Despite medical advances, cardiovascular disease remains the most common cause of death and a global challenge. It is caused by changes in various organ systems, and many mechanisms are still unknown. The program’s focus is on immunothrombosis, the highly sensitive interaction between the immune and blood coagulation systems. If disrupted, for example by age or medication, inflammation and acute thrombosis can be the result. The NET-IT doctoral program combines cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art models to decipher these processes and train a new generation of researchers who think across systems to develop innovative strategies for cardiovascular health.
doc.funds: 65 New Doctoral Positions Created
With the doc.funds program, the FWF is expanding structured doctoral training at Austrian research institutions with the support of funding from the Fonds Zukunft Österreich. Doctoral students benefit from an excellent research environment that allows them to work intensively on forward-looking research questions and gain a solid foothold in their field. At the same time, the programs promote academic excellence in research and teaching.
Seven new doc.funds in Graz and Vienna
The latest round of approvals was characterized by both a high level of demand and by high-quality proposals. Seven research teams were selected for funding based on their convincing proposals; they will receive around €16.5 million in funding over the next four years. This will create 65 new doctoral positions in doctoral programs at Graz University of Technology, the Medical University of Graz, the Medical University of Vienna, and the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
WU PhD Program in Economics
How do automation processes affect energy consumption and climate targets? Why is the real interest rate falling in the long term, and what does this mean for inflation and monetary policy? Why are the children of migrants in poorer health than their parents? Doctoral students at Vienna University of Economics and Business are researching these and similar questions using theoretical modeling, data-based analyses, and experimental methods. Topics include an analysis of trading networks in crises or a look at how social norms shape trust and behavior. The program combines research on macroeconomics, markets, and behavior and further develops modern methods to help science understand key challenges of the 21st century.
BiotechPredict
Enzymes play a central role in the production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals and offer powerful solutions for sustainable biotechnology. BiotechPredict aims to use the enormous predictive power of artificial intelligence to improve and advance enzyme-based processes. Scientists at Graz University of Technology and the University of Graz will train ten PhD students in developing computer-guided approaches for discovering new enzymatic mechanisms in nature, improving enzymes through machine-learning-based engineering, or designing entirely new enzymes not found in nature. These new biocatalysts will be applied to the sustainable production of complex molecules and the degradation of persistent pollutants. BiotechPredict will advance biocatalysis research in Graz toward data-driven bioengineering and serve as a beacon for future interdisciplinary PhD training at the interface of biotechnology and computer science.
International Business Taxation (DIBT)
DIBT studies the relationships between taxation, business activities, and society. Taxes not only influence corporate decisions, they are also an important instrument for funding comprehensive social goals. In this context, international business taxation issues are studied from the perspective of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. In an international and multidisciplinary research environment, research findings from the fields of law, economics, and business administration create the basis for tax policy decisions and explain their effects on the behavior of companies, the economy, and society.
Conceptual Aspects of Composite States
Everything we can see is made up of elementary particles. While this applies to components of atomic nuclei and potentially even to black holes, exactly how is a key question. New and unexpected findings are constantly being made as a result of experiments, for example at CERN, or in the observation of black hole collisions, in which Austria is involved. We need a better understanding of how such complex binding states work. In this project, six doctoral students at the University of Graz will conduct research and gain fundamental insights into the origins of our world, receiving optimal preparation for solving complex problems.
TIMO – Translational Immunology and Metabolism in Oncology
The term “cancer” describes a variety of different diseases that differ significantly in their manifestations and clinical courses. What all types of cancer have in common, however, are metabolic changes and a suppressed immune response in the tumor environment. The interactions of these two fundamental malignant processes in aggressive types of cancer and whether they can be put to therapeutic use are the subject of the doctoral program TIMO (Translational Immunology and Metabolism in Oncology). TIMO is training a new generation of translational cancer researchers using a co-supervision model with complementary clinical and basic research expertise.
TRP-Dependent Cation Signaling – TRPC.at
TRP ion channels control the transport of calcium and sodium into our cells and are therefore crucial for many physiological processes. Their dysfunction can trigger a broad spectrum of diseases, ranging from pulmonary hypertension and cardiovascular disease to disorders in brain development. This doctoral program takes a novel approach to discover how these diseases arise: Light-controlled molecules, modern biosensors, computer-based models, and transparent organisms are used to investigate how faulty signals emerge in the cell and develop into complex diseases. The interdisciplinary program at the Medical University of Graz uses these cutting-edge methods together with clinically relevant models to gain a fundamentally better understanding of disease mechanisms in the lungs, heart, and brain.
doc.funds program: Ninth call to open in December 2025
Funding aimed specifically at junior researchers is the key to attracting, training, and retaining the best scientific talent. The doc.funds program funds doctoral students within the framework of excellent, structured doctoral programs oriented towards international standards and is an important building block for qualification and for securing optimal career opportunities. The ninth call for proposals for the doc.funds program opens on December 1, 2025. The application deadline is February 26, 2026. The final funding decisions will be made by the FWF Scientific Board in late November 2026, based on the recommendations of the international doc.funds jury.
doc.funds.connect: Cooperative doctoral education between universities of applied sciences and universities
As a further development of the doc.funds.connect program, the fifth call for proposals for the doc.funds.connect program opened on December 1, 2025, in cooperation with the Christian Doppler Research Association. The program is intended to fund the establishment of joint doctoral programs between universities and universities of applied sciences. The doc.funds.connect program offers excellent young researchers an attractive new career option in the field of application-oriented basic research. Final funding decisions will also be made by the FWF Scientific Board in late November 2026, based on the recommendations of the international doc.funds jury.
The FWF webinar “Focus on: doc.funds & doc.funds.connect” on January 20 and 27 and February 17, 2026, will cover specific aspects of the program and application guidelines, as well as details of the application process.
