Newsroom

Immune cells and antibodies fighting a virus

News

Environmental factors such as chemical pollutants, psychosocial stressors, and antibiotics as well as an unhealthy diet affect the human immune system and microbiome. They can contribute to an increased risk of infection, reduced immune resilience, and an altered immune response to vaccination. To date, there has been little research into how these factors affect viral immune responses in pregnant women as well as in children and adolescents. The aim of the EMVIC collaborative project is to close this gap using data from the LiNA mother–child cohort of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). The project is coordinated by the UFZ with participation from the University of Leipzig, Hannover Medical School, and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), and will start on 1 July.

22.06.2026

HZI Campus

Collecting samples at MICROBELIX Wilderness Camp.

Story

There is an urgent need for novel drugs in the fight against infectious diseases, and natural compounds derived from soil bacteria are a promising source for their development. Researchers at HIPS, the HZI site in Saarland, are counting on the public’s help: The citizen science project MICROBELIX aims to harness the biodiversity of soil bacteria for drug discovery.

18.06.2026

HIPS

News

The Friends of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Technische Universität Braunschweig have awarded Prof. Dr. Craig M. Crews (Yale University, USA) the 2026 Inhoffen Medal. Craig Crews is regarded as a pioneer of innovative therapeutic approaches. The Inhoffen Medal recognises outstanding scientific achievements in the field of organic chemistry and drug discovery. The award ceremony took place as part of the 31st Hans Herloff Inhoffen Lecture at the Haus der Wissenschaft in Braunschweig on 11 June 2026.

12.06.2026

HZI Campus

HIPS

News

The European Vaccines Hub (EVH) for Pandemic Readiness convened its annual consortium meeting at the Old University of the Marburg University, in Marburg, Germany, from May 19 to 21, 2026. The EVH is a pan-European public private partnership co-funded under the EU4Health program by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) on behalf of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA) of the European Commission. The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) is an affiliated entity of the initiative and leads a work package on data management and AI.

10.06.2026

HZI Campus

Portrait

Camilla Ciolli Mattioli’s workday often begins in a place that many group leaders gradually trade for their desks over the course of their careers: the laboratory. “At the moment, I still carry out many experiments myself,” says the head of the research group “Systems Microbiology of Intracellular Pathogens,” which was launched in February at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). Her lab is still being set up—with her right in the middle of it. “I work closely with my team and teach my lab members the necessary procedures,” she adds.

10.06.2026

HIRI

News

Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) have demonstrated that larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) are suitable as an alternative infection model for investigating the pathogenicity of bacteria on a larger scale. This could significantly reduce animal testing on mammals in the future. The results of the study were published in “The Lancet Microbe”.

08.06.2026

HIOH

HZI in the media

In den Laboren wachsen Stammzellen zu komplexen Geweben heran. Gezüchtet in Brutschränken, gepflegt von Robotern ...

13.07.2026

Deutschlandfunk

und leitet das Zoologische Institut. Am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung verantwortet er die Forschungsgruppe „Neuroinflammation

10.07.2026

Zwischengas

... von DZIF-Wissenschaftler Prof. Mark Brönstrup am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) geleitete Projekt für die Entwicklung ...

09.07.2026

Bionity.COM

... Artificial Intelligence Methods Das Projekt am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung unter Leitung von Dr. Alina Bazarova ...

08.07.2026

Niedersächsisches Landesjustizportal

... ), und Prof. Christian Sieben , Forschungsgruppenleiter am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), hat zum Ziel, mit der ...

06.07.2026

Biermann Medizin

Am Exponat des Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland können Besuchende nach wertvollen Bodenbakterien suchen. ...

29.06.2026

WerbePost - Rheinische Anzeigenblätter

... in einer virtuellen Umgebung testen

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung

interaktives Diorama zu Schleimpilzen und ...

26.06.2026

Niedersächsisches Landesjustizportal

22.06.2026

dielinde.online

22.06.2026

Pharmazeutische Zeitung

22.06.2026

Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.

20.06.2026

rbb radioeins

18.06.2026

Homburg

Register now for the HZI-Newsletter

and stay up to date!

Email address *

We use rapidmail to send our newsletter. I agree that my data entered here will be transmitted to rapidmail. I have taken note of the HZI's privacy policy and have been informed of my rights.