Yulia Gonskikh

Yulia Gonskikh is a biochemist who left a postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania to join the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni) as an APART-USA fellow, working in the group of University Professor Sebastian Glatt at the Vetmeduni's Center for Biological Sciences.

Her scientific journey began at Tomsk State University, took her to the University of Bern for her master's and PhD studies, and then onward to the United States, where in 2020 she started her postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania. Gonskikh investigates how the machinery of protein synthesis in cells is regulated and how errors in this process lead to disease, focusing on enzymes such as DIMT1 and NSUN2, which install chemical marks on RNA to regulate these processes. With extensive teaching experience and a strong commitment to mentoring young scientists, she brings a robust didactic profile alongside a research record that has earned her multiple awards, combining analytical precision in biochemistry with a keen eye for the central questions of translation.

Her move to Vetmeduni was made possible by APART-USA, a fellowship programme of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) created in response to uncertainty in the US research landscape during the Trump administration, specifically aimed at postdoctoral researchers seeking to continue their work at Austrian universities and non-university research institutions.

At Vetmeduni, Gonskikh now works alongside Sebastian Glatt, a professor of systems genetics with long-standing expertise in RNA biochemistry and structural biology bridging basic and clinical research. His team studies the molecular mechanisms of tRNA biology and the regulation of protein synthesis, processes central to both human and veterinary medicine. Combined with Gonskikh's expertise in non-coding RNAs, RNA-modifying enzymes, and rRNA and tRNA modifications, the pairing brings together structure and function, method and research question, building toward a clearer picture of how cells make decisions.

Gonskikh's start at Vetmeduni is part of a broader movement, as Austria positions itself as a safe haven for excellent postdocs seeking to advance their research in a reliable, collaborative environment. For Vetmeduni, her arrival brings fresh momentum in RNA diagnostics, therapy, and systems genetics.