Born in Vienna, Austria

Associate professor, Consultant of Clinical Microbiology at the Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, head of the Austrian reference laboratory for yeasts and moulds. Current president of the Austrian Society of Hygiene, Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, president-elect of the German Speaking Mycology Society and past president of the Austrian Society of Medical Mycology (2006 -2012).

Birgit Willinger received her MD from the University of Vienna and was then trained at the Hygiene-Institute of the Medical University of Vienna. She became fascinated by medical mycology when she visited a summer course at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA. This was followed by several fellowships at different mycology units in Germany (Hamburg, Freiburg, and Göttingen). She then established the diagnostic work up at the Division of Clinical Microbiology of the former Department of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Vienna and also runs the Austrian reference laboratory for yeasts and moulds. Since October 2017 she is in charge of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at the Medical University of Vienna.

The focus of her research is based on epidemiology, diagnosis of fungal infections as well as antifungal susceptibility testing. She has published on a wide range of topics covering medical mycology as well as clinical microbiology and reviews for a number of mycology and microbiology journals.