Newsroom

Collage of Portraits of Mark Brönstrup and Henning Jacobsen

News

The Falling Walls Foundation has nominated two projects from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) for the “Science Breakthrough of the Year 2026.” The award recognizes groundbreaking scientific advances that break down walls in science and have a global impact. The PROTON team led by Prof. Mark Brönstrup was nominated for the development of a novel antibiotic technology against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the ENDURIVAC team, represented by Dr. Henning Jacobsen, was recognized for the development of a vaccine platform that induces long-term immunity against respiratory pathogens.

03.07.2026

HZI Campus

Illustration of a heart organoid with a tubulin cytoskeleton (red), cell nuclei (blue), and cardiac muscle cells (green)

Story

Organoids might sound a bit like science fiction. Yet they have firmly established themselves as a reality in research. Offering a wide range of possibilities, they enable scientists to study organ functions, diseases, and treatment options. These mini-organs are also opening up entirely new avenues for research into infections.

30.06.2026

HZI Campus

A man and a woman wearing white lab coats are smiling at the camera while standing in a laboratory

News

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause severe lower respiratory tract infections, particularly in newborns and the elderly. How the virus manages to evade the immune system and what changes it triggers in infected cells had not yet been fully understood. Researchers from TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, have now, together with interdisciplinary colleagues from Würzburg, Regensburg, Braunschweig and Hannover, demonstrated how the virus interferes with the genetic programme of respiratory cells, inhibits the immune response and disrupts cell function. They have published these findings in the journal Science Advances.

22.06.2026

TWINCORE

HIRI

HZI Campus

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

HZI in the media

... in Wirkstoffdesign, Sprachmodellen und Einzelzellanalysen bei, das Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland ( HIPS ) ...

24.07.2026

Management & Krankenhaus

together the Fraunhofer ITMP in Hamburg, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Enamine Deutschland GmbH from

23.07.2026

Associated Press

such a drug candidate. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University. The

22.07.2026

Technology Networks

Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg, a site of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Center for

20.07.2026

Medical Xpress

Forschende des Helmholtz-Instituts für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI) in Würzburg, einem Standort des Braunschweiger Helmholtz- ...

20.07.2026

DeutschesGesundheitsPortal

Berit Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig , ergänzt: „Eine ...

17.07.2026

Biermann Medizin

Prof. Dr. Berit Lange gegenüber dem SMC . Sie ist Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum ...

15.07.2026

Apotheken Umschau

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

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