Drug Targets
The development of pharmacologically active agents requires not only the identification of substances that act specifically against a particular disease, but also their mechanistic characterization. The latter allows for a better understanding of the molecular causes of diseases and provides information on possible side effects of pharmacological agents. Mechanistic insights can then be used to develop novel substances with greater efficacy and fewer side effects.
The BioHealth research area "Drug Targets" focuses on screening - i.e. the systematic search for natural and semisynthetic agents - and research into the cellular signaling pathways, in which such agents intervene. The latter also includes the search for so-called "drug targets", i.e. those molecular structures targeted by active substances to exert their effect. In this context, potential new drugs and mechanisms of action against various diseases, in particular, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, as well as bacterial and fungal infectious diseases are being investigated. In addition to animal models, cellular model systems are used, which are designed to resemble in vivo conditions as close as possible (e.g. 3-dimensional tumor models, organoids). Simulations of the blood-brain barrier are run to test, among other things, the pharmacological availability of active substances in the brain.
This BioHealth research area also investigates the production of existing and prototype active agents by means of biocatalysis. With the aid of biodegradable enzymes, this shall facilitate a more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective availability of pharmacological agents.
Currently, we are researching the following topics:
- The function of oxidized phospholipids, in driving inflammatory processes.
- Development of inhibitors of "adipose triglyceride lipase" (ATGL) for the treatment of fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Inhibition of lipases from human pathogenic bacteria.
- Development of inhibitors of ribosome biogenesis for tumor therapy.
- Development of new biocatalysts.
- Shortened production routes of medically used natural products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
- Establishment of three-dimensional (3D) tumor models and simulations of the blood-brain barrier.
- Antitumor mechanisms of action of novel peptides derived from human immune defenses.
- Investigation of drug interactions with membrane proteins that either represent drug targets or mediate drug resistance.
- Development of novel drug delivery systems in the form of nanodiscs.
- Development of eukaryotic and prokaryotic membrane models and design and characterization of membrane-active agents, e.g. antimicrobial peptides.
- Polyphenols as natural agents against age-associated diseases.
- Antifungal activity of known and novel flavonoids, a specific group of secondary plant metabolites.
Drug Targets Team
Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Dr.h.c. Rudolf Bauer
Phone:+43 316 380 - 8700
Location:Institut für Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
Opentimes:Mittwoch, 11 - 12 Uhr
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0057-5547
Web: https://pharmazie.uni-graz.at/de/institut/pharmakognosie/bauer-rudolf-univ.-prof.-dr.rer.nat./
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Helmut Bergler
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5629
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7724-309X
Web: https://molekularbiologie.uni-graz.at/de/arbeitsgruppen-bergler-pertschy/
Assoz. Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Didac Carmona-Gutierrez
Phone:+43 316 380 - 1510
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7548-7771
Web: www.uni-graz.at/madeo
Assoz. Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Hanna Engelke
Phone:+43 316 380 - 8649
Location:Institut für Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9529-9436
Web: https://pharmazie.uni-graz.at/en/research/pharmaceutical-chemistry/pharmaceutical-cell-biology/
Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Christian Gruber
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5466
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:Montag 17:00-18:00 (nach Voranmeldung)
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0214-449X
Web: https://molekularbiologie.uni-graz.at/en/strukturbiologie/
Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Karl Gruber
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5417
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3485-9740
Web: https://molekularbiologie.uni-graz.at/en/strukturbiologie/
Assoz. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr.rer.nat. Melanie Hall
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5479
Location:Institut für Chemie
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4539-1992
Web: http://biocatalysis.uni-graz.at/
Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. BSc Bettina Halwachs-Wenzl
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5387
Location:Institut für Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7082-9346
Dr.rer.nat. BSc MSc. Katharina Kainz
Phone:+43 316 380 - 1498
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9145-5929
Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Sandro Manuel Keller
Phone:+43 316 380 - 4987
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5469-8772
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Walter Keller
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5423
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2261-958X
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Guenther Koraimann
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5626
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8937-3027
Web: http://homepage.uni-graz.at/de/guenther.koraimann/
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Wolfgang Kroutil
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5350
Location:Institut für Chemie
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2151-6394
Web: https://biocatalysis.uni-graz.at
Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Frank Madeo
Phone:+43 316 380 - 8878
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:Dienstag 13.00 Uhr bis 14.00 Uhr oder nach Absprache
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5070-1329
Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Nermina Malanovic
Phone:+43 316 380 - 4981
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2903-9369
O.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Bernhard-Michael Mayer
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5567
Location:Institut für Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2921-3494
Assoz. Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Monika Oberer
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5431
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung (Email oder Telefon)
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2525-9513
Web: https://molekularbiologie.uni-graz.at/en/strukturbiologie/
PhD Isabel Oroz-Guinea
Phone:+43 316 380 - 8635
Location:Institut für Chemie
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6989-3597
Assoz. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Georg Pabst
Phone:+43 316 380 - 4989
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-003-1967-1536
Web: http://homepage.uni-graz.at/de/georg.pabst/
Ass.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Tea Pavkov-Keller
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5483
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7871-6680
Dipl.-Ing. Dr.rer.nat. Sabrina Riedl
Phone:+43 316 380 - 4982
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2608-0753
Dr.rer.nat. Georg Steinkellner
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5466
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:-
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7565-8868
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.rer.nat. Ulrich Stelzl
Phone:+43 316 380 - 5397
Location:Institut für Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
Opentimes:nach Vereinbarung (ext. 5365)
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2500-3585
Web: https://pharmazie.uni-graz.at/de/unsere-forschung/pharmazeutische-chemie/
Assoz. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Dagmar Zweytick
Phone:+43 316 380 - 4988
Location:Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften
Opentimes:Dienstag 11:00 bis 12:00
ORCID iD: ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4766-7713