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Prof. Hortense Slevogt, research group leader at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and lead senior physician at Hannover Medical School (MHH), has been appointed to the Commission on Anti-Infectives, Resistance and Therapy (ART) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The ART Commission is an independent expert panel at the RKI that develops recommendations on the rational use of anti-infectives based on current scientific evidence. Its goal is to ensure the effective use of anti-infectives while limiting the emergence and spread of resistant pathogens.
15.07.2026
Photo of Leonard Knegendorf at an office workstation
News
Premature babies in the intensive care unit are particularly at risk of becoming infected with potentially pathogenic bacteria. A team of doctors in Hanover has now investigated which external factors play a role in this. They concluded that climatic conditions have an influence. The study was led and designed by Dr Leonard Knegendorf, a clinician-scientist at TWINCORE, the Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research. The findings were published in the scientific journal "Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control". TWINCORE is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH).
13.07.2026
Collage of portraits of Alexander Titz and Christian Sieben
News
New broad-spectrum antiviral agents are considered an important contribution to pandemic preparedness. A project led by Alexander Titz, Professor of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Saarland University (UdS), and Prof. Christian Sieben, research group leader at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), aims to develop such active compounds to fill a gap in pandemic prevention. To achieve this, the two researchers intend to block a step that occurs at the very beginning of viral infection: the binding of viruses to sugar molecules on the cell surface. The Volkswagen Foundation is now funding the development of such inhibitors with almost one million euros.
06.07.2026
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
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
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

HZI in the media

Technische Universität Braunschweig, das HZI – Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig sowie die Medizinische Hochschule ...

03.09.2026
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Regierungsportal M-V

... des Exzellenzclusters RESIST und des Helmholtz-Instituts für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI) in Würzburg haben nun ...

03.09.2026
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Bio M

international institutions including Trinity College Dublin, the Helmholtz Institute for One Health, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne,

02.09.2026
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EurekAlert!

... die präzise Zerspanung großer Bauteile. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und die Medizinische Hochschule ...

01.09.2026
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Regionalupdate.de

... zunehmen. Mit der Gründung des HIOH im Jahr 2021 als Standort des Braunschweiger Helmholtz-Zentrums für ...

31.08.2026
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Apotheken Umschau

... des neuen Forschungsgebäudes des Helmholtz-Instituts für One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald (Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifswald) gelegt

 

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28.08.2026
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Tagesschau

How Bacteria Develop Resistance to Antisense Antibiotics—and How Future Therapies Can Be Made Less Susceptible to It

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Bionity.COM

Infection Research; the RESIST Cluster of Excellence; and the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg has

27.08.2026
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Phys.org

... Arbeiten am Universitätsklinikum Köln und am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung startet nun die Entwicklung und GMP- ...

26.08.2026
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healthcare-in-europe.com

Infos: Herpesviren – Eine große Familie Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung www.helmholtz-hzi.de/wissen/wissensportal/ ...

25.08.2026
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SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz

An einer weiteren Station veranschaulicht das Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung, wie die Entwicklung neuer ...

25.08.2026
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MSN Deutschland

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