Our focus is on neurochemicals acting on the peripheral and central nervous system

We are enthusiastic about neurochemicals acting as agonists or antagonists on G-protein coupled receptors located in the peripheral and central nervous system. Our goal is to address the clinical needs to diagnose and treat the neurological pathologies at the origin of the disease; thus, avoiding a merely systematic treatment and rather stopping or delaying disease progression.

The chemical structure of small molecules is the key for successful drug design and development for both imaging probes and therapeutics. The combined, interdisciplinary knowledge of medicinal chemists, pharmacists and physicians allows drug adjustment and pave the way towards the application of our substances as tools for image-guided therapy.

The bottleneck of the drug development process is the preclinical screening of a compound library, as we still lack substantial methods for a fast and reliable biological assessment. We developed a complex dynamic 3D-cell culture method, which mimics the tissue situation and has the potential to fasten the screening process. Moreover, it conforms with the 3Rs (reduce, replace, refine) rule in animal ethics and will contribute to reduce the number of animals needed in drug testing.

Our main interests lie in

  • Inventive drug and tracer development of neurochemicals
  • Innovative drug screening methods
  • Interdisciplinary approaches close to medical application

EANM 2021 Plenary Lecture - Isotopes Past and Future

Missed the EANM 2021 plenary lecture on the availability of medicinal radioisotopes.

You can still watch it here.

CBmeds microONE promo video

For the SDG-3 presentation at the austrian parlament, our consortium of the FFG funded microONE project (CBmed, Univie, MUW, among others) produced a nice promo-video. Thank you to Thomas Wadsak for the nice production. (German only)

News and announcements

12.11.2024
 

The 1st Symposium of the Joint Applied Medicinal Radiochemistry Facility took place at the UniVie today. The goal was to bring together Viennese scientists in the field of radiopharmaceutical/chemical sciences to increase the awareness of available expertise and equipment in order to foster future collaborations. Our PI, Verena, was invited to present our ongoing projects.

12.11.2024
 

This year’s VBC PhD Symposium theme, ‘Into the Unknown’, aims to highlight the exploratory science that interrogates the unknown and allows us to understand the mechanisms that govern life. Our PhD students, Verena and Irem, proudly presented their ongoing research.

30.10.2024
 

We have to say goodbye to Daniel Gündel from Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf, who visited our labs for half a year to start new collaborations, betweeen HZDR, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna. We will work further on this fruitful collaboration.

30.10.2024
 

Karsten defended his Phd thesis successfully. He worked on radiotracer development targeting PD-L1. We are delighted that Prof. Graeme Stasiuk from Kings College London functioned as examiner.

30.10.2024
 

Matea Stojanovic and Lukas Putz successfully graduated from their pharmacy studies. We wish them all the best for their future and aspirantenjahr.

17.10.2024
 

Verena Pichler was honored to be invited to chair the GE Healthcare User Meeting, aimed at fostering collaborations and expanding the radiopharmaceutical network. Close cooperation between industry, clinics, and academia is key to advancing radiopharmaceutical sciences successfully.