Rate My Professor Astrid Sasse

Dr. Astrid Sasse serves as Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Head of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. She is also an Associate Professor at the Trinity Institute of Neurosciences. A certified pharmacist with a Staatsexamen Pharmeazie, she obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Her postdoctoral studies, funded by a Marie-Curie Fellowship (FP5), were carried out at INSERM in Paris, France, where she worked on identifying a human histamine H3 receptor subtype and genetic linkages of SNPs on histamine H3 and H4 receptors to schizophrenia. As a senior staff scientist at the Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Goettingen, Germany, she conducted ex vivo autoradiography to determine corticotropin-releasing factor receptor binding. In 2004, she joined the International Center for Neurotherapeutics at Dublin City University, contributing to the development of neurotoxins derived from botulinum toxin through protein engineering methods. She was appointed Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin in October 2008 and has since progressed in her academic career.

Dr. Sasse's research focuses on the development of small ligands for G-protein coupled receptors, such as histamine H3 and H4 receptors, the identification, localization, and pharmacological characterization of new receptor subtypes, and their genetic linkage to psychiatric disorders. She maintains a special interest in alternative approaches to health, particularly yoga and aromatherapy. Her scholarly impact is evidenced by over 1,767 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include 'Current enlightenment about etiology and pharmacological treatment of autism spectrum disorder' (2018, Frontiers in Neuroscience, cited by 307), 'Activation of TRPV1 mediates calcitonin gene-related peptide release, which excites trigeminal sensory neurons and is attenuated by a retargeted botulinum toxin with anti-nociceptive potential' (2009, Journal of Neuroscience, cited by 298), 'Benefit of inhalation aromatherapy as a complementary treatment for stress and anxiety in a clinical setting – A systematic review' (2023, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, cited by 91), and 'Novel chimeras of botulinum neurotoxins A and E unveil contributions from the binding, translocation, and protease domains to their functional characteristics' (2008, Journal of Biological Chemistry, cited by 143). She has received the Ernst-Reuter-Prize of the Free University of Berlin (2000), 1st Poster Prize at the XXIXth Annual Meeting of the European Histamine Research Society (2000), Carl-Wilhelm-Scheele-Prize of the German Pharmaceutical Society (2000), Inspiring Educator Award (2025), and University Excellence in Teaching Award (2025). Dr. Sasse has served as Irish Representative and Financial Rapporteur for COST Action BM0806 (2009-2013) and as Council Member of the European Histamine Research Society (2012, 2018-).