Verena M. Dirsch
Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Vice-Head of
Pharmaceutical Sciences
University Professor
room 2G 452 (floor 4)
+43-1-4277-55270
- Molecular Targets Group
- Biomolecules for a Healthy Lifespan (PIs: Verena Dirsch and Karl-Heinz Wagner)
- 2022 - 2025
FWF – Project P35241
The Neolignan-derived Rexinoid LRK071 - 2016 - 2019
BMWFW: SINO AUSTRIA III
China: TCM-Research Cluster Austria III: Identification of natural products from Paridis rhizoma (Chonglou) as liver X receptor (LXR) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) ligands.
https://oravm13.noc-science.at/apex/f?p=115:3:::NO::P3_PROJIDF,P3_PREVIOUS_PAGE:30706,5 - 2016 - 2017
Austria Wirtschaftsservice: PRIZE
Joint project between Universitiy of Vienna and Technical Universitiy Vienna
Synthetische Lignane als Proliferationshemmer bei Cardiovasculären Erkrankungen. - 2015 - 2018
Member of the research platform "Metabolomics School University of Vienna" (University of Vienna; Head: Wolfram Weckwerth)
Joint project between the Faculty of Life Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, and the Faculty of Geoscience - 05/2016 - 04/2017
Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS)
Herstellungsverfahren für Leoligin-artige Lignane und deren Effekt auf das Wachstum von glatten Gefäßmuskelzellen - 2013 - 2015
FFG Bridge Project 841283
Establishing new models for the metabolic syndrome as screening platform for herbal drugs - 2012 - 2014
EU Contract No. PIIF-GA-2009-252881
TCM-VASC: Chinese Medicines used against Cardiovascular Disease.
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/106082_en.html - 2011 - 2017
Member of the Research platform “Active Aging” (University of Vienna; Head: Karl-Heinz Wagner)
Joint project between the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Center of Sport Sciences
http://www.univie.ac.at/antiox/projects_show.php?pr_id=15 - 2011 - 2014
FWF-NFN-Project S10704-B13 (Project Part PP04)
Drugs from nature targeting inflammatory.
www.uibk.ac.at/pharmazie/pharmakognosie/dnti - 2011 - 2014
FWF – Project P23317 (Co-PI; PI: Elke Heiss)
Antiproliferative and antimigratory activity of I3MO.
http://www.univie.ac.at/pharmakognosie/I3MO - 2011 - 2014
Project within the Graduate Program “Bioactivity Profiling & Metabolism” (University of Vienna)
Natural Products and their Impact on miRNAs in Activated Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
http://biopromotion.univie.ac.at/projects/subproject-1/ - 2009 - 2012
EU Coordination action; no 223154
GP-TCM: Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in the Post-genomic Era
http://www.gp-tcm.org/ - 2008 - 2011
FWF-NFN-Project S10704-B03
Drugs from nature targeting inflammatory.
www.uibk.ac.at/pharmazie/pharmakognosie/dnti - 2007 - 2010
Project within the Graduate Program "Molecular Drug Targets" (University of Vienna)
Virtual and Real screening of Natural Products to Find Effective Modulators of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase
http://www.mdpi.com/2218-0532/77/6/199 - 2006 - 2010
FWF-Project P18982-B17 Resveratrol and Shp2
http://pf.fwf.ac.at/de/wissenschaft-konkret/project-finder/4234 - 2006 - 2009
EU Contract No. LSHB-CT-2004-503467
Pro Kinase Research: Protein kinases and phosphatases as targets for new anti-atherogenic compounds.
www.proteinkinase-research.org/ - 2003 - 2006
DFG Sachbeihilfe VO 376/10-1/2 (Co-PI, PI: Angelika M. Vollmar, University of Munich)
Signaltransduction of apoptosis-induction by cephalostatin-1, isolated from a marine organism
www.cup.uni-muenchen.de/pb/aks/vollmar/ - 2001 - 2002
DPhG Foundation for Young Scientists T 197/01.003.00
Sesqiterpene lactones and apoptosis - 1994 - 1995
DFG-Fellowship DI 599/1-1
Postdoc at the Columbia University in New York
- 1984-1989
Studies of Pharmacy, University of Munich (LMU) - 1990
Approbation (approval as apothecary) - 1993
Graduation (Dr. rer.nat. summa cum laude ) University of Munich
(group of Prof. H Wagner; research field: phytochemistry) - 1994-1995
Postdoctoral fellow of the German Research Council (DFG) at the Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, USA
(group of Prof. K Nakanishi; research field: natural product chemistry) - 1995-1998
Research associate at the Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, of the Veterinarian School, University of Munich
(group of Prof. AM Vollmar; research field: pharmacology) - 1998-2004
Scientific assistant and from 2003 Lecturer (Privatdozentin) at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Munich
(group of Prof. AM Vollmar; research field: natural product pharmacology) - 2002/2003
State doctorate (Habilitation) and venia legendi for Pharmaceutical Biology as well as Pharmacology - 10/2004
Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna - since 2005
Speaker of the Faculty Key Research Area „Drug Discovery from Nature” (2005-2021), from 2022: „Biomolecules for a Healthy Lifespan” (Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna) - Since 2006
Head of the Department (since 03/2021: Division) of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna - 2008-2014
Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna - 2009-2019
Deputy-member of the Senate, University of Vienna - 2014-2019
Deputy Speaker of the Center of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna - 2020
Speaker of the Center of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna - Since 03/2021
Vice-Head of the new Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- 1994
Postdoctoral Fellowship granted by the DFG (German Research Council) - 1997
Präventionspreis der Deutschen Herzhilfe 1997 - 1998
PHOENIX Pharmazie-Wissenschaftspreis (Pharmacology) - 2011
PHOENIX Pharmazie-Wissenschaftspreis (Pharmaceutical Biology) - 2011
KIWIE-Silver medal 2011– from the KWIA (Korean International Woman’s Invention Association)
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9261-5293
Publications
Schwarz PF, Perhal AF, Preglej T, Breit L, Schmetterer KG, Grienke U et al. Primulagenin A is a potent inverse agonist of the nuclear receptor RAR-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ). Acta pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2026 Jun;16(6):3746-3763. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2026.03.003
Schneider O, Zehl M, Miele M, Pace V, Brungs C, Cheng JF et al. Heterologous Expression and CRISPR/Cas9-Assisted Manipulation of the Hybrid Gene Cluster Specifying the Biosynthesis of Meroterpenoids and Phenazines. ACS Synthetic Biology. 2026 Jan 16;15(1):137-148. PMID: 41433963. Epub 2025 Dec. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.5c00531
Coffey C, Perhal AF, Richter W, Chen Y, Linder T, Schwaiger S et al. Identification of a novel PDE4 inhibitor inspired by leoligin-derived lignans. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2026 Jan 15;302(Part 1):118285. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2025.118285
Haiss P, Liu R, Xian F, Varela DG, Schmidt M, Dirsch VM et al. Evodiamine induces centrosome amplification with subsequent G2/M cell cycle arrest in primary vascular smooth muscle cells. Biochemical Pharmacology. 2025 Dec;242(Pt 2):117320. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2025.117320
Adelsberger S, Perhal AF, Bertaina L, Schwarz PF, Dirsch VM, Rollinger JM et al. Biochemometric 2D NMR-Based Heterocovariance Analysis: A Targeted Approach for Identifying Bioactive Compounds in Complex Mixtures. Analytical Chemistry. 2025 Oct 12;97(41):22508-22517. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c02419
Schwarz PF, Perhal AF, Guder F, Hernández González JE, Janssen K, Sağıroğlu E et al. Identification of New Lupane-Type Triterpenoids as Inverse Agonists of RAR-Related Orphan Receptor Gamma (RORγ). Journal of Natural Products. 2025 Aug 22;88(8):1887-1900. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5c00416
Treml J, Václavík J, Molčanová L, Čulenová M, Hummelbrunner S, Neuhauser C et al. Identification of Plant Phenolics from Paulownia tomentosa and Morus alba as Novel PPARγ Partial Agonists and Hypoglycemic Agents. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2025 Jun 4;73(22):13960-13972. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c11398
Perhal AF, Schwarz PF, Linder T, Mihovilovic MD, Schnürch M, Dirsch VM. Identification and Characterization of a Leoligin-Inspired Synthetic Lignan as a TGR5 Agonist. Journal of Natural Products. 2025 Apr 25;88(4):985-995. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5c00059
Baumann A, Freutsmiedl V, Jelleschitz J, Staltner R, Brandt A, Schachner D et al. Honokiol, a Neolignan from Magnolia officinalis, Attenuated Fructose-Induced Hepatic Fat Accumulation by Improving Intestinal Barrier Function in Mice. The Journal of Nutrition. 2025 Apr;155(4):1173-1182. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.02.017
Cannavacciuolo C, Napolitano A, Dirsch VM, Heiss EH, Masullo M, Piacente S. Oleraceins from Portulaca oleracea leaves: Quali-quantitative determination and antioxidant potential. Current Research in Food Science. 2025 Jan 30;10:100992. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2025.100992
Perhal AF, Papadopoulos MGE, Medel-Lacruz B, Ladurner A, Selent J, Dirsch V et al. Discovery and characterization of small-molecule TGR5 ligands with agonistic activity. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2024 Oct 5;276:116616. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116616
Czollner L, Papaplioura E, Linder T, Liu R, Li Y, Atanasov AG et al. A silver-coated copper wire as inexpensive drug eluting stent model: determination of the relative releasing properties of leoligin and derivatives. Monatshefte fur Chemie. 2023 Dec;154(12):1317-1326. Epub 2020 Nov 5. doi: 10.1007/s00706-020-02677-4
He Z, Zhang Z, Xu P, Dirsch VM, Wang L, Wang K. Laminarin Reduces Cholesterol Uptake and NPC1L1 Protein Expression in High-Fat Diet (HFD)-Fed Mice. Marine Drugs. 2023 Dec;21(12):624. doi: 10.3390/md21120624
Resetar M, Tietcheu Galani BR, Tsamo AT, Chen Y, Schachner D, Stolzlechner S et al. Flindissone, a Limonoid Isolated from Trichilia prieuriana, Is an LXR Agonist. Journal of Natural Products. 2023 Aug 25;86(8):1901-1909. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.3c00059
Zwirchmayr J, Schachner D, Grienke U, Rudžionytė I, de Martin R, Dirsch VM et al. Biochemometry identifies suppressors of pro-inflammatory gene expression in Pterocarpus santalinus heartwood. Phytochemistry. 2023 Aug;212:113709. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2023.113709
Cannavacciuolo C, Cerulli A, Dirsch VM, Heiss EH, Masullo M, Piacente S. LC-MS- and 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics to Highlight the Impact of Extraction Solvents on Chemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Daikon Sprouts (Raphanus sativus L.). Antioxidants. 2023 Aug;12(8):1542. doi: 10.3390/antiox12081542
Lapinskaite R, Atalay HN, Malatinec Š, Donmez S, Cinar ZO, Schwarz P et al. Synthesis of Selagibenzophenone A and Its Derivatives for Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative, RORγ Inverse Agonistic, and Antimicrobial Effect. Chemistry SELECT. 2023 Feb 13;8(7).
Blažević T, Ciotu CI, Gold-Binder M, Heiss EH, Fischer MJM, Dirsch VM. Cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells do not express a functional TRPV1. PLoS ONE. 2023 Feb;18(2):e0281191. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281191
Rollinger JM, Langeder J, Grienke U, Kirchweger B, Wasilewicz A, Dirsch V et al., inventors. Sanggenon for antiviral treatment. WO2023280767. 2023.
Cannavacciuolo C, Napolitano A, Heiss EH, Dirsch VM, Piacente S. Portulaca oleracea, a rich source of polar lipids: Chemical profile by LC-ESI/LTQOrbitrap/MS/MSn and in vitro preliminary anti-inflammatory activity. Food Chemistry. 2022 Sept 15;388:132968. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132968