Research

Main Research Interests: genetic causes of hereditary diseases, Rankl-protein, cardiac and pulmonary diseases, cancer, bone diseases, osteoporosis, drug development

Josef Penninger investigates the genetic causes of diseases. He discovered a protein, which plays a significant role in osteoporosis and breast cancer. Based on his research, new drugs have been developed.

Penninger’s goal is to develop new and effective treatments for various diseases by uncovering the fundamental biological principles underlying development and disease. Together with his research group, he investigates the architecture and underlying mechanisms of human disease, with the ultimate aim of identifying novel therapeutic strategies.

He and his team develop and deploy a broad range of in vitro and in vivo tools that reveal the fundamental mechanisms involved in human disease. These approaches include genetic editing in vitro and in vivo, human induced pluripotent cell (iPS cell) models of disease, haploid cells for genetic as well as compound screening paradigms, mouse and human organoid cultures, as well as genetically engineered mice. Using multidisciplinary techniques, Penninger models and studies the complexity of human diseases.

His research falls under five broadly defined thematic areas, i.e., bone, brain, cancer, cardiovascular and immunity. These systems are subject to substantial crosstalk. Therefore, his research in one field influences and informs another, leading to unexpected insight and advances that acknowledge and embrace the complexity of disease and biology.

To Josef Penninger's homepage

Career

• since 2023 Scientific Management, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig
• since 2023 Professor for Personalized Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
• 2018-2023 Director, Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
• since 2004 Honorary professor for genetics, University of Vienna, Austria
• since 2004 Honorary professor, Beijing Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China
• since 2004 Adjunct Full Professor,Department for Immunology, University of Toronto, Canada
• 2002-2018 Scientific Director, Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna, Austria
• 2002-2003 Full Professor, Departments for Immunology and medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Canada
• 1999-2002 Associate Professor, Departments for Immunology and medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Canada
• 1998-2003 Full member of the School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto, Canada
• since 1998 Lecturer, Institute for General and Experimental Pathology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
• 1994-1999 Assistant professor, Departments for Immunology and medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Canada
• 1994-2003 Researcher, Ontario Cancer Institute, Department for molecular and cellular Biology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada
• 1994-2002 Research group leader, Amgen Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
• 1990-1994 Postdoctoral Researcher, Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada
• 1990 Doctorate (Dr. med.) with scientific research at the Institute for General and Experimental Pathology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
• 1986-1990 Researcher at the Institute for General and Experimental Pathology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
• 1982-1988 Medical study, University of Innsbruck, Austria

Awards and Memberships

• 2018 Canada 150 award
• 2017 CEE Innovator Award
• 2015 Elected Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
• 2015 Among the 400 most influential Thought Leaders in the world (#11 in german speaking countries; http://www.thoughtleaders.world/en/).
• 2014 Award by the city of Vienna for medical sciences
• 2014 Wittgenstein Prize
• 2013 ERC Advanced Grant
• 2012 Innovator Award of the US Department of Defense
• since 2011 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• 2008 Karl Landsteiner Prize
• 2007 Carus Medal of the Leopoldina
• 2007 Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine
• 2007 Descartes Prize
• since 2007 Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
• 2005 Designation of the asteroid (48801) Penninger
• 2005 Designation as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
• since 2004 Member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• since 2004 Member of the New York Academy of Sciences
• 2004 Austrian of the Year in the category “science“ by the newspaper “Die Presse“ (“Austria04“)
• 2003 Austrian Scientist of the Year
• 2003 International Science Award for Bone Research
• 2003 Upper Austrian State Government Prize for Science
• 2002 Listed among the 10 most promising scientists in all fields in the world by the Esquire Magazine
• 2002 Young Canadian Explorer Award, Canadian Institute of Advanced Research
• 2001 Named one of the “Top 40 under 40“ in Canada
• 2001 Top 10 list of the ISI most cited scientists 1999/2000
• 2001 Canadian Research Chair for Cell Biology
• 2000 Top 10 list of the ISI most cited scientists 1998/1999
• 2000 Young Leader in Medicine in Canada, “Globe and Mail”
• 2000 Included in the Celebration of Canadian Healthcare Research of leading and historical and contemporary medical scientists in Canada
• 1999 William E. Rawls Prize, National Cancer Institute of Canada
• 1994 Talent prize for science and and culture by the federal state of Upper Austria
• 1993 Austrotransplant-Biotest Prize by the Austrian Society of Transplantation,             Transfusion and Genetics
• 1991 Anton von Eiselsberg Prize
• 1990-1992 Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund
• 1990 Highest Talented Award by the Rotary Club Innsbruck
• 1988 Stipendium der Europäischen Vereinigung für Immunologische Wissenschaften
• 1987 Special Felloqship by the Austrian Ministry for Arts and Scienc