FOR SPETEA

RESEARCH

Research topics:

Pharmacological characterization of new drugs and drug actions at opioid receptors

Opioid analgesia; central/peripheral mechanisms in pain models; therapeutical targeting of the opioid system for pain; novel opioid drugs as potent analgesics with improved tolerability profile
Immunosuppressive and antitumor effects of opioids; opioid effects on cellular signaling in immune cells and cancer cells; opioid and non-opioid mechanisms
New generation of small molecules and their therapeutic potential
Structure-function-activity relationship studies on new ligands
Novel pharmacological tools

Research projects and grants (selected)

2011 - 2015	Austrian Science Fund (FWF: TRP19-B18): Opioid analgesics for improved pain control (Project leader)
2011 - 2012	Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy Prize 2010: Development of new opioid analgesics with reduced side effects (Project associate)
2011 - 2014	Tyrolean Research Fund (TWF - UNI-404/949): Therapeutical potential of targeting the peripheral mu opioid receptors for treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (Project leader)
2013 - 2015	Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (ÖAD) (Austria-Poland, PL13/2013): Development of novel therapies based on peripheral mu opioid receptor agonists for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (Project leader)
2015 - 2016	Tyrolean Research Fund (TWF - UNI-0404/1596): Investigations on the functional selectivity of oxymorphone analogues and implications for the development of safer analgesics (Project leader)
2015 - 2016	University of Innsbruck Förderungsbeiträge Aktion D. Swarovski: The potential of targeting functional selectivity of the mu opioid receptor for the development of improved opioid analgesics (Project leader)
2016 - 2017	Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (ÖAD) (“Amadée”: Austria – France, FR 12/2016): Structure-functional activity relationship studies on morphinans interacting with the µ-opioid receptor (Project leader)
2016 - 2022	Austrian Science Fund (FWF - I024630) Neuropeptide engineering for improved chronic pain treatment (Project leader)
2017 - 2022	Austrian Science Fund (FWF - P304300): Modulation of the kappa opioid system in temporal lobe epilepsy - separating anticonsulvant and aversive effects (National partner)
2018 - 2023	Austrian Science Fund (FWF - P305920): Targeting the kappa opioid system to treat TLE (National partner)
2020 - 2024	Austrian Science Fund (FWF - I 4697): Safer analgesics by modulation of the kappa opioid receptor (Project leader)