(Vienna, 12 March 2021) "Scientist of the Year 2020" – this was the title awarded to Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl, Head of MedUni Vienna's Center for Virology, by the Austrian Club of Science and Education Journalists at the start of 2021. The jury justified its choice by highlighting the calm and matter-of-fact manner in which she had imparted solid factual information in these challenging times. In order to celebrate this distinction, Rector Markus Müller is presenting Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl with a certificate in recognition of her research and communication work in the field of virology on the Day of the Medical University of Vienna on 12 March 2021.
Puchhammer-Stöckl has been the director of the Center for Virology since 2018. She also took up a Chair in Virology at MedUni Vienna in December 2020. Puchhammer-Stöckl is delighted by the honour, saying: "It is with great joy that I am accepting this honour on behalf of the entire team at the Center for Virology. We have all played our part in gaining a better understanding of the virus and its immune response, often at great personal cost. This is how we can contribute to overcome the pandemic as quickly as possible. Information of the public is also an important aspect of this, so that people can understand why this virus has challenged us so much and continues to do so."