KL Lunchtime Seminar Series
A series of international guest lectures at the KL
The KL Lunchtime Seminar Series regularly brings national and international researchers to Karl Landsteiner University. By presenting their latest research findings, they promote scientific exchange at KL. The next semester will start with a top-class international guest.
Science thrives on discourse
The KL Lunchtime Seminar Series invites top Austrian and international scientists as well as up-and-coming young researchers to Campus Krems. Students as well as staff members have the unique opportunity to learn more about selected current research projects and to get in touch with researchers in an uncomplicated way. At the KL Lunchtime Seminars, speakers are encouraged to give a general and comprehensive introduction to their field of research in order to provide a broad audience with an interesting insight into their research area. The questions and discussions that follow often lead to collaborations with universities, scientists and research groups.
From an idea to a fixed date
Dr Agnieszka Witalisz-Siepracka and Prof Dr Dagmar Stoiber-Sakaguchi from the Divisiont of Pharmacology and Dr Clarissa Eibl and Prof Dr Gerald Obermair from the Division of Physiology were looking for an opportunity to network with other scientists at the Campus Krems and the surrounding area in Lower Austria. The initial focus on cancer research and neurophysiology has now expanded to include a wide range of topics. The KL Lunchtime Seminar Series sees itself as a platform open to all colleagues and students to invite speakers to KL. Proposals are always welcome. The KL Lunchtime Seminar Series is now a permanent fixture in the KL calendar. More listeners and a wider audience are welcome. Involvement and input from other departments and thus new topics are very welcome and clearly defined goals for the future.
Highlights of the past programme
The first guest lecture by Dominik Wolf from the Medical University of Innsbruck in October 2021 focused on combating inflammatory processes in cancer. Subsequent guest speakers have covered a wide range of topics, from further talks on cancer therapy to the functions of cation channels in neurophysiology, on which Susanna Zierler from Johannes Kepler University Linz gave a very vivid presentation. Alice Assinger from the Medical University of Vienna provided exciting insights into the multiple roles of platelets, and Birgit Strobl from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna presented extramedullary haematopoiesis as part of the innate immune defence against infection.
Theoretical models, such as those presented by Walter Sandtner from the Medical University of Vienna on "Mechanisms of solute transport through cellular membranes", were complemented by recent physical and molecular biological findings.
International speakers have enriched the programme of the KL Lunchtime Seminar Series since its inception: Jörg Fritz from McGill University in Montreal/Canada talked about immunopathologies in the context of lipid metabolism, and Amy Lee from the University of Texas-Austin/USA impressively explained the role of a special receptor in metabolism and its influence on health and disease. Colleagues Markus Missler, Tanja Hartmann and Jutta Engel from Germany were delighted to be invited to KL to present their current research on selected metabolic processes.
News for Winter Term 2022-23
The list of exciting new visitors is long. Carmen Panaitescu-Bunu will kick things off in September with a talk on "Precision Medicine in the Allergy Clinic", followed by Anjali Rajadhyaksha on "Learning to forget: How neuropsychiatric risk genes can explain individual susceptibility to addiction". In October, the programme includes a joint event with the Austrian National Union of Students and the association "Geben für Leben" on the topic "Stem cell donation - saving lives". Those interested will be given an insight into stem cell research and will be able to ask questions about stem cell donation. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to register as a donor. Most of the presentations and subsequent discussions will take place in person. The hybrid format also makes it possible to invite high-calibre international speakers, even if it is not possible for them to travel to Campus Krems.
In order to broaden the audience and provide targeted information to interested parties, the creation of a dedicated community is planned. In addition, the KL Lunchtime Seminar Series will be offered as an elective within the (medical) degree programme. For the organisers, it is clear that the KL Lunchtime Seminar Series has proven itself as a platform for scientific discourse and has become an integral part of KL's research culture.
