Newsroom

Portrait Rolf Müller
News
Award for outstanding achievements in natural product research
Every two years, the MDPI Sustainability Foundation presents the Tu Youyou Award for outstanding achievements in the fields of natural product and medicinal chemistry. This year, Rolf Müller is one of two researchers to receive the award for his work on developing new antibiotics based on microbial natural products. The prize was established in 2016 in honor of Chinese Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou and comes with a total prize money of 100,000 Swiss francs.
30.04.2025
HIPS
Electron microscope image of Fusobacteria.
News
An unexpected bacterial blocker
Fusobacteria, which are part of the oral microbiome, are suspected of playing a role in cancer progression. Scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) are working on innovative strategies to inhibit the spread of these bacteria. Antisense molecules, which could serve as programmable, targeted antibiotics, show great promise. In a recent study, a research team led by Jörg Vogel identified a compound that effectively halts the growth of five Fusobacterium species. The findings were published today in the journal mBio.
29.04.2025
HIRI
Dr. Arnaud Carpentier and Frauke Lange in the lab
News
Better insights into the hepatitis D virus
Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infects the liver and causes severe inflammation. According to WHO estimates, 12 million people worldwide are infected with HDV. Currently, there are only a few treatment options. A team of researchers from TWINCORE, the Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hannover, has developed a stem cell-based infection model for HDV and has used it to discover a possible target for an attack on the virus. They are now publishing their results in the scientific journal JHEP Reports. The TWINCORE is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School (MHH).
25.04.2025
TWINCORE
Dr. Julia Port and Dr. Marina Greweling-Pils
Interview
“The animal model must be suitable for the research question“
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are studying important mechanisms for the development of infectious diseases and how they can be treated or prevented. Some of the research questions can only be answered with the help of animal experiments. Dr. Julia Port, head of the junior research group “Laboratory of Transmission Immunology”, and Dr. Marina Greweling-Pils, head of the research group “Core Facility of Comparative Medicine” and Animal Welfare Officer at the HZI, explain in an interview to mark the World Day for Laboratory Animals 2025 why not all animal experiments can be replaced and why choosing the right animal model is crucial for reliable scientific results.
23.04.2025
HZI Campus
Teaser for the podcast episode with Kristin Metzdorf
News
HZI Podcast: Mini organs, big impact: How organoids are revolutionizing infection research
Organoids are a pioneering tool in biomedical research. These tiny, organ-like cell structures are grown from stem cells and open up completely new possibilities for studying infectious diseases in human tissue. In this episode of the HZI podcast InFact, Dr Kristin Metzdorf, Deputy Head of the Department “Innovative Organoid Research” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), explains why these “mini-organs” are ideal for studying the interplay of the host with viruses or bacteria.
23.04.2025
HZI Campus
Samples on dry ice.
News
Helmholtz Launches Task Force to Strengthen Prevention Research
The Helmholtz Association is pooling its commitment to prevention research with the launch of the Helmholtz Health Prevention Task Force. In a strategy paper published in Nature Medicine, the expert committee outlines initial concepts for more effectively integrating prevention into medical practice.
22.04.2025
HZI Campus
HIOH

HZI in the media

Seuchen aus dem KI-Labor: Kann Künstliche Intelligenz bereits Biowaffen bauen?

... beeindruckendes Ergebnis“, sagt Jakob Wirbel vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI). „Trotzdem schlafe ich momentan noch ...

15.10.2026
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Der Tagesspiegel
Impfung sinnvoll? Erst Erkältungen, dann Corona und Grippe – So schützen Sie sich

... Lange, Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Mitglied der Ständigen ...

14.10.2026
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DIE WELT
HMN 2026: How crawling motility may be far older than previously thought

also included Japanese microbiologists and collaborators from IST Austria and HZI Braunschweig (Germany), demonstrated that actin inhibitors

14.10.2026
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Health Medicine Network
Neue Empfehlungen der WHO zur COVID-19-Impfung

... in der Abteilung „Virale Immunologie“ am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), hat die WHO als externer ...

13.10.2026
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DeutschesGesundheitsPortal
New Hope for Fighting C. difficile Infections

parts of the microbiome. HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University. “We

12.10.2026
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Technology Networks
HZI erhält 724.000 Euro: Makrophagen sollen Lungenfibrose bekämpfen

... auch gezielte Forschungsmittel an das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI): Die Forschungsgruppe von Prof ...

12.10.2026
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Ad Hoc News
Fieser Magen-Darm-Erreger breitet sich immer stärker aus: Infektionen in England steigen drastisch

... nur in England vor. Laut Angaben des Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ist es dem Erreger ...

12.10.2026
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Frankfurter Rundschau online
EU fördert Entwicklung von Immunzelltherapie bei Lungenfibrose

... und Belgien. Aus Deutschland sind das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), das Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und ...

12.10.2026
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MTA Dialog
Metax brings genome-wide coverage into focus for sharper microbial profiling

tool called Metax, developed by researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and described in the

12.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org
Forscher entwickeln Wirkstoff gegen Pockenviren

... weitere Versuche herstellen.

 

Auch das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig ist beteiligt. Die ...

11.10.2026
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t-online.de
Warum Ballaststoffe nicht bei jedem gleich wirken

... unterschiedlichen Regionen unterscheidet. Der Forscher vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung konnte in seiner Studie zeigen, ...

10.10.2026
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rbb radioeins
Gut bacteria team up with diet to decide who rules the microbiome

Tawk, Youssef El Mouali and colleagues at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, together with collaborators at the University of

09.10.2026
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Bioengineer.org

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