Molecular Targets
Verena Dirsch
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Natural products can be viewed as a population of privileged structures selected by evolutionary pressures to interact with a wide variety of proteins and other biological targets for specific purposes, a view supported by the fact that natural products have become effective drugs in a wide variety of therapeutic indications.
Koehn FE and Carter GT. Nat Rev Drug Discovery 4:206-220, 2005
Mitja Zdouc
Members
Research
Our research focuses are
- to understand the molecular interaction of natural products with proteins/signaling molecules within cells. Identification of biological targets will help to identify new pharmacological targets for drug discovery & development.
- to identify new active natural products by target- (nuclear receptors, transcription factors, phosphatases) or phenotype-oriented cellular screening models using material that was preselected by collaboration partners via in silico tools or ethnopharmacological knowledge.
The cellular models currently used in our lab focus on the prevention and/or treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
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Funded Projects
- 2026 - 2029
Industrial collaboration project (Schwabe Austria)
Natural Products for MALDS Management (corporate project with Rollinger) - 2026
Industrial collaboration project (Bionorica)
BIO-NR - 2024 - 2026
Hochschuljubiläumsfonds H-518597
Characterisation of the Honokiol derivative, LRK071, as a PDE4 inhibitor (Coffey) - 2022 - 2026
FWF – Project P35241
The Neolignan-derived Rexinoid LRK071 - 2021 - 2026
FWF – Project P33778
AMP(K)lifying Nrf2 target gene expression - 2020-2022
Interdisciplinary Research network (joint project with Ina Bergheim)
Neolignans: new therapeutics in the prevention of diet-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction? - 2019 - 2023
FWF – Project P32600
"Metabolic Immunomodulation" of natural products (Heiss) - 2019 - 2020
Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-268438
Anti-inflammatory aspects of neolignans from Magnolia officinalis (Ladurner) - 2017 - 2019
Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-246128/2016
Der wundheilenden Wirkung von Fichtenfaulpech auf der Spur (Göls/Glasl-Tazreiter/Heiss) - 2016 - 2019
FWF - Project P29392
Role of AMPK for the Nrf2-dependent celluar stress response. - 2016 - 2019
BMWFW16402000014: 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. - 2016 - 2019
Austria Wirtschaftsservice: PRIZE
Synthetische Lignane als Proliferationshemmer bei Cardiovasculären Erkrankungen.
Joint project between Universitiy of Vienna and Technical Universitiy Vienna - 2016 – 2018
ADSI - Austrian Drug Screening Institute
Screening von Pflanzenxtrakten für die Behandlung von metabolischen Erkrankungen und der entzündlichen Erkrankungen des Magen-Darm-Traktes. - 2015 - 2017
Herzfelder´sche Familienstiftung
Metabolic Reprogramming - a target for natural products in the alleviation of agecompromised wound healing? - 05/2016 - 04/2017
Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS)
Herstellungsverfahren für Leoligin-artige Lignane und deren Effekt auf das Wachstum von glatten Gefäßmuskelzellen - 2014 - 2016
Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-297332
Metabolomics-assisted dissection of molecular mechanisms underlying the action of natural products increasing macrophage efflux. - 2014 - 2016
FWF – Project P25971
Improved Cholsterol Efflux by Natural Products. - 2013 - 2015
FFG Bridge – Projekt 841283
Etablierung neu entwickelter Modelle des Metabolischen Syndroms als Screening Plattform für Phytodrogen. - 2012 - 2015
Herzfelder´sche Familienstiftung
Counteracting the age-related decline of antioxidant defense and metabolic function by activation of the transcription factor Nrf2. - 2012 - 2014
EU Contract No. PIIF-GA-2009-252881
TCM-VASC: Chinese Medicines used against Cardiovascular Disease. - 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 - 2011 - 2014
FWF-NFN-Project S10704-B13 (Project Part PP04)
Drugs from nature targeting inflammatory. - 2011 - 2014
FWF – Project P23317
Antiproliferative and antimigratory activity of 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 - 2011 - 2014
Project within the Graduate Program “Bioactivity Profiling & Metabolism” (University of Vienna)
Natural products and their protective effect against hyperglycemia- the role of activated Nrf2 - 2011 - 2012
Hochschuljubiläumsstiftung der Stadt Wien – Project H-1755/2010
Natural products fighting insulin resistance - 2010
Industrial collaboration project (Reata Pharmaceuticals, Tx, USA)
Synthetic triterpenoids and their impact on endothelial cell function - 2009 - 2012
EU Coordination action; no 223154
GP-TCM: Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in the Post-genomic Era - 2008 - 2011
FWF-NFN-Project S10704-B03
Drugs from nature targeting inflammatory. - 2008
Hochschuljubiläumsstiftung der Stadt Wien – Project H-01509/2007
Natural products against endothelial dysfunction under hyperglycemia - 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 - 2006 - 2010
FWF-Project P18982-B17
Resveratrol and Shp2 - 2006 - 2009
EU Contract No. LSHB-CT-2004-503467
Pro Kinase Research:
Protein kinases and phosphatases as targets for new anti-atherogenic compounds. - 2003 - 2006
Corporate project with Prof. Angelika M. Vollmar, University of Munich (LMU): DFG Sachbeihilfe VO 376/10-1/2: Signaltransduction of apoptosis-induction by cephalostatin-1, isolated from a marine organism