Phytochemistry & Biodiscovery

Our Mission

We use interdisciplinary approaches to identify, analyse, and purify multi-component mixtures from plant, fungal, or marine sources focusing on the characterization of their bioactive secondary metabolites.

Funded Projects

  • 2025-2029
    FWF doc.funds DOC 3579124
    Anti-Infectives Drug Discovery – AIDD
    Rollinger (coordinator and PI), PIs: Dailey (co-coordinator), Böttcher, Kirchmair, Ortmayr, Orts, Rademacher, Schmidt, Schützenmeister, Zotchev
  • 2024-2027
    Natvantage Grant 2024 of the Wilhelm Doerenkamp Foundation
    MedPolDual: Medicinal polypores as dual angiogenesis and inflammation inhibitors
    PI Kirchweger (LMU Munich), co-PIs Fürst (LMU Munich) & Rollinger (univie)
  • 2022-2025
    FWF Project ESP 149-B
    The Bog Bilberry Enigma - A complex phytochemical analysis of bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum L.) fruits in relation to their alleged toxicity (PI Vaneková)
  • 2022-2025
    Schwabe Phyto Innovation Challenge
    Identifying and dissecting health promoting natural products for healthy aging
    (PI Rollinger, co-PI Zwirchmayr)
  • 2022-2025
    FWF Project P - 35115
    Inhalation of natural products against lung infections (PI LA Dailey (Div. Pharm. Tech.), co-PI Grienke)
  • 2020-2024
    FWF Project P -34028
    Natural products against acute respiratory infections (PI Rollinger, co-PI Grienke)
  • 2018-2022
    Natvantage Grant 2018 of the Wilhelm Doerenkamp Foundation
    NaProFlu: Natural Products targeting low respiratory tract infections (Rollinger)
  • 2018-2020
    Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-211753
    Xanthones from Metaxya rostrata as promising new lead compounds for cancer therapy (Mittermair/Krenn)
  • 2018-2020
    Project for Interdisciplinary Research Network funded by the Faculty of Life Sciences, UNIVIE Self medication in Darwin's finches: identifying the mosquito repellent components of Psidium galapageum (Tebbich/Krenn)
  • 2017 – 2022
    ADSI - Austrian Drug Screening Institute
    In vivo Screening of plant extracts using C. elegans as a model system (Rollinger)
  • 2017-2020
    DOC-fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Science (ÖAW) to Dagmar Pretsch
    Targeting abnormal metal homeostasis to combat neurodegenerative disorders by natural products (Rollinger/Schmid)
  • 2017-2019
    Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-246128/2016
    Der wundheilenden Wirkung von Fichtenfaulpech auf der Spur (Göls/Glasl-Tazreiter/Heiss)
  • 2017-2018    
    ÖAD grant for Dr. Petar Ristivojevic
    Quality assessment of Morus alba L. root bark (Sang bai pi) using planar chromatography- effect-directed analysis /HPLC-UV/Vis-DAD-ELSD-MS2 fingerprint combined with multivariate analysis
  • 2016-2018
    Project for Interdisciplinary Research Network funded by the Faculty of Life Sciences, UNIVIE Microbial communities in marine sediments: preliminary analyses of diversity and secondary metabolite biosynthesis potential (Zotchev/Rollinger/Herndl)
  • 2015-2016
    Project for Young Investigators, Award funded by the Faculty of Life Sciences, UNIVIE
    (Grienke)
  • 2015
    Ernst-Mach-Stipendium
    Untersuchung von Komponenten der in der afrikanischen Geburtshilfe verwendeten Gewürzmischung Nkui (Tchoupang Nana/Krenn)
  • 2013
    Ernst-Mach-Stipendium
    Estrogenic Compounds in Eriosema laurentii (Ateba/Krenn)
  • 2012-2017
    FWF - Project P24587
    Natural Lead Structures Targeting Influenza     (Rollinger)
  • 2012-2016
    FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IRSES 295174
    hERGscreen: hERG related risk assessment of botanicals (Rollinger)
  • 2011-2016
    Hochschuljubiläumsfonds - Projekt H-2009/2010
    Arzneipflanzen bei Diabetes - Auffindung neuer blutzuckersenkender Wirkstoffe aus Pflanzen der österreichischen Volksmedizin (Pitschmann/Glasl-Tazreiter)
  • 2008-2014
    FWF NFN-project S10703
    Drugs from nature targeting inflammation: From in silico plant selection     to bioactive natural products