Ulrike Grienke

Ulrike Grienke serves as a Privatdozent (equivalent to Associate Professor) within the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Life Sciences. Her research program centers on the discovery and characterization of bioactive natural products, with particular emphasis on anti-infective agents targeting respiratory pathogens and inflammation-related conditions. She employs integrated analytical approaches combining NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and biochemometric modeling to deconvolute complex phytochemical mixtures.

Dr. Grienke's research spans natural products chemistry, pharmacognosy, and metabolomics, with significant contributions to understanding the anti-influenza mechanisms of Rhodiola rosea and triterpenoid bioactivity. Her work demonstrates innovative applications of supercritical fluid chromatography for natural product quantification and leverages molecular networking for SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor discovery. Current projects focus on developing inhalable natural product formulations against acute respiratory infections, with particular attention to Morus alba constituents and medicinal mushroom applications for ocular surface disease.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized with the Young Investigator Award in 2015. Active research initiatives include the €2.1 million project "Inhalation of natural products against lung infections" (2022-2026) and the Austrian Science Fund project "Natural products against acute respiratory infections" (2020-2024). These endeavors integrate pharmacological screening, biopharmaceutical characterization, and ethnopharmacological validation to translate traditional knowledge into evidence-based therapeutics.

Dr. Grienke maintains an extensive publication record with 73 peer-reviewed articles and 46 scientific activities including keynote presentations at international conferences. Her fingerprint analysis reveals core expertise in influenza virus pharmacology (100%), anti-inflammatory drug development (85%), Rhodiola rosea research (85%), and triterpene chemistry (85%). This work directly contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through the development of novel anti-infective strategies.