image: CeMM PI Georg Winter in the "time capsule" at CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine in Vienna
Credit: © Bubu Dumic / CeMM
Georg Winter epitomizes the goals of the ERC’s funding programs. His exceptional work as a chemical biologist was first recognized in 2020 with an ERC Starting Grant. Five years later, the results of this support are clear: his research on small molecules that induce the degradation of cancer proteins has significantly advanced one of the most promising strategies for developing new cancer treatments.
In this period, his team has published over 30 studies, many in leading journals such as Science and Nature. Former team members and students now hold prominent positions in international research institutions, universities, and companies. In spring 2024, Winter achieved another milestone as the only Austria-based scientist to secure funding as part of a consortium in the Cancer Grand Challenge. Supported by Cancer Research UK and the US National Cancer Institute, this initiative will provide $25 million over five years to address key questions surrounding the origins of pediatric solid tumors.
Georg Winter’s work in targeted protein degradation is not only advancing fundamental research but also paving the way for practical applications. To this end, he co-founded Proxygen, a biotech company founded in 2020, where he serves as Chief Scientific Advisor. In 2023, Proxygen was recognized in the Fierce Biotech Report as one of the 15 most innovative and promising young biotech companies worldwide.
A New Strategy: Altering Gene Regulation
To further advance his highly successful cancer research, Georg Winter has received additional ERC funding through a Consolidator Grant. With the innovative GE|NEomorph platform, Winter aims to refine the principle of small molecules that selectively bind to cancer proteins. Instead of using so-called “molecular glues” or adapter molecules to direct cancer proteins to the cell’s waste disposal system, this new approach focuses on transcription factors—key regulators of gene activity that are typically inaccessible to conventional drugs and rarely considered therapeutic targets.
Winter’s project seeks to create new, so-called “neomorphic” surfaces on these transcription factors using tailored small molecules. These surfaces allow effector proteins to bind to the transcription factors, modifying their function in a precise manner—either activating or inhibiting them. “With the ERC-approved project GE|NEomorph, we can develop new chemical solutions to directly reprogram oncogenic transcriptional regulation,” Georg Winter explains.
This pioneering strategy holds tremendous potential for rewriting the genetic program of cancer cells and opens new avenues for creating targeted therapies in the fight against cancer
###
Georg Winter obtained his PhD from the Medical University of Vienna, working on elucidating the mechanism of action of anti-neoplastic drugs under the supervision of Professor Giulio Superti-Furga at CeMM. He specialized in proteomics as well as chemical genetic approaches to identifying drug resistance mechanisms and on mechanistically elucidating synergistic drug combinations. He continued his training in chemical biology, working as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. James Bradner at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. There, he innovated a generalizable pharmacological solution to in vivo target protein degradation and applied this strategy to the study of leukemic gene regulation. Georg Winter was recruited as CeMM principal investigator in June 2016. His lab develops and applies methods for target protein degradation with the ultimate goal of understanding and disrupting oncogenic transcriptional circuits. To that end, the Winter laboratory combines phenotypic drug screens, chemical genetics, and drug-target identification approaches with holistic measurements of global gene activity and genome structure. The ultimate goal of the research conducted in the Winter laboratory is to connect basic research in gene regulation and the ubiquitin proteasome system with functional genomics and chemical probe development to develop novel and personalized therapeutic paradigms.
The CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is an international, independent and interdisciplinary research institution for molecular medicine under the scientific direction of Giulio Superti-Furga. CeMM is oriented towards medical needs and integrates basic research and clinical expertise to develop innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for precision medicine. Research focuses on cancer, inflammation, metabolic and immune disorders, rare diseases and aging. The Institute's research building is located on the campus of the Medical University and the Vienna General Hospital.
www.cemm.at
For further information please contact:
Stefan Bernhardt
PR & Communications Manager CeMM
Phone +43-1/40160-70 056
sbernhardt@cemm.at
CeMM
Research Center for Molecular Medicine
of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Lazarettgasse 14, AKH BT 25.3
1090 Vienna, Austria