Research Institute of Molecular Pathology

The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology stands on the Vienna Biocenter campus in Austria’s capital. It is a biomedical research centre where scientists from over forty countries study the molecular foundations of life. The institute was founded in 1985 by Boehringer Ingelheim and Genentech, and today it occupies a modern eight-storey building of 15,000 square metres. The institute is recognised for its high output of research. Scientists publish between sixty and ninety papers each year, and since 1985 more than two thousand articles have appeared in international journals. The work has led to ninety-three patents and twenty-four European Research Council grants. Five faculty members have received Wittgenstein Awards, and in 2017 Kim Nasmyth received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for cohesin research done at the IMP. Inside the building, laboratories occupy three thousand square metres and offices two thousand. A 280-seat lecture hall and six seminar rooms host regular meetings and public events. The façade’s striped pattern echoes DNA bands from electrophoresis gels, while dichroic glass on the lifts reflects microscopy filters. Shared facilities such as a cafeteria and microscopy suite link the IMP with neighbouring institutes, creating a single research neighbourhood.