. His research focuses on developing and applying bioorthogonal reactions to study, visualize, and manipulate biological systems. Situated at the intersection of chemistry and biology, his group uses chemical tools to enhance our understanding of complex biological processes. The lab also works on translating its discoveries into practical uses. Milan Vrábel received an ERC Starting Grant to develop innovative strategies for labeling and studying bioconjugates, resulting in a highly efficient method for chemically re-engineering cell surfaces and adjusting their properties. The potential of this approach in immunotherapy and related fields was further investigated with an ERC Proof of Concept grant. The team continues to improve these techniques and expand their application to a wider range of biomedical challenges.
Hannes Mikula received his Ph.D. from TU Wien in 2014. Inspired by bioorthogonal chemistry, he then joined the lab of Prof. Ralph Weissleder at the Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral Schrödinger fellow (Austrian Science Fund, FWF). In 2016, Hannes returned to TU Wien as principal investigator and has led the ‘Molecular Chemistry & Chemical Biology’ group since 2018. From 2021 to 2022, he was Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), and after completing his ‘Habilitation’ (venia docendi), he became Associate Professor in January 2023, before being promoted to Full Professor of Chemical Biology in October 2023. His team mainly focuses on the development of bioorthogonal tools and technologies for chemical biology, medicinal chemistry and biomedical research. Hannes was awarded a START grant by the FWF in 2021 and an ERC Starting Grant in 2022, aiming for bioorthogonal strategies to navigate and control the function of molecules in cellular environments.