Management
On this site:
Martin Hetzer
President
Martin Hetzer obtained his PhD in Genetics and Biochemistry from the University of Vienna in 1997. After a formative time as a postdoctoral fellow at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, he moved to California as an Assistant Professor. For 19 years, he pursued his scientific passion at the renowned Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla in various roles, including Professor, Chief Science Officer, and most recently, Senior Vice President.
Contact: Eva Baghai (Assistant to the President): -1007 eva.baghai@ista.ac.at
Michael Sixt
Executive Vice President
Professor Michael Sixt oversees the operation of all scientific service units (SSUs) and supports the President in the running of the Institute.
- Since June 1, 2014 Executive Vice President of ISTA
- 2013 Professor, ISTA
- 2010-2013 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2008-2010 Endowed Professor, Peter Hans Hofschneider Foundation for Experimental Biomedicine
- 2005-2010 Group Leader, Max-Planck Institute, Martinsried, Germany
- 2003-2005 Postdoc, Institute for Experimental Pathology, Lund, Sweden
- 2004 MD, University of Erlangen, Germany
- 2002 Full approbation in human medicine
Go to the full CV of Michael Sixt
Contact: Sandor Matyus (Assistant in the Office of the President): -1016 sandor.matyus@ista.ac.at
Georg Schneider
Managing Director
Dr. Georg Schneider heads the administration of ISTA and is responsible for financial management, technical and legal matters, and human resources.
- Since December 1, 2012 Managing Director, ISTA
- 2008-2012 Deputy Director, CIO, Bioinformatics Institute, A*Star, Singapore
- 2007-2012 Principal Investigator, Biomolecular Function Discovery Division, Bioinformatics Institute, A*Star, Singapore
- 2007 PhD/Doctorate in Chemistry (Bioinformatics) at University of Vienna
- 2005 Co-founder at WildOne Information Systems GmbH
- 2001-2007 Bioinformatician and leader of a software development team at Institute of Molecular Pathology (Boehringer Ingelheim), Vienna
- 1999-2004 Lecturer at Institute of Applied Informatics, Vienna University of Economics and Business
- 1998-2000 Research Associate at Institute of Applied Informatics, Vienna University of Economics and Business
- 1999 Master of Business at Vienna University of Economics and Business
Go to the full CV of Georg Schneider
Contact: Simon-Philip Kutzenberger (Assistant Executive Affairs & Support MD): -1037 simon-philip.kutzenberger@ista.ac.at
Eva Benková
Dean of the Graduate School
Professor Eva Benková oversees the operation of the Graduate School.
- since 2016 Professor, ISTA
- 2013 – 2016 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2011 – 2013 Group Leader, Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, Czech Republic
- 2007 – 2013 Group Leader, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Ghent, Belgium
- 2003 – 2007 Habilitation position, University of Tübingen, Germany
- 2001 – 2003 Postdoc, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Tübingen, Germany
- 1998 – 2001 Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding, Cologne, Germany
Go to the full CV of Eva Benková
Contact: Jerneja Beslagic (Assistant to Dean): -1726 jerneja.beslagic@ista.ac.at
Gaia Novarino
Vice President for Science Education
Professor Gaia Novarino oversees the science education communication of basic science and research.
- since 2019 Professor, ISTA
- 2014 – 2019 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2010 – 2013 Postdoc, UCSD (Joseph Gleeson Lab), La Jolla, USA
- 2006 – 2010 Postdoc, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, Hamburg, Germany and MDC/FMP (Thomas Jentsch Lab) Berlin, Germany
- 2006 PhD, University “La Sapienza“, Rome, Italy
Go to the full CV of Gaia Novarino
Contact: Sandor Matyus (Assistant to Vice President): -1016 sandor.matyus@ista.ac.at
Bernd Bickel
Vice President for Technology Transfer
Professor Bernd Bickel oversees the transfer of science into useable technologies.
- since 2020 Professor, ISTA
- 2015 – 2020 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2012 – 2014 Research Scientist and Research Group Leader, Disney Research Zurich, Switzerland
- 2011 – 2012 Visiting Professor, TU Berlin, Germany
- 2011 – 2012 Postdoc, Disney Research Zurich, Switzerland
- 2010 PhD, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Go to the full CV of Bernd Bickel
Contact: Sandor Matyus (Assistant to Vice President): -1016 sandor.matyus@ista.ac.at
Simon Hippenmeyer
Area Chair Life Sciences
Professor Simon Hippenmeyer oversees the Life Sciences Area, which encompasses many of ISTA’s biologists, biochemists, and neuroscientists.
- Since 2019 Professor, ISTA
- 2012 – 2019 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2011 – 2012 Research Associate, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA
- 2006 – 2011 Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA
- 2004 – 2006 Postdoctoral Associate, University of Basel and Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
- 2004 PhD, University of Basel, Switzerland
Go to the full CV of Simon Hippenmeyer
Contact: Louis Alesch (Area Administrator): -1032 louis.alesch@ista.ac.at
Mikhail Lemeshko
Area Chair Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Professor Mikhail Lemeshko oversees the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Area, which encompasses many of ISTA’s mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and material scientists.
- Since 2019 Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
- 2014 – 2019 Assistant Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
- 2011 – 2014 ITAMP Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
- 2011 PhD, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin, Germany
Go to the full CV of Mikhail Lemeshko
Contact: Agnieszka Rowinska (Area Administrator): -1148 agnieszka.rowinska@ista.ac.at
Krzysztof Pietrzak
Area Chair Information and System Sciences
Professor Krzysztof Pietrzak oversees the Information and System Sciences Area, which provides a current and future home to computationally, mathematically, and technologically oriented scientists and engineers. Computer scientists, statisticians, mathematical biologists, theoretical physicists, systems neuroscientists, computational chemists, synthetic biologists, control engineers, and others, this area comprises all who study “information” as a subject, who try to understand complex natural and build complex man-made “systems” (from the brain to the earth, from robots to networks), and who tackle the methodological challenges of big data.
- Since 2016 Professor, ISTA
- 2011 – 2016 Assistant Professor, ISTA
- 2005 – 2011 Scientific Staff Member, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- 2006 Postdoc, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
- 2005 PhD, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Go to the full CV of Krzysztof Pietrzak
Contact: Rita Six (Area Administrator): -1165 rita.six@ista.ac.at
