(Vienna, 04 December 2025) The Medical University of Vienna has once again been successful in the current call for FWF doc.funds funding. Seven new doctoral programmes are being created across Austria and a total of 65 new doctoral positions are being funded. One of these programmes is being run by MedUni Vienna: "Investigation of the Network of Vascular Inflammation and Thrombosis (NET-IT)" under the scientific leadership of Alice Assinger.
Cardiovascular diseases continue to be among the most common causes of death worldwide. A key mechanism behind this is immunothrombosis, i.e. the complex interaction between the coagulation and immune systems. The NET-IT doctoral programme, consisting of 10 research groups at MedUni Vienna, is dedicated to the systematic investigation of these processes – from molecular fundamentals to clinical issues – and provides structured training for young scientists in a highly relevant field of medical research.
Alice Assinger: Expert in vascular inflammation and thrombosis biology
Programme coordinator Alice Assinger, Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at MedUni Vienna, conducts research in the field of vascular inflammatory mechanisms and platelet biology. Her work contributes significantly to understanding how immune cells and blood platelets control inflammation and coagulation. By heading up the new programme, she is strengthening MedUni Vienna's position in cardiovascular research.
Seven programmes in Vienna and Graz
The newly approved doc.funds programmes of the FWF are based at MedUni Vienna, MedUni Graz, Graz University of Technology, the University of Graz and WU Vienna. They cover various topics ranging from biomedicine and biotechnology to economics and elementary particle physics, and support internationally oriented doctoral training.