From 30 June to 3 July 2026, SFU Vienna welcomed 77 international scholars and PhD students for the 45^th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of the Human Sciences (ESHHS).  

Four days of lively exchange highlighted SFU’s strong international profile in the history of psychology and psychotherapy.

The collaboration between SFU's Faculty of Medicine and the LBI for Lung Health was strongly represented at this year's congress, with 23 scientific contributions, including an oral presentation. The presented findings underline the importance of considering respiratory health as a dynamic process that develops and changes throughout life and explored the close relationship between lung health and other aspects of overall health. 

Led by Prof. Dr. Marina Zeldovich of the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science and in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Steffen Kunzmann of Clementine Kinderhospital Frankfurt, the QOLIBRI family of instruments will be further developed to make the assessment of health-related quality of life after traumatic brain injury (TBI) easier, more digital, and more accessible worldwide.

Prof. PD Dr. Nora Ruck, vice dean for research at the Faculty of Psychology, has been elected scientific consultant for Psychology and Educational Sciences to the Scientific Board of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). 

Starting in October 2026, she will contribute her expertise to the FWF’s funding decisions and the further development of its research funding programmes. Congratulations on this distinction! 

With funding from the City of Vienna, Dr. Barbara Rothmüller and her team at the Faculty of Psychology are investigating how sexual identity, attraction and a sense of belonging can change over the course of people’s lives.

The project Early Bloomers, Late Bloomers: Sexual Biographies in Vienna aims to shed light on diverse sexual biographies and provide a basis for future municipal support services. 

First published by MANZ in 1991, Peter Bydlinski’s Grundzüge des Privatrechts is an established Austrian textbook that provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to private law, bringing together civil law, business and company law, and civil procedure. Now in its 12^th edition, the textbook is used not only by students but also by trainee lawyers preparing for the Austrian bar examination, combining academic rigour with a practical approach.

A comprehensively revised edition is due to be published this autumn, with Peter Bydlinski joined by new co-authors Barbara Steininger (University of Graz), Philipp Anzenberger (University of Innsbruck) and Elke Heinrich (Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna).

A new study funded by the Medical Faculty’s internal seed fund compared two techniques used for treating atrial fibrillation in 40 patients: pulsed field ablation (PFA), which uses electrical pulses, and conventional radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which uses heat.  

Researchers found greater heart muscle cell (cardiomyocyte) damage and breakdown of red blood cells (erythrocytes) following PFA, while changes in kidney function remained modest. The findings suggest that myoglobin could serve as an early marker of renal stress following PFA. 

A new study by Valentina Wegener, Henrik Bischoff, and Christiane Eichenberg from the Institute of Psychosomatics at the Faculty of Medicine examines which psychological factors are associated with this behaviour. The findings point to breakup-related emotional distress as a particularly important factor in post-breakup Instagram surveillance. 

How can scientific expertise contribute to the questions we encounter in our everyday lives, at work and in society? Hosted by Cheyenne Scheuch, Sehr ErFreud – the SFU podcast brings researchers and experts into conversation and makes their knowledge and ideas accessible beyond the university. 

Three new episodes open up fresh perspectives, exploring questions that span a wide range of disciplines:
 

#15 From ‘I’ to ‘We’: What makes a truly good team? with Thomas Steinrück explores what enables people to work successfully together.

#16 Tomorrow's medicine - Today with Jochen Werner looks at current developments shaping the future of healthcare. 

#17 Alcohol as an emotion regulator? with Marina Zeldovich and Human-Friedrich Unterrainer addresses the complex relationship between alcohol, emotions and mental health. 

Three topics – and three opportunities to take research beyond the campus and into wider conversation.