Michael Schnürch did his diploma and PhD thesis in the group of Prof. Peter Stanetty and received his doctorate from TU Wien in 2005. During his PhD studies, he spent a 4-month sabbatical in Canada, where he worked in the group of Prof. Victor Snieckus at Queens University (Kingston, Ontario). He was then a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Dalibor Sames at Columbia University in New York City (as an Erwin Schrödinger Fellow) and conducted research in the field of decarbonylative coupling reactions and sp3-C-H activation.

After his return, he became Assistant Professor at TU Wien and completed his habilitation in 2013, becoming Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in 2016. His research interests are in the area of synthesis of heterocyclic compounds to influence cell differentiation and GABAA receptors, C-H activation of sp3 centers, substitution of gaseous reagents with solid alternatives, green chemistry and mechanochemistry.