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With funding from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig has launched the large-scale project HUMAN. Interdisciplinary teams are investigating the interactions between humans, bacteria and viruses. Six internationally recruited young researchers are currently setting up new research groups with innovative approaches and bringing cutting-edge research from Stanford, Stockholm and Vienna, among others, to Lower Saxony. The project, led by Prof. Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the HZI, initially has around 32 million euros available in the program “zukunft.niedersachsen”, with the option of an increase to up to 70 million euros after a successful interim evaluation. Today, the established groups were presented to Lower Saxony's Minister of Science, Falko Mohrs, and the CEO of the Volkswagen Foundation, Dr. Georg Schütte.

02.02.2026

HZI Campus

Illustration of cells with transparent membranes and structures inside the cells

News

How Long COVID develops is still largely unknown. New molecular connections are revealed in a recent study led by the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM). Using their approach of examining different molecular levels within individual cells, the researchers identified a specific condition in immune cells that was directly associated with elevated inflammation markers, fatigue, and respiratory problems in patients with Long COVID. The study was published in the journal Nature Immunology. The CiiM is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH).

29.01.2026

CiiM

Futuristic stock photo: Doctor pressing AI button

News

The Helmholtz Association is kicking off 2026 with new research initiatives on strategic future topics to bring technological breakthroughs into practical application more quickly. The Helmholtz initiatives “Biomedical Engineering Initiative,” “Water Safety and Security Initiative,” and “Quantum Use Challenge” are generating innovative solutions – from needle-free blood glucose measurement via wearables to quantum sensors for more powerful batteries and innovative concepts for water management in large cities. The initiatives are being developed in close cooperation with partners from politics, business, and society and address key technologies and strategic research areas of the German government’s High-Tech Agenda. Four projects of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and its sites in Greifswald, Saarbrücken and Würzburg are part of the new research campaigns.

22.01.2026

HZI Campus

HIPS

HIRI

HIOH

Person wearing purple gloves performing chemical synthesis

News

For decades, tuberculosis (TB) has been one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are particularly problematic, as many established drugs are becoming increasingly ineffective against them. However, a research team from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Saarland University has now discovered a new family of natural substances that exhibit excellent activity against the TB pathogen. They have also investigated these substances so comprehensively that targeted further development is possible for the first time. The researchers have now published their findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

21.01.2026

HIPS

News

Two collaborative projects involving the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are being funded with 100,000 euros each from the joint program "zukunft.niedersachsen" of the state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation. Both projects result from the collaboration between HZI and the MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), established in 2024 as part of a cooperation between the Helmholtz Association and the British Medical Research Council (MRC). The funded MARITH project will grow organoids from throat tonsil tissue to study the development of immunological memory in humans, while the ViReST project analyzes the sites of viral replication in respiratory infections and their impact on virus transmission.

20.01.2026

HZI Campus

News

The global skin care company Beiersdorf and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have entered into a long-term, exclusive partnership. In this collaboration they aim to investigate the role of the skin microbiome in maintaining healthy skin. The goal is to identify natural products produced by microorganisms on the skin that have a positive effect on skin balance. The project is based on extensive data sets on microorganisms that inhabit human skin.

13.01.2026

HIPS

HZI in the media

Fermentation und Aufreinigung, wurde ebenfalls am HZI in der Arbeitsgruppe von Prof. Marc Stadler, stellvertretender ...

06.02.2026

juraforum.de

... gehört habt: Phagen. Spoiler: Was am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) passiert, rettet im Zweifel Leben – ...

05.02.2026

Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland

Mattioli an: Am Helmholtz-Institut für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI), einem Standort des Braunschweiger Helmholtz-Zentrums für ...

04.02.2026

Universitätsklinikum Würzburg

MWK) und der VolkswagenStiftung hat das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig das Großprojekt HUMAN ...

03.02.2026

Regional Heute

Im Programm HUMAN am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig entschlüsselt die nächste Generation Forschender das ...

03.02.2026

VolkswagenStiftung

Quelle: Pressemitteilung

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung GmbH

03.02.2026

LaborPraxis

der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover und des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung wollen seltene rheumatische Erkrankungen des

02.02.2026

Niedersächsisches Landesjustizportal

MWK) und der VolkswagenStiftung hat das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig das Großprojekt HUMAN ...

02.02.2026

juraforum.de

... an anderen Forschungseinrichtungen gearbeitet, beispielsweise am Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland. Was sind die ...

02.02.2026

Deutschlandfunk

waren mehrere Forschungseinrichtungen beteiligt, darunter das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung . Die Ergebnisse erschienen im

02.02.2026

Münchner Merkur

Medicine (CiiM), which is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH). Using

29.01.2026

Medical Xpress

... stumpfen ab“, erklärt Marc Brönstrup vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig. Neue Antibiotika sind dringend ...

27.01.2026

Tvinfo.de

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