Division of Pharmacognosy

Welcome to the
Division of Pharmacognosy

Staff members gardening in the outdoor area of the Division building

Der Knopfdrücker

What sets us apart

The Division of Pharmacognosy is dedicated to pharmaceutical research focusing on natural products from all kingdoms of nature (e.g., plants, microbes, fungi, lichens). Our primary tasks include discovering, isolating, and characterizing new biologically active compounds to better understand their molecular mechanisms and interactions within complex cellular systems.
Our goals include identifying novel drug leads and targets, improving the quality of herbal medicinal products, and sustainably producing natural compounds through biotechnological approaches.

News

Bridging Pharmaceutical and Industrial Biotechnology: Two Sides of the same Coin

03.11.2026

Pharmaceutical and industrial biotechnology are highly complementary, yet are often pursued independently. This symposium provides a forum for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration opportunities to accelerate drug discovery.

Date and time: 18.11.2026 14:00-16:45

Location: UZA2, Room 2D404, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna

Identification and Characterization of Novel RORβ Modulators: From Nature and Beyond 2026

21.10.2026

The Kuratorium of the Hochschuljubiläumsfonds has decided to award Patrik Schwarz for the research project “Identification and Characterization of Novel RORβ Modulators: From Nature and Beyond 2026”, submitted this year. Gongratulations!

Postdoctoral Researcher Grant for Patrik Schwarz

19.10.2026

Patrik Schwarz's application "Targeting Chronic Inflammatory Skin Diseases with Natural Products" for the Postdoctoral Researcher Seed Grant programme has been approved after review by the the Dean's Team. Congratualtions!

Winter term 2026/27

15.10.2026

Department Meeting

08.10.2026 - 28.01.2027

Discovery Award 2026 for Johannes Gafriller

04.09.2026

As part as the 74th International Congress of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), Johannes Gafriller was awarded the Discovery Award 2026 in recognition of the outstanding oral research presentation “Enterococci under pressure: Can Morus alba break the resistance?” during the Early Career Researcher Workshop, held on August 30. 2026, in Reims, France. Congratulations!

Visit from the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

27.08.2026

On August 27, 2026, a delegation of the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine visited the Division of Pharmacognosy. Left: Professor Bo HAN, Dean of School of Pharmacy; Right: Professor Cheng PENG, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources.