Hello, I'm

Vera Pils

Scientist. AI Researcher. Stroke Advocate.

I bridge biology, machine learning, and society — turning complex biological data into actionable insights and making science accessible to everyone.

VP
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About Me

I'm a Senior Scientist at the Core Facility Bioinformatics at BOKU University Vienna, where I lead large-scale transcriptomic and image analysis projects across four research institutes.

With a PhD in Biotechnology from BOKU and a Master's in Artificial Intelligence (in progress) from JKU Linz, I work at the intersection of computational biology and deep learning. My research spans cryo-electron microscopy, cancer tissue pattern recognition, cell painting, and airborne optical sectioning for search-and-rescue.

As a stroke survivor, I'm also passionate about health advocacy. I host Schlageinfälle, a German-language podcast on stroke awareness and recovery, giving a voice to the young stroke community in the DACH region.

Vera Pils
6+ Peer-reviewed publications
400+ Citations
7+ Students mentored
1 Patent (Rockfish Bio)

Education

2023 – present
MSc Artificial Intelligence — Johannes Kepler University Linz
Thesis: Distribution Shifts in JUMP-CP
2017 – 2022
PhD Biomolecular Technology of Proteins — BOKU Vienna
Lipidomics in Senescence, Senolytics and Wound Healing in the Skin
2014 – 2017
MSc Biochemistry & Molecular Biomedicine — University of Graz
2010 – 2014
BSc Molecular Biology — University of Graz

Research & Projects

Selected work spanning computational biology, deep learning, and scientific infrastructure.

Cryo-EM Particle Analysis

Snakemake-based pipeline for cryo-electron microscopy particle classification using CNN-driven analysis and distribution shift mitigation (Harmony, TVN, ComBat).

PythonSnakemakeDeep LearningHPC

Cancer Tissue Pattern Recognition

Multiple instance learning (MIL) pipeline on TCGA histologic data for identifying spatial patterns in cancer tissue sections.

PyTorchMILDigital Pathology

Airborne Optical Sectioning

Transformer-based models producing all-in-focus images from drone footage for search-and-rescue in dense forests.

Vision TransformersDrone ImageryPyTorch

Cell Painting & Biomarker Discovery

Analysis of 5-channel microscopy datasets with CNN and Vision Transformer integration for morphological profiling and biomarker identification.

Cell PaintingViTJUMP-CP

Lipidomics of Skin Aging

PhD research on lipid biomarkers in senescence and wound healing, in collaboration with CHANEL and Mayo Clinic. Led to a patent and founding of Rockfish Bio.

RLipidomicsBiostatistics

Publications

Selected peer-reviewed articles. Full list available on Google Scholar and ORCID.

Awards & Recognition

  • 2023 — City of Vienna Anniversary Fund: Talent Award for Excellent Dissertation
  • 2019 — Gordon Research Conference & Seminar Scholarships
  • 2012 — Performance Scholarship, University of Graz
  • 2009 — National Award for High School Thesis (Austrian Chemical Society)

Schlageinfälle

A German-language podcast on stroke awareness and recovery.

As a stroke survivor myself, I created Schlageinfälle to give a voice to the young stroke community in the German-speaking world. Each episode features conversations with survivors, medical professionals, and innovators in stroke recovery.

With an estimated 767,000 young stroke survivors in the DACH region, there's a community that needs to be heard. This podcast is my contribution to breaking the silence.

Technical Skills

Machine Learning & AI

  • PyTorch & TensorFlow
  • CNNs & Vision Transformers
  • Multiple Instance Learning
  • Distribution Shift Mitigation
  • Weights & Biases

Programming & Data

  • Python (NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn)
  • R (Bioconductor, ggplot2)
  • Bash & Linux
  • Git & Version Control
  • SQL

Scientific Computing

  • Snakemake Workflows
  • HPC / SLURM
  • Docker & Singularity
  • Quarto & R Markdown
  • Reproducible Research

Imaging & Microscopy

  • Fluorescence & Confocal Microscopy
  • Cryo-Electron Microscopy
  • Digital Pathology
  • Cell Painting (5-channel)
  • ImageJ / QuPath

Wet Lab

  • Primary Cell Culture
  • Flow Cytometry
  • qPCR & Western Blotting
  • Cloning & Transduction
  • Lipidomics

Communication

  • Scientific Writing
  • Podcast Production
  • Workshop Design
  • Student Mentoring
  • Public Outreach

Languages

GermanNative
EnglishC1 Fluent
FrenchA1
SpanishA1

Get in Touch

I'm always happy to connect — whether it's about research, collaboration, or just a chat.