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.
The Green Pharmacy
Fabian Malfent gives a tour of the University of Vienna’s medicinal plant garden in the 9th district.
Available to watch on the Ö1 media library from 4. to 8. May at 8:55 (in German).
Millions of people are affected by MASLD, which represents a significant unmet medical need requiring innovative therapeutic approaches. This new project is part of the global Schwabe Phyto Innovation Challenge initiative. We are focusing on identifying natural products that target thyroid and bile acid receptors. It is a collaborative effort between the research groups of Judith Rollinger, Verena Dirsch and Johannes Kirchmair.
Elisabeth Eichenauer was awarded the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Stiftung Research Grant for her doctoral thesis entitled “Traditional Austrian Herbal Medicines for Wound Healing – Analytics and Bioactivity”. The ceremony took place on 19 March 2026 at “Club alpha” in Vienna. Congratulations!
Embracing Curiosity: As part of the NaturTalente program 2026, Christine Coffey was among the invited talents. During five visits to partner companies, the students had the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at major industry leaders.
Congratulations on the outstanding completion of Martina Redl’s PhD titled “Identifying and dissecting health-promoting natural products for healthy aging in Caenorhabditis elegans” as part of the Schwabe Phyto Innovation Challenge. Martina, you truly are our C. elegans queen! 👑
Department Meeting
05.03.2026 - 25.06.2026
