Theresa Rienmüller and Robert Winkler receive ERC Starting Grants

(Press-News.org) As the European Research Council announced today, two further ERC Starting Grants have been awarded to Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). Theresa Rienmüller from the Institute of Biomechanics and Robert Winkler from the Institute of Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis were able to secure this highly endowed prize with their submitted projects. Theresa Rienmüller is researching the electrical stimulation of nerve cells as a therapy for traumatic brain injury, while Robert Winkler is developing a 3D printing method for small robots that could be used to treat diseases in the human body. Both researchers will receive funding totalling around 1.5 million euros each. Robert Winkler will also receive almost a quarter of a million euros to purchase a fluorescence microscope and a magnetic control unit.

20 of this year’s 478 ERC Starting Grants were awarded to Austrian institutions. This puts Austria in tenth place in Europe.  “ERC Grants are among the most prestigious funding awards in Europe, and I congratulate Theresa Rienmüller and Robert Winkler on this great success,” says Andrea Höglinger, Vice Rector for Research at TU Graz. “The two ERC Starting Grants emphasise the high quality of research at TU Graz in the fields of biomedical engineering and nanotechnology, which are part of our scientific Fields of Expertise Human & Biotechnology, and Advanced Materials Science. The two funded projects have the potential to break completely new ground internationally.”

Theresa Rienmüller: Improved therapy for traumatic brain injury In her NeuroVitaliser project, Theresa Rienmüller will be conducting research on the recovery process of nerve cells after a traumatic brain injury and investigating how the healing process can be supported by targeted electrical stimulation. Traumatic brain injuries affect several million people worldwide every year, and although survival rates are increasing, many patients continue to suffer from persistent symptoms as conventional methods often fail to grasp the complexity of recovery.

In her research, Theresa Rienmüller combines various sensor and laboratory data in order to obtain a meaningful overall picture of the course of recovery and the relevant factors. The starting point is nerve cell cultures that have been subjected to trauma. The damaged cell cultures are then electrically stimulated at different times and to different degrees. In order to assess the effects of electrical stimulation, Theresa Rienmüller will investigate, among other things, how the morphology and electrical activity of the cells changes and which proteins they produce. This multimodal data is merged with artificial intelligence to recognise patterns that previously remained hidden. The researchers want to find out which type of electrical stimulation best promotes the healing of nerve cells.

Robert Winkler: 3D-printed micro-robots Robert Winkler will produce tiny robots that have the potential to be used to treat diseases in the human body. So-called micro-bots with a size of less than 10 micrometres would be small enough to move around in blood vessels and, for example, deliver drugs exactly where they are supposed to have an effect. So far, such miniature robots are still too large, their propulsion is difficult and their capabilities are also limited. Robert Winkler wants to solve these three problems with 3D nanoprinting technology, which he has helped to develop at TU Graz in recent years. With focused electron beam induced deposition, it is possible to build complex three-dimensional structures from individual molecules whose individual elements are around 50 nanometres in size. Robert Winkler will pursue two concepts for efficient transport. First, the robot is to be driven by a rotating helix, the shape of which is being tested and optimised in simulations and real experiments. The second propulsion concept is modelled on cilia: tiny hair-like structures that certain microbes use to move around. Robert Winkler wants to produce both the cilia and the helices from a magnetic material and set them in motion using a weak magnetic field.

He already has specific areas of application in mind for the micro-robots. Using plasmonic gold antennas, which can be heated to high temperatures using special light, they could destroy tumour tissue or kill viruses and bacteria. Other models could transport drugs in a container or collect unwanted substances or objects Combined with the plasmonic antennas, the robot could act as an artificial immune cell and kill collected viruses.

Short biography of Theresa Rienmüller Theresa Rienmüller has been interested in data since studying telematics with a focus on image and signal processing at TU Graz, which she completed with her master’s thesis “Self-localisation for soccer robots of the middle size league”. As part of her doctoral thesis at the University UMIT Tirol, she deepened her research in the areas of sensor fusion and analysing complex data sets. Her expertise in modelling dynamic systems laid the foundation for her move into biomedical engineering, where she now combines computational and analytical approaches with cell experiments. Theresa Rienmüller received the research award of the Styrian Brain Research Initiative in 2022 for her co-authored publication “Light stimulation of neurons on organic photo capacitors induces action potentials with millisecond precision”.

Short biography of Robert Winkler After studying technical physics, Robert Winkler completed his doctorate at the Institute of Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis at TU Graz on the topic of “Fabrication of functional, freestanding 3D nano-architectures via Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition”. For his doctoral thesis, he received the State Prize for the best doctoral theses from the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research as well as the sponsorship award for doctoral theses with particular social relevance from the Technology and Society Forum. As a postdoc in the “CD Laboratory for Direct-Write Fabrication of 3D Nano-Probes”, together with its head Harald Plank, he has significantly further developed 3D nanoprinting. The nano-probes developed together with a company partner are now in practical use as sensors for technical devices. In the course of his research work, he won the Best Paper Award in the journal Nanomaterials. Alongside his physics degree, Robert Winkler completed a master’s degree in guitar at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and worked for several years as a music teacher, musician and composer.

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