THE GREGOR MENDEL INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR PLANT BIOLOGY

We are the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Our namesake celebrates his birthday!
Allow us to introduce ourselves:

Climate change and securing the world’s food supply are topics that are more important today than ever before. Plants are the basis of nutrition for humans and animals. They have an enormous influence on the climate. We were founded in 2000 to promote international cutting-edge research in the field of plant molecular biology.

As one of only a few similar institutes worldwide, we are researching the molecular biology of plants in order to be able to meet these major challenges facing humanity, for example:

We are investigating how plants defend themselves against pathogens – entirely without the use of pesticides,

researching how climate change affects the genetic make-up of forest trees and thus our forests.

and analyze the genetic basis of plant growth.

The Gregor Mendel Institute has around 130 employees from 36 countries and we strive for internationality and excellence in our field.

Staff-Nationalities (Headcount)

VIENNA BIOCENTER

Together with other research institutes, we are located in the Vienna BioCenter in the center of Vienna. More than 1,900 scientists work in this international center of research.

141 research groups

38 biotech companies

Scientists from 79 countries
create a highly dynamic environment of
international standards.

GMI PUBLIC INITIATIVES

Since the topic of plant research affects us all, we have also developed quiz and search games with smartphones on the topic of plants in Vienna (Botanic Quest, Naturdenkmäler-Wien-Quest), an information platform for children (gmi4kids), and this new website.

These online programs enable the general public to gain an insight into the exciting world of plants.


High school students playing Botanic Quest during our initial testing. The feedback was uniformly positive, “This was better than every museum trip we’ve taken with the class!” | © C. Huttar