About
Verena M. Dirsch serves as Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Vienna, where she leads research in molecular pharmacology of natural products. As Principal Investigator in the Vienna Doctoral School of Pharmaceutical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences (VDS PhaNuSpo), she supervises doctoral candidates and teaches advanced courses including Basics of Drug Discovery and Experimental Methods in Drug Discovery.
Her research centers on elucidating cellular mechanisms of natural products for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, with nuclear receptors (ROR, LXR, RXR, PPAR) and transcription factors as primary targets. Using endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle models, and macrophage systems, her lab investigates nitric oxide regulation, cell proliferation, and cholesterol efflux pathways. This integrates pharmacognosy with modern drug discovery to develop nature-derived therapeutics.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) reveals a dominant focus on nuclear receptor modulation by natural compounds. Key trends include identification of lupane triterpenoids and diosgenin as ROR inverse agonists, limonoids as LXR activators, and leoligin derivatives as NF-κB inhibitors. Research combines metabolomics, molecular modeling, and functional assays to link chemical structures to biological activity in metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis.
Professor Dirsch actively mentors PhD students Lorenza Bertaina, Christine Coffey, and Patricia Haiss. Her research is supported by grants including Der RXR-Ligand LRK071 (2022-2025), TMC-VASC (2012-2014), and Drugs from Nature Targeting Inflammation (2008-2011), demonstrating sustained funding in natural product pharmacology.
Her laboratory collaborates with phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology groups to identify bioactive compounds, using cell-based screening and in silico tools. Current projects target vascular protection through nuclear receptor modulation, with ongoing work extending through 2028 including international conference presentations on ROR pharmacology.
