Vera Pfanzagl

Vera Pfanzagl is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Biochemistry within the Department of Natural Sciences and Sustainable Resources at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She currently holds an Elise-Richter Fellowship and has been actively conducting research on heme peroxidases since completing her PhD through the BioToP program at BOKU. Her work bridges biochemistry, structural biology, and molecular biology with a focus on human enzymes involved in immune response and thyroid function.

Dr. Pfanzagl's research centers on the structure-function relationship of human heme peroxidases, with particular emphasis on Myeloperoxidase (MPO), eosinophil peroxidase (EPO), and Thyroid peroxidase (TPO). Her laboratory employs a multidisciplinary approach combining biochemical analysis, X-ray crystallography, and molecular biology techniques to unravel the fine structural differences between these enzymes. A significant portion of her work focuses on understanding TPO's role in thyroid hormone production and its involvement in Hashimoto's disease, where it serves as a primary auto-antigen.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on structural characterization of peroxidases, enzyme mechanism studies, and inhibitor design. Her research spans fundamental enzymology to potential therapeutic applications, particularly in understanding autoimmune disorders related to peroxidase function. The consistent use of X-ray crystallography alongside biochemical and spectroscopic methods demonstrates her commitment to obtaining atomic-level understanding of these enzymes.

• Principal Investigator for FWF project 'biochemistry and structure of thyroid peroxidase' (2024-2027)
• Project Staff for FWF project 'SPIN – a novel scaffold for the design of inhibitors for human peroxidases' (2020-2025)
• Reviewer for Journal of Biological Chemistry (2024) and Journal of Molecular Recognition (2021)
• Member of organization committee for 11th Human Peroxidase Meeting (2019)

Dr. Pfanzagl has successfully supervised six Master's theses on related topics, demonstrating her commitment to research mentoring. Her students have investigated areas including unnatural amino acid integration, peroxidase inhibition mechanisms, and heme reconstitution in thyroid peroxidase. Her research program is supported by competitive funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), indicating the high quality and significance of her work in the field of peroxidase biochemistry.