Young Investigator Award

to graduate from BOKU/Department of Biotechnology

The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASMBR) has awarded the Young Investigator Price to Dr. Matthias Hackl for his work on “Circulating microRNAs as novel diagnostic targets for osteoporosis”. Dr. Hackl was invited to join the annual ASBMR meeting in Houston to present his work during the translational science session (12th to 15th September 2014).

Recent data published from the Grillari Labs at BOKU and TAmiRNA GmbH at ASMBR 2104, demonstrates the clinical utility of blood-circulating microRNAs as novel biomarker candidates for aging and age-associated diseases. In their work Dr. Hackl and Dr. Grillari together with their team could show that patients suffering from severe hip fractures exhibit unique microRNA patterns in their blood, which are causally related to an altered bone metabolism. This finding sets the starting point for developing novel diagnostic tests, which help to diagnose fracture risk early enough so that therapeutic intervention can be effectively applied. Dr. Hackl has been the first BOKU-DOC grantee, a specific grant for excellent BOKU students and graduated from BOKU University in 2012. He recently moved to co-found TAmiRNA GmbH, an R&D company dedicated to develop novel anti-aging medicines and medical products (www.grillarilabs.at, www.tamirna.com).

24.10.2014