About

Independent Principal Investigator in Computational RNA Biology

I am an independent Principal Investigator in computational RNA biology based in Vienna, Austria. Over more than two decades I have worked on how RNA molecules fold, function, and evolve, combining biophysical modeling, algorithm development, and reproducible scientific software.

Since 2025 I have pursued independently led research through RNA Forecast, the platform through which I conduct research, software development, and collaborations. I maintain long-standing collaborations with academic groups, including the Theoretical Biochemistry Group (TBI) at the University of Vienna, a long-standing center of RNA bioinformatics and home of the ViennaRNA Package.

In 2023 and 2024 I held a Visiting Professorship as W2 Substitute Chair at the University of Freiburg. From 2019 to 2025 I was a University Assistant and Principal Investigator at the University of Vienna, following postdoctoral positions at the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna.

My current research spans RNA secondary structure, folding kinetics, functional RNA design, viral RNA biology, RNA evolution, RNA–protein recognition, and computational methods, with machine learning applied where it is scientifically warranted.

Current research themes

RNA secondary structure
RNA evolution
RNA folding kinetics
RNA–protein recognition
Functional RNA design
Computational methods
Viral RNA biology
Reproducible scientific software

Selected scientific positions

2025–presentIndependent Principal Investigator, Vienna
2023–2024Visiting Professor / W2 Substitute Chair, University of Freiburg
2019–2025University Assistant and Principal Investigator, University of Vienna
2016–2018Postdoctoral Research Associate, Medical University of Vienna
2012–2015Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Vienna
2005–2007Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Vienna / Theoretical Chemistry

Service, supervision & collaboration

I serve as Associate Editor and on editorial boards for several journals and review regularly for leading venues in RNA biology and bioinformatics. I supervise and mentor researchers at doctoral and Master level, teach at university and in workshops, and sustain international collaborations across Europe and beyond. A fuller account is on the teaching and people and supervision pages, and the publication list gives the formal record of this work.