The IAI SHIELD Securing Host Immunity Eliminaton vs Destruction doctoral consortium, led by Maria Sibilia gathered in Hungary for a two-day retreat: an inspiring opportunity for scientific exchange, strategic discussions, and team building, in which Michael, Laura and Bianca joined to represent our group.
Thanks to a great panel of participants and a flawless organization, Michael, Laura and Bianca could participate to stimulating discussions exploring how the immune system balances protection and pathology, from molecular mechanisms to clinical translation. Until next year!

Nov 14, 2025

Michael was recently a guest on the Hörgang / Springer Medizin podcast, where he dove deep into the future of rheumatology, from leveraging artificial intelligence to envisioning a “reset” of the immune system in autoimmune disease.
In his conversation, he explored:
– The paradigm shift from trial-and-error prescribing to precision and personalized immunotherapy
– Using high-throughput microscopy + AI to predict which treatments will work for individual patients (and do so fast)
– How cellular therapies (e.g. CAR-T, regulatory T cells) may one day enable not just control, but true resetting of the immune system
– The challenges and opportunities ahead: translation, collaboration, and training the next generation

If you are interested in how cutting-edge technology, immunology, and clinical translation intersect in rheumatology, we invite you to listen (in German): https://www.springermedizin.at/meduni-wien/rheumatologie/reset-immunsystem/51483808

Oct 10, 2025

A New Chapter Begins: as of August 2025, Michael has taken on the role of Professor for Experimental Rheumatology at the Medical University of Vienna (https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/ueber-uns/news/2025/news-in-september-2025/michael-bonelli-takes-up-professorship-in-experimental-rheumatology/). As director of the Basic and Translational Science Unit of the Division of Rheumatology, Medical University of Vienna (Internal Medicine III), he will now lead and expand efforts in translational rheumatology research.

Why this matters:
– Bridging discovery and care: Experimental Rheumatology serves as a vital link between laboratory research and clinical therapeutics for patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases .
– Innovating precision medicine: Our team’s focus on molecular and cellular disease mechanisms empowers us to develop next-generation diagnostics and therapeutic interventions tailored to individual patient profiles.
– Exploring cellular immunotherapies: We are particularly excited about advancing breakthrough approaches such as cell-based therapies – including CAR T cell and regulatory T cell therapies – which hold the potential to go beyond disease control and offer, for the first time, a truly curative perspective for patients with autoimmune diseases.

Michael’s motivation and vision as newly appointed professor are clear: transform foundational research into tangible clinical innovations. From stratifying patients earlier to identifying new therapeutic targets, the goal is clear: personalized care powered by translational science.

Sep 04, 2025

Our team has been strongly represented at this year’s International Congress of Immunology (International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) 2025) that took place last week, right here in our home city of Vienna! Check out below our contributions:

Two oral presentations from Mirjam Dellinger & Lisabeth Emilius:
– Mirjam presented how cytokine-primed fibroblast–immune cell interactions drive immune activation and pathotype development in rheumatoid arthritis. (abstract: https://iuis2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/presentations/2814)
– Lisabeth presented advanced imaging-based ex vivo immunoprofiling to stratify RA patients and move toward functional personalized medicine. (abstract: https://iuis2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/presentations/615)

Three Poster presentations from Marie Brinkmann, Teresa Preglej and Bianca Luckerbauer:
– Marie presented her work on Epigenetic inhibitors: a novel treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (Poster II.474) (abstract: https://iuis2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/presentations/726)
– Teresa presented her work on Time-resolved immune dynamics in rheumatoid arthritis under methotrexate therapy (Poster II.074) (abstract: https://iuis2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/presentations/885)
– Bianca presented her work on the Molecular control of regulatory T cells by nuclear factor interleukin-3 regulated (Poster II.067) (abstract: https://iuis2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/presentations/534)

Finally, in addition to her poster presentation, Teresa co-chaired two sessions:
– Autoimmunity Poster Walk
– Autoimmune diseases Part II (Abstract Session)

A huge shout-out to all our presenters for their outstanding science, energy, and teamwork!
We also thank our international colleagues for the inspiring discussions and collaborations, hosting the global immunology community in Vienna has been a true highlight – see you all at the next IUIS!

Aug 27, 2025

We’re proud that so many members of the Bonelli Lab joined KinderUni 2025 to inspire Vienna’s youngest minds!
Our team helped children explore the fascinating world of autoimmunity — what happens “wenn der Körper sich selbst angreift”, when the immune system turns against the body.

🔬 Through interactive games and creative conversations, they showed how science can be both powerful and playful.
A heartfelt thank you to our team members Bianca Luckerbauer, Marie Brinkmann, Lisabeth Emilius, Laura Hermann, Teresa Preglej, and Melanie Acosta and other participating members of our Division of Rheumatology, Jessica Lange, Caroline Dürrschmid & Daniela Sieghart, who brought their energy and passion to the event.

Let’s keep sparking curiosity – one future scientist at a time!
🔗 Learn more: https://kinderuni-anmeldung.at/event.php?event_id=5964

Jul 21, 2025

Check out our newly developed R-package SummArIzeR!
SummArIzeR makes it easy to run EnrichR across multiple datasets, compare results, and make sense of the biological signals hiding within the noise.

Key features:
– Seamlessly integrates EnrichR for enrichment analysis.
– Supports analysis of multiple experimental conditions, with separate handling of up- and down-regulated genes.
– Filters and clusters enriched terms using gene overlap and a random walk algorithm.
– Generates LLM-ready prompts for cluster summarization.
– Outputs publication-ready plots for fast and intuitive visualization.
Whether you’re drowning in gene lists or trying to compare pathways across conditions, SummArIzeR helps you focus on what’s biologically meaningful.

👉 Try it out, and let us know what you think: https://github.com/bonellilab/SummArIzeR

Jun 05, 2025

Our team has welcomed Juan Manuel Sacnun as a new Postdoctoral Researcher in our lab! He will be contributing to the DarkMatter project, focusing on data analyses.
Juan joins us from the Proteomics Core Facility from the Medical University of Vienna, bringing valuable expertise in proteomics and data analysis.
Welcome to the team Juan! We wish you a smooth on-boarding with us!

May 19, 2025

Yet another great DarkMatter consortium meeting held in Groningen at UMCG. It was inspiring to see the tangible progress we are making toward understanding the microbial, molecular and genetic underpinnings of autoimmune diseases.
A big thank you to Eutema research services and Thomas Vogl for the excellent organization and to all the participants for the insightful discussions. Looking forward to the next year’s meeting!

Apr 24, 2025

Proud moment for our team as Laura Hermann & Teresa Preglej present their latest research on “The Pathogenic Shift: Mechanisms of CD4⁺ T Cell Activation and Differentiation in Rheumatoid Arthritis” at the SFB-F70 Research Program event!
This was a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase our research funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and to engage with leading experts in the field. Well done Laura & Teresa!

Mar 31, 2025

We’re excited to have Mirjam Dellinger back after her six-month collaboration with the team of Costantino Pitzalis and Felice Rivellese at Queen Mary University of London as part of the Horizon-Europe SQUEEZE project!
During her time in London, Mirjam gained invaluable experience in processing and analyzing synovial biopsy samples from Rheumatoid Arthritis patients—an expertise that will help drive our research forward and contribute to advancing Precision Medicine for RA patients.

Gaining hands-on experience in an international research environment is a significant step in any scientist’s journey, and we are excited to see Mirjam apply her newly acquired skills to our projects. Welcome back, Mirjam.

Mar 24, 2025

In recognition of the international Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements, resilience, and leadership of women worldwide. From boardrooms to classrooms, labs to communities, women continue to shape a better future for all.

The 8th of March is more than celebration – it is a call for action. Gender equality is not just a women’s issue; it is essential for progress. We must continue breaking barriers, championing inclusivity, and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

To mark this occasion, Medizinische Universität Wien organized a networking breakfast for all female employees. In an informal setting, this event offered a great opportunity to reconnect, meet new colleagues, exchange ideas, and build valuable connections.

Mar 13, 2025

🎉 Congratulations to our close collaborator and dear friend, Leonhard Heinz, for reaching the next step in his academic career: “Interne Karrierevereinbarung” (IKV)!

This prestigious recognition from the Medizinische Universität Wien highlights Leonhard’s outstanding research contributions, teaching excellence and unwavering commitment to academic advancement.

A well-earned achievement for a remarkable scientist and colleague!

Mar 07, 2025

We’re excited to have Teresa back on the team after her maternity leave, bringing back her expertise and passion for research in rheumatic diseases.
Balancing scientific excellence and family life is no small feat, and we deeply appreciate the dedication and talent Teresa brings to our team.

Feb 27, 2025

We moved our X account to Bluesky!
If you want to stay connected, you can find us here: https://bsky.app/profile/bonellilab.bsky.social (@bonellilab.bsky.social)
With all the recent changes on X, we decided to shift to Bluesky, where conversations feel more open and engaging.
Looking forward to continuing discussions there!

Feb 24, 2025

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we at the Bonelli Lab celebrate the brilliant women shaping the future of research. Science thrives on diversity, and we’re committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment.
Let’s keep breaking barriers and inspiring the next generation!

Feb 11, 2025

Earlier this month, our team joined the annual General Recess of our Division — a great event for our Division to come together and actively exchange ideas and recent advances.
This year, in a new spontaneous and creative segment we called Rheumavation, we were challenged to pitch a brand-new project advancing our research that was both innovative and feasible—all within just one minute!
We are proud to report to that our very own Lisabeth Emilius together with Marlene Steiner were the winners of the Rheumavation Award! Congratulations!

Jan 21, 2025

We are happy to have welcomed Mar Corgos to our team since last December!
Mar recently defended her Bachelor thesis at the IQS Barcelona and completed her internship on Tendon/Ligament scaffold generation at Fachhochschule Technikum Wien.
She is working in our team as a Master Student under the mentoring of Marie Brinkmann on targeting osteoclastogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis: characterizing epigenetic drug mechanisms.

Welcome Mar, we wish you a smooth on-boarding and successful time with us!

Jan 10, 2025

AutoPix-project has officially started and we as the Bonelli Lab are proud to be part of it!
This new Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) co-funded by the European Union and the pharma industry aims to revolutionize imaging biomarkers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis.
Our contribution, together with the team of Costantino Pitzalis at Queen Mary University of London, will link imaging biomarkers to liquid & cellular biomarkers from patients’ biopsies.

Further details of AutoPix are found here: https://lnkd.in/dURfhvdA

Jan 03, 2025

We are proud to share that our PhD student, Marie Brinkmann, has been awarded the Eli Lilly and Company Award at this year’s Congress of the Austrian Society of Rheumatology – Österreichische Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie & Rehabilitation (ÖGR). 🎉
This competitive award supports outstanding pilot projects in rheumatology with up to 12 months of funding, and it will help advance Marie’s important research in the field.
Congratulations to Marie on this well-deserved recognition!

Dec 13, 2024

Delve into future personalized medical approaches in rheumatology with Daniel Aletaha and Michael Bonelli, featured in an ORF interview.

We express our gratitude to ORF for their support in raising awareness about rheumatic diseases and research.

The full in can be watched here in German: https://tv.orf.at/treffpunkt2142.html (jump to 33:16 for our part).

Dec 06, 2024