We model biological machinery in healthy and diseased states using approaches from soft matter physics and statistical mechanics, often driven far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Our current interests include cell reshaping and cutting by active filaments, protein assembly under chemical and mechanical gradients, and pathological amyloid aggregation. We closely collaborate with experimental colleagues on a range of systems, from living cells to synthetic settings. We are situated at ISTA (Austria), close to Vienna, and are also affiliated with University College London.