"Important technological initiatives"

CDG: What would you describe as the most important achievements of your CD Laboratory?
Leitgeb: The projects that my team and I were able to research as part of the CD Laboratory have paved the way for important technological initiatives. Technologies developed on the basis of our basic research are currently being evaluated by our commercial partners or are already being used as prototypes in field trials to provide confirmation of their clinical potential in large-scale studies.

CDG: How did the CD Laboratory affect your scientific career and that of your team?
Leitgeb: Among other things, I gained valuable cooperation partners, was invited to give many lectures (such as at the Forum Alpbach), was elected chair of internationally recognised conferences and was invited to join the founding council of the IOCS (International Ocular Circulation Society). Laboratory staff now work at the Austrian Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School or in their own spin-off company, among other places.

CDG: What do you particularly appreciate about the CD Laboratory's funding model?
Leitgeb: On the one hand, the 30% freedom to conduct research allows us to focus even more on basic research in addition to projects that strategically support our commercial partners. On the other hand, the clear regulation of IP rights and the opportunity to gain access to technical developments at a very early stage and to help shape them strategically are beneficial to the companies.