Panel C: Retreats 2025

The Fifth scientific retreat of Panel C (Research Focus Area Synthesis and Catalysis & Biological and Medical Chemistry) took place at the Hannersberg on 19-21 February was organized by :

  • Prof. Christian Kowol (Inorganic Chemistry)
  • Prof. Verena Pichler (Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
  • Patrick Amir Yassemipour (Kowol group)
  • Robin Maradan (Mindt group)
  • Philipp Salomon (Kowol group)

We invite you to “take a tour” and view some highlights of this year Panel C retreat. This event was professionally captured, with photographs generously provided Patrick Amir Yassemipour. If you plan to share or publish these images, please ensure proper credit is given to the photographer. 

Panel C Retreat: group picture with students, supervisors and invited guest speakers outside the venue

Panel C Retreat: group picture with students, supervisors and invited guest speakers outside the venue

Panel C invited guest speakers

  • Kathrin Hölz (imec, Belgium) covering the topic: Leveraging chip technology for scalable precision DNA writing and beyond.
  • Doris Ribitsch (BOKU, IFA Tulln) covering the topic online: Enzymes for plastic degradation
  • Hannah Tschenett (Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Stress Lab Team, UniVie) covering the topic: Managing Stress in the Lab— A PhD Survival Guide
  • Teodoro Laino (IBM Research, Switzerland) covering the topic online: Fueling the Digital Chemistry Revolution with Language and Multimodal Foundation Models

During the retreat, Panel C took part in activities that promoted both, academic exchange (poster session and scientific talks) and group interaction: pub quiz beyond science challenge “Chemistry reimagined”. The retreat also featured a guided tour of Friedensburg Schlaining, a 13th-century "peace castle" with a rich and moving history.

For more details, please review the program.

Activities Photos

Poster Session

From left to right: Christian Kowol (PI organizer), Angela K. Hofmeister, Darja Rohden, Soheil Mahmoudi, Sabrina Helena Schmied and Verena Pichler.

From left to right: Christian Kowol (PI organizer), Angela K. Hofmeister, Darja Rohden, Soheil Mahmoudi, Sabrina Helena Schmied and Verena Pichler.

Best Poster Awards

  • Angela K. Hofmeister (Maulide Group, Organic Chemistry), Development of a General Route to α-Fluoromethylated Amines from Unbiased Alkenes and Alkynes: Unlocking Bioisosteric Potential of the CF2H Group.
  • Darja Rohden (Lichtenecker Group, Organic Chemistry), Synthesis of Selectively 13C/2H/15N-Labelled Arginine and Proline to Probe Protein Conformation  and Interaction by NMR Spectroscopy.
  • Soheil Mahmoudi (Keppler Group, Inorganic Chemistry), Experimental determination of partial charges with electron diffraction.
  • Sabrina Helena Schmied (Becker Group, Biological Chemistry), Unraveling the Functional Implications of Site-Specific Phosphorylations on Hsp27: A Semisynthetic Approach.

Best Talk Awards

  • Konstantin Plöchl (Böttcher Group, Biological Chemistry), Phage blocker: Discovery of a novel bacteriophage antiviral for phageome modulation
  • Yi Xiao (Maulide Group, Organic Chemistry), Synthesis of Cyclobutanols by I(III)-Mediated Oxidative Umpolung Cyclisation

Christian Kowol (PI prganizer), Konstantin Plöchl, Yi Xiao and Verena Pichler (PI organizer)

Christian Kowol (PI prganizer), Konstantin Plöchl, Yi Xiao and Verena Pichler (PI organizer)

As for the DoSChem part, it was great working with and supporting the organizing team! You did a fantastic job—thank you! 

If you have participated in the retreat and would like to provide meaningful feedback, please visit the Moodle survey.

So far, the survey feedback highlights: "The mental health talk was great. The speaker did an amazing job. Something similar should be repeated." We will follow up on this!