Gaia Novarino & Edouard Hannezo join EMBO

Neuroscientist Gaia Novarino and biological physicist Edouard Hannezo of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) join the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Novarino studies the genes underlying inherited forms of neurodevelopmental conditions such as epilepsy or autism. Hannezo’s research on physical principles in biological systems aims to better explain several aspects of self-organization during embryo development.

EMBO is an international organization of life scientists with more than 2,100 members, all of whom are leading researchers elected by their peers. Joining Novarino and Hannezo in their new membership at EMBO today are 67 other biological scientists from 24 countries. The prestigious organization “honors distinguished scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the life sciences.” With Novarino and Hannezo, there are now eleven EMBO members at ISTA.

Gaia Novarino

Novarino’s research group at ISTA looks into the genetic and molecular basis of neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, intellectual disability, and autism. Neurodevelopmental disorders affect millions of people and are difficult to treat. Novarino’s group employs various techniques, from molecular biology to behavioral studies, to identify common pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this group of disorders.

Novarino joined ISTA in 2014 as Assistant Professor, being promoted to Professor in 2019. She currently also holds the role of Executive Vice President and is overseeing the Science Education activities of the Institute. Since 2024, Gaia Novarino also serves on the board of FWF Cluster of Excellence “Neuronal Circuits in Health and Disease”. Before joining ISTA, she held PhD and postdoc positions in Rome, Berlin, and La Jolla (USA). Novarino has received several distinctions and awards, including an ERC Starting Grant (2016) and ERC Consolidator Grant (2022) by the European Research Council, the Knight Grand Cross, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2017), as well as grants and fellowships by DFG (2011), Simons Foundation (2020), FWF (2020), and others.

Edouard Hannezo

Hannezo’s research group at ISTA deals with the physical principles in biological systems. A major focus is embryo development, during which cells must ‘know’ how to behave at the right place and at the right time. The Hannezo group works in close collaboration with cell and developmental biologists and applies methods from theoretical physics to understand how these robust choices occur. These methods include solid and fluid mechanics, statistical physics, as well as soft matter approaches.

Hannezo joined ISTA in 2017 as Assistant Professor, being promoted to Professor in 2022. Before that, he held PhD and postdoc positions in Cambridge and Paris. Hannezo has received several distinctions and awards, including a Young Researcher Prize from the Bettencourt-Schuller Foundation (2014), a Trinity College Junior Research Fellowship (2014), a Wellcome Trust Fellowship (2015), as well as an ERC Starting Grant by the European Research Council (2019) and becoming a Member of the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) (2022). Hannezo has already been an EMBO Young Investigator since 2020 before now becoming a full EMBO member.

The Institute congratulates Gaia Novarino and Edouard Hannezo on their election to EMBO.