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• Department of Analytical Chemistry

  • Ass.-Prof. Dr. Samuel Matthias Meier-Menches
    
    Research Focus:
    We are interested in modes of action of approved drugs, drug candidates and investigational drugs to tackle chronic diseases. We use post-genomic methods to uncover molecular mechanisms of drug action from preclinical in vitro models to the analysis of patient samples. Our research focusses on target identification and anticancer strategies beyond cytotoxicity with an additional incentive on drug exposure. We believe that a detailed understanding of targets, off-targets and modes of action of therapeutic compounds will allow their precise application for the improved benefit of patients.
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://meiermencheslab.univie.ac.at/ 

  • Ass.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Evelyn Rampler, Privatdoz. Bakk. PhD
    
    Research Focus
    Develop and apply novel high-resolution mass spectrometry workflows in the omics areas. Major areas of expertise: high-resolution mass spectrometry, liquid chromtaoraphy, alternative fragmentation strategies, identification and quantification of lipids and glyco(sphingo)lipids. Application areas: Human stem cell differentiation, maternal gestational diabetes, cancer and heat stress in plants
    
    More information can be found at
    https://ramplerlab.univie.ac.at/ 

  • Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Jürgen Zanghellini
    
    Research Focus:
    My research focuses on gaining quantitative and mechanistic insights into cellular and microbial community metabolism through mathematical modeling and data science. A central goal is to develop computational tools that integrate multi-omics data to analyze metabolism at a systems level, uncover its regulatory mechanisms, and explore its applications in biomedicine and biotechnology.
    As part of the Center of Excellence Circular Bioengineering, my work contributes to advancing sustainable and innovative biotechnological solutions. A key vision is to create in silico models of living cells and microbial communities, enabling us to simulate, predict, and optimize individual biological functions—or even entire industrial bioprocesses. These models have broad applications, from engineering better cell factories to advancing precision medicine.
    
    Key Research Questions
    Our work is guided by several fundamental research questions:
    Biological Design Principles
    — How do fundamental physical laws and economic principles shape natural biological processes at both the single-cell and community levels?
    — Can we leverage these principles to design more efficient and reliable synthetic pathways and synthetic microbial communities?
    Real-World Applications
    — How can we apply these design principles to:
    —— Optimize cell factories and bioprocesses for industrial applications?
    —— Develop personalized and precision medicine approaches?
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://chemnet.univie.ac.at/
    publications can be found at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fQP4DqQAAAAJ 
• Department of Biological Chemistry

  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christian FW Becker
    
    Research Focus:
    The Becker group at the Institute of Biological Chemistry seeks enthusiastic postdocs with experience in peptide or protein chemistry for elucidating the impact of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) in protein function and neurodegenerative diseases. Applicants with a focus on peptide material science and biomineralization are also highly welcome.
    Active participation in research, teaching and administration is expected. This includes the development of an independent research profile based on active participation in conferences, preparation of publications, applications for third-party funding as well as teaching and supervision of students and involvement in teaching and research administration.
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://biologischechemie.univie.ac.at/en/research/becker/

  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Böttcher
    
    Research Focus:
    Our research in the Böttcher Lab focuses on the chemistry of microbial interactions and chemical strategies for modulating microbial growth, virulence, and coordinated behaviours such as swarming motility or biofilm formation. We are elucidating chemical structure of metabolites that mediate and control interactions between microbes and of microbes with prophages and with their human hosts. We also aim to exploit the activities of these metabolites by synthetic chemistry in order to develop ultra-narrow spectrum antibiotics and anti-infectives with novel mode of action. In a current ERC project we are interested in metabolites triggering prophage induction. Furthermore, we develop chemical probes for activity-based protein profiling to understand virulence-related functions of human pathogens and develop customized inhibitors of pathogenesis traits. Our overall goal is to improve the understanding of chemical interactions of microbes and to create chemical tools for precision interventions in complex microbiomes with the ultimate vision of chemical microbiome engineering.
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://www.univie.ac.at/forschung/forschung-im-ueberblick/neue-professuren/neue-professuren/artikel/univ-prof-dr-thomas-boettcher-1/

  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dennis Kurzbach
    
    Research Focus
    My research is dedicated to unraveling molecular transformations with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution, using hyperpolarized NMR, dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP), and real-time reaction monitoring. By pushing the limits of spectroscopic sensitivity and time resolution, I investigate short-lived intermediates, non-equilibrium reaction kinetics, and molecular energy distributions in complex systems. These insights are critical for advancing catalysis, biochemical transformations, and dynamic reaction networks. A major focus of my work is on developing next-generation D-DNP methodologies, enabling the tracking of ultrafast molecular processes in solution and heterogeneous environments. By integrating AI-assisted data analysis and computational modeling, I bridge experiment and theory to gain predictive control over reaction pathways and molecular self-organization. My research explores how molecular energy distributions influence selectivity and transformation efficiency, using hyperpolarization-enhanced spectroscopy to resolve interactions across timescales from microseconds to minutes. These efforts provide new insights into catalysis, biomolecular interactions, and energy-efficient chemical transformations. By combining cutting-edge spectroscopy with data-driven modeling, my work provides a fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms and non-equilibrium chemistry. With a strong background in high-impact research, international collaborations, and academic leadership, I am seeking opportunities to further expand hyperpolarization-enhanced molecular tracking, contributing to new developments in catalytic mechanisms, biochemical transformations, and advanced reaction monitoring.
    
    More information can be found at
    https://kurzbach-group.univie.ac.at/ 

  • Univ.-Prof. Dr.  Markus Muttenthaler
    
    Research Focus:
    The Neuropeptide Research Lab
    Neuropeptides are key mediators in many biological functions and understanding of their interaction with target proteins is fundamental to unravel the underlying mechanism of diseases. Over the years, an increasing number of bioactive peptides from animals, plants, and bacteria have been characterised, with the overwhelming realisation that these molecules often show better therapeutic performance than their human counterparts, particularly in terms of in vivo stability. Our main research efforts situated in this area of Chemical Biology focus on the exploration and translation of these vast and untapped natural libraries towards the development of useful research tools and therapeutics. Solid phase peptide synthesis, the main tool to access these compounds, is a powerful technology for the assembly and chemical modification of these highly chiral and structurally complex peptides. We then use these ligands to develop advanced molecular probes and therapeutic leads to address important questions of unmet medical need. The oxytocin and vasopressin system in health and disease, the role of the trefoil factor peptides in gastrointestinal disorder, the study of neuropeptide involvement in long-term memory formation and the mining of animal venom for drug discovery are current topics investigated by our group.
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://www.neuropeptidelab.com/
• Department of Computational Biological Chemistry

  • Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Stefan Boresch
    
    Research Focus:
    A major focus of our research is the accurate and efficient calculation of free energy differences relevant to the understanding of processes in biomolecular systems, e.g., solvation and binding affinities. We currently work on extending the methodology beyond additive force fields, with particular emphasis on multiscale methods, such as QM/MM and combination of neural net potentials and force fields.
    
    More information can be found at
    www.mdy.univie.ac.at 
• Department of Functional Materials and Catalysis

  • ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Klaus Richter
    
    Research Focus
    Intermetallic compounds; functional and structural materials, structure-property relations, phase equilibria
    
    More information can be found at
    https://functionalmaterials.univie.ac.at/en/research/solid-state-chemistry/ 
• Department of Physical Chemistry

  • Ass. Professor Jia Min Chin   
    
    Research Focus:
    The research focus of the Chin Group is on the assembly and manipulation of materials, particularly by exploiting physicochemical interactions at interfaces.
    We focus on the development of methods to control Metal-Organic Frameworks and colloidal materials across multiple length scales, from the molecular to the centimeter scale. To achieve this, a combination of supramolecular assembly, directed self-assembly and top-down fabrication is used.   
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://bioinspiredmateria.wixsite.com/group

  • Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Peter Lieberzeit
    
    Research Focus
    The group of Chemical Sensors and Rapid Analysis at the University of Vienna has extensive experience in designing novel biomimetic receptor materials. It is on the forefront of molecular imprinting, and also regularly utilizes different self-assembly approaches to design sensor layers. Its core competency lie in mass-sensitive sensing, but the group has also published optical and electrochemical approaches. Despite being in academia, the group has always strongly committed to bringing such systems to real-life applications.
    
    More information can be found at
    https://pchem.univie.ac.at/en/research-groups/chemical-sensing-and-rapid-analysis/ 
• Department of Physiological Chemistry

  • Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marc Pignitter
    
    Research Focus
    My research aims to promote sustainable practices in food production and waste valorization, enhance the stability and biofunctionality of foods, and raise awareness about the health impacts of dietary oxidized lipids, ultimately contributing to healthier lifestyles and reduced food waste in society.
    
    More information can be found at
    https://ipc.univie.ac.at/en/research/analytical-food-chemistry-food-development/ 
• Department of Theoretical Chemistry

  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Leticia Gonzalez
    
    Research Focus:
    The group of Leticia González is interested in the interaction of light with molecules and materials. We develop methods to describe the excited state dynamics in combination with high level quantum chemistry and apply those to a variety of processes. Fields of application include (but is not limited to) photocatalysis and solar energy conversion and storage, understanding DNA photostability versus DNA photodamage, or designing systems useful for photodynamical therapy. From simple organic dyes to complicated hybrid organic-inorganic materials, from gas phase to biological environments, we focus on understanding the electronic excited states, its dynamics and resulting functionality. We often work in collaboration with experimental ultrafast spectroscopists to model and rationalize time-resolved signals.
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://theochem.univie.ac.at/
• Institute of Materials Chemistry

  • Assoc.-Prof. Robert Woodward
    
    Research Focus
    The design and implementation of porous organic networks including hypercrosslinked polymers, covalent organic frameworks, and polymers of intrinsic microporosity. New networks are synthesised and characterised extensively in-house and employed in a range of applications, with a primary focus on atmospheric water harvesting, direct air capture of CO2, water purification, and catalysis.
    
    More information can be found at
    mc.univie.ac.at
• Institute of Organic Chemistry

  • Univ.-Prof. Davide Bonifazi, PhD
    
    Research Focus:
    Main areas of research of the Bonifazi Group:
    - Development of new synthetic methodologies for preparing extended heteroatom doped polyaromatic hydrocarbons
    - Design, synthesis and characterization of organic light-harvesting antenna system
    - Discovery of exotic non-covalent molecular recognition systems
    - Flexible electrochromic devices
    - Functional supramolecular systems interfacing cellular bodies
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://bonifazi-group.univie.ac.at/

  • Ass.-Prof. Javier Mateos, BSc MSc PhD
    
    Research Focus
    Organic synthesis and homogeneous catalysis
    
    More information can be found at
    https://mateoslab.com  
    
    
  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Nuno Maulide
    
    Research Focus:
    Development of synthetic methodology and target-oriented/natural product synthesis; "unconventional" reactivity profiles of organic compounds;
    particular interest in high-energy reactive intermediates that can be generated under mild conditions and subsequently lead to rearrangements, domino reaction sequences or catalytic asymmetric transformations
    
    More information can be found at:
    https://maulide.univie.ac.at/