Erwin Friedrich Wagner

Erwin Friedrich Wagner
Erwin Wagner in October 2017
Born	(1950-11-25) 25 November 1950 Wolfsberg, Austria
Citizenship	Austrian
Alma mater	University of Graz (MSc) University of Innsbruck (PhD)
Awards	Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Award for Cancer Research (2003)) Wittgenstein-Preis (1996) Alois Sonnleitner Prize (1995) EMBO Gold Medal (1990) EMBO Member (1988)
Scientific career
Fields	cancer biology, molecular biology
Institutions	Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics
Thesis	Regulation of gene expression after virus infection.  (1978)
Doctoral advisor	Manfred Schweiger

Erwin Friedrich Wagner (born 25 November 1950) is an Austrian biochemist studying the molecular basis of cancer and associated conditions such as inflammation and cachexia. He is Deputy Director of the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in Madrid, Spain.

Early life and education

Erwin Wagner was born in Wolfsberg in the south of Austria. From 1974, he studied technical chemistry at the University of Graz, obtaining an engineering degree in 1974. Until 1975, he worked in the lab of Fritz Paltauf on lipid chemistry.

During his PhD studies, Erwin Wagner joined the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin with a Max Planck Fellowship for one year in 1976. He then joined the lab of Manfred Schweiger at the University of Innsbruck in 1977. Wagner obtained his PhD with a thesis on “Regulation of gene expression after virus infection” in 1978.

Career

In 1979, Erwin Wagner began his postdoctoral research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, United States in the laboratory of Beatrice Mintz as a Max Kade Fellow. Wagner's worked focused on the genetic control of mouse development working to develop techniques allowing the micro-injection of DNA into fertilized eggs as well as the development of gene transfer technologies into stem cells and mice.

In 1983, Wagner obtained a lecture qualification (Habilitation) by Innsbruck University and became a Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.

In 1988, Wagner was appointed senior scientist at the then newly founded Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria. Wagner was a founding member of the IMP and in 1997 until 2008, Wagner was appointed the Deputy Director of the IMP. In 2008, Wagner left the IMP to become the new Deputy Director and Head of the Cancer Cell Biology Program at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in Madrid, Spain.

Forschung

Erwin Wagner's studies are focused in the area of gene function in both healthy and pathological states. He is a leader in the field of cancer biology and tumor development. He investigates the functions of transcription factor complexes regulating cell proliferation, differentiation and oncogenesis, as well as the cross-talk between organs, in both mice models and humans. He works to define and understand the molecular pathways that lead to disease, cancer development and works to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat human disease.

Awards and achievements

Erwin Wagner was awarded the EMBO Gold Medal in 1990; the Max Planck Research Prize in 1993; the Alois Sonnleitner Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1995; the Wittgenstein Award of the Austrian government in 1996; and the Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Award for Cancer Research in 2003.

He was elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) in 1988; of the Academia Europaea in 1998; and corresponding membership of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2005.

External links

• National Cancer Research Institute, Spain (CNIO)