Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
The scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research study the mechanisms involved in infectious diseases and defenses against them: What makes bacteria or viruses turn into disease-causing pathogens? How can we intervene in the infection process?
Latest News
13.01.12
Cancer Research Award for HZI Scientist
January 16th, 2012: Lars Zender receives Johann-Georg-Zimmermann Award
Prof. Dr. Lars Zender has received one of the most distinguished German cancer research awards. The Johann-Georg-Zimmermann Award, endowed with 10 000 Euro, highlights Zender’s findings on chronic liver damage and liver cancer development. Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) developed in livers after chronic infection with Hepatitis-B and -C virus. Zender is heading a research group at the...
03.01.12
Treasure Hunt in the Bacterial Genome
EU funds research on Actinomycetes with 1.5 million Euro
A research project aimed at finding new medical compounds in bacteria has now been granted financial support from Brussels. The European Research Council (ERC) will fund the work of Dr. Andriy Luzhetskyy, a junior scientist investigating the genetics of Actinomycetes. This particular group of microorganisms produces a variety of important natural products which play a pivotal role in modern...
04.12.11
Understanding the molecular production line
How natural polyketides are produced “in assembly lines”: HZI researchers decode the molecular structure of synthesizing enzymes
From deadly toxins to curative antibiotics: The polyketides, a class of biologically active compounds, comprise a multitude of metabolites from plants, fungi, bacteria and other organisms. How does nature produce this remarkably broad spectrum? Researchers of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)...
09.11.11
Immune surveillance against cancer
Early stage tumor suppressionthrough immune surveillance: HZI researchers describe a new mechanism
Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In the majority of cases hepatocellular carcinoma develops after liver damage due to chronic Hepatitis B- or C virus infections. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Hanover Medical School have now revealed how an intact immune system is able to recognize...
13.09.11
The Exhausted Immune Defence
Scientists from HZI unravel why immune cells tolerate bacteria during a chronic infection.
After an initial acute infection, Staphylococci can persist in our body for a long period of time leading to chronic disease. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, have revealed why the body's defense mechanisms fail to completely eliminate the bacteria during a chronic infection. The continuous...
