Dr Verena Spiegler habilitated in Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry
On 14 May 2025, Dr rer. nat. Verena Spiegler habilitated at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry at the University of Münster. Faculty 12 - Chemistry and Pharmacy awarded her the venia legendi for the subject of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry and with it the title ‘Privatdozentin’.
Verena Spiegler, born in 1983, studied Japanese Studies and Language Teaching Research at the Ruhr University Bochum from 2002 to 2007, Pharmacy at the University of Münster from 2007 to 2011 and completed her doctorate at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry in 2016 on the topic of ‘Anthelmintic activity of procyanidins from West African plants - From traditional medicine to phytochemistry and molecular investigations’ (supervisor Prof Dr Andreas Hensel). The thesis was awarded the top grade of ‘summa cum laude’ (it is also worth mentioning that this dissertation was honoured with the Innovation Prize of the Society for Phytotherapy). Dr Spiegler subsequently coordinated an international research consortium funded by the DFG in the field of infectiology on anthelmintic natural substances and was able to work on a wide range of scientific issues, as well as gaining considerable expertise in project management. Dr Spiegler was appointed as a junior research group leader by the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Münster in 2019. She is the author of more than 30 scientific publications in prestigious journals.
Dr Spiegler's habilitation thesis ‘Plant-Derived Natural Products and their Potential against Infectious Disease Pathogens - Examples from Terrestrial and Marine Origin with Antibacterial and Anthelminitic Activities’, submitted to the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, deals with very complex and novel topics relating to the structure and functionality of natural substances from various sources. In addition to biologically active secondary metabolites from a variety of plants, Dr Spiegler is also working intensively on natural substances from red algae, for example. It is impressive to see the large portfolio of previously undescribed natural substances that she is able to isolate from algae and characterise with structural precision. Also exciting is a bromophenol that can restore the sensitivity of multi-resistant pseudomonads to gentamicin. There is clinical potential in the air here!
Natural substances from plants: oligomeric proanthocyanidins, a class of tannins that are difficult to analyse due to their structural complexity, are used by Dr Spiegler for structural analysis studies as well as for functional tests as part of her work on anthelmintic agents. These investigations show that Dr Spiegler enjoys working on topics that are not exactly in the mainstream of current research. She can show through systematic studies that tannins of different structures also have different effects against different nematodes (tannin-rich plants are very frequently used in Africa for deworming humans and animals in traditional medicine; this therapeutic concept has also become increasingly important in Europe in recent years due to the massive resistance situation to common anthelmintics).At the same time, she was able to demonstrate very elegantly that certain tannins bind to the collagen cuticle of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, massively increasing its stiffness and thus reducing the worms' mobility, which leads to reduced vitality and ultimately to their death. This provides a clear answer to the long-standing question of the mode of action of anthelmintic tannins. Dr Spiegler immediately took it as an incentive to work intensively on this topic and to investigate the functionality of the defence mechanisms that can be induced by tannins in the model organism C. elegans. This includes transcriptome studies, generation of mutants, expression of gfp-labelled proteins and much more. This molecular biological work opens up a completely new field to analyse and understand the reactivity of nematodes to exogenous stressors and, if necessary, to circumvent them with specific inhibitors.
Dr Spiegler shows that such anthelmintic effects of oligomeric proanthocyanidins also have practical significance in therapy through international cooperation with three research groups from West Africa, who have reported very positive results with such tannin-enriched extracts in animal infection experiments on goats. Very exciting anthelmintic effects of these substances against human worm parasites from infected animals can also be demonstrated ex vivo.
Dr Spiegler's work in this highly topical field of research straddles the line between structural chemistry, molecular biology and bioactivity and also involves a good degree of scientific cooperation between pharmacy, medicine and infectiology - and not only in Europe; Dr Spiegler is also establishing her scientific networks in West Africa (Ghana, Benin, Cameroon) and more recently also in Brazil.
In addition to polyphenols, alkaloid-containing plants also emerge from ethnopharmacological studies in Dr Spiegler's laboratory. She isolates and characterises a large number of structurally highly complex indole alkaloids. Here too, functional accompanying investigations can open up new applications in pharmacy and medicine. In collaboration with Brazilian colleagues, the topic of ‘green chemistry’, in the sense of the environmentally friendly isolation of natural substances, is also being addressed - sustainability in the laboratory is becoming an increasingly important issue in this day and age. It is good that young scientists are specifically addressing this topic.
In a nutshell: put a plant in Mrs Spiegler's hands and she will certainly find lots of exciting and new natural substances, characterise them precisely, test them and generate new ideas for their application. The efficiency and precision with which the ‘Spiegler Lab’ at the Münster Institute works is astonishing.
Dr Spiegler has a very extensive published oeuvre and is a frequently invited speaker for scientific lectures internationally. I am sure that the newly appointed private lecturer will also be delighted to receive invitations to give exciting colloquium lectures at other universities in the future.
What would a university be without teaching? Dr Spiegler has been supervising the phytochemical practical course for pharmacists for many years and has also been the official head of this course since 2024 with excellent student evaluation. Since 2024, she has also been organising the main lecture on pharmaceutical biology every semester and is happy to step in whenever there is a need.
Pharmaceutical biology is a super exciting, innovative and cutting-edge field of pharmacy. But it is also important to translate research and expertise from academia into society. This was also important to Dr Spiegler, and she initiated corresponding activities as an elected board member of the Society for Phytotherapy (GPT) in various training events and also for several years as treasurer of the society. A considerable weekly workload alongside academic research, teaching and day-to-day business!
Dr Spiegler is very popular and highly regarded by all her colleagues, the staff of the Pharmaceutical Institutes and the students. This congratulations from her institute therefore also include those from the Pharmacy Teaching Unit and the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy: Congratulations and continued success in your academic career, Privatdozentin Dr Verena Spiegler!
And finally, a personal note from the mentor: I am very happy with you about this success. It has always been a pleasure to work with you and we have mastered even the most complicated projects in faraway Africa with excellent co-operation. It was fun! Thank you for your collegial cooperation!
We wish Dr Spiegler all the best for her personal and professional future and I am sure that PD Spiegler will be an excellent choice for future professorships in the field of pharmaceutical biology.
Prof Dr Andreas Hensel, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry, University of Münster.