Inaugural lecture by PD Dr Verena Spiegler

Dr Verena Spiegler qualifies as a professor in the field of pharmaceutical biology.

On 28 October 2025, Dr Verena Spiegler officially introduced herself to the university community during her inaugural lecture.

In her lecture entitled ‘From antibiotics to zoonosis: plant-based natural substances against infectious disease pathogens’, Verena Spiegler presented two of her projects, which deal with the extraction of natural substances from red algae and their use as antibiotics, as well as the use of plant-based active ingredients against parasitic worms.

Verena Spiegler first studied Japanese Studies and Language Teaching Research at the Ruhr University Bochum before transferring to the University of Münster to study pharmacy. After completing her doctorate with the highest grade of summa cum laude in Andreas Hensel's research group investigating the effectiveness of natural substances from West African plants against parasitic worms, she first coordinated a DFG-funded research consortium before founding her own research group in 2019. Her work focused on the isolation, characterisation and application of natural plant substances, for example from red algae. She succeeded in isolating an impressive portfolio of previously undescribed natural substances and characterising them structurally with precision

The Institute congratulates the young researcher on completing her habilitation process and wishes her all the best for the further development of her academic profile!