Newsroom

Teaser for the podcast with Andreas Keller

News

At first glance, biology and computer science seem like opposites. But wherever enormous amounts of data are generated from research, progress is hardly possible without digital methods. Bioinformatician Prof. Andreas Keller therefore relies on artificial intelligence. He heads the department “Clinical Bioinformatics” at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS). In this episode of InFact, he talks about how AI can help us understand how beneficial and harmful bacteria communicate with each other in our bodies, how to predict when infections will cause long-term effects, and how this can be used to develop new drugs against dangerous pathogens.

16.12.2025

HIPS

News

Biphenomycins, natural products derived from bacteria, show excellent antimicrobial activity, but have long remained out of reach for drug development. The main obstacle was the limited understanding of how these compounds are produced by their microbial hosts. A research team led by Tobias Gulder, department head at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), has now deciphered the biosynthetic pathway of the biphenomycins, establishing the foundation for their pharmaceutical advancement. The team published its findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

11.12.2025

HIPS

Maximilian Order awarded to HIRI Director Jörg Vogel by Marcus Söder

News

On December 3, Jörg Vogel, Director of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research, was honored with the Maximilian Order for Science and Art at a ceremony held in the Antiquarium of the Munich Residence. He received the distinction from Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder, who referred to the Free State’s highest honor as the ‘Bavarian Nobel Prize’. HIRI is site of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU).

04.12.2025

HIRI

Story

On 18–20 November 2025, the Central African Republic (CAR) celebrated its first-ever Dzanga-Sangha Day (La Journée des Aires Protégées de Dzanga-Sangha). Conceived as a three-day national event, the celebration aimed to shine a spotlight on the country’s unique natural heritage and raise awareness of the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA)—an extraordinary conservation landscape in CAR’s remote southwest. Held under the theme “Reconciling Nature, Health and Development”, the event underscored how biodiversity protection, community wellbeing, and scientific research intersect in DSPA. It was co-organized by the Government of the Central African Republic in partnership with WWF and the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH).

03.12.2025

HIOH

Group photo with 11 people behind a 3D lettering “HZI 60”

News

On November 27, 2025, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) celebrated its 60th anniversary with a ceremony attended by cooperation partners, alumni, and guests from the worlds of science, politics, and industry. The research institution has been located on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd since 1965 and underwent several reorientations and renaming in the following decades. Among those offering their congratulations at the ceremony were Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies, the new President of the Helmholtz Association Prof. Martin Keller, and his predecessor and long-time companion of the HZI, Prof. Otmar D. Wiestler.

27.11.2025

HZI Campus

Crystal structure of LecA and tolcapone.

News

When the hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa infects the body, it uses the sugar-binding protein LecA to attach itself to human cells, invade them, and form so-called biofilms. LecA thus plays a central role in the development and progression of infections with this pathogen, which is classified as particularly critical by the WHO. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now discovered that the approved Parkinson's drug tolcapone is able to specifically inhibit the activity of LecA. This finding allows the research team to develop new strategies for combating Pseudomonas infections. The researchers published their findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

26.11.2025

HIPS

HZI in the media

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

entered an exclusive research partnership with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research’s HIPS institute to investigate how the skin

22.01.2026

Simply Wall St News

... der MHH, des TWINCORE Hannover und des Helmholtz-Instituts für Infektionsforschung (HZI). Ihre wissenschaftliche Expertise ...

21.01.2026

hannover.de

... auch Teil des Ecoversity-Programms der Technischen Universität Braunschweig.

GN De hlth| Source | domain www.helmholtz-hzi.

20.01.2026

Die heutigen Nachrichten

... validierte Daten der MHH und des Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), die zeitnah in Fachjournalen veröffentlichet ...

19.01.2026

wallstreet:online

institutions, including Hannover Medical School and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany, the University of Duisburg Essen

18.01.2026

Thailandmedical

Lange , Kommissarische Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), Braunschweig, gegenüber dem

16.01.2026

Medscape

... maßgeblich vorantreiben. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Braunschweiger Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Utah State ...

16.01.2026

IT Boltwise

... Deutschen Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung und am Max-Delbrück-Centrum für ...

16.01.2026

Handelsblatt

Das interdisziplinäre Team aus TWINCORE , Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover ( ...

15.01.2026

Arzt & Wirtschaft

Manche fordern Placebo-kontrollierte Vergleiche von Geimpften und Ungeimpften, um die Sicherheit der Masern-Impfung zu testen. ...

15.01.2026

BR Bayerischer Rundfunk

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