Newsroom

New findings on SARS-CoV-2: Jun Prof Mathias Munschauer with PhD student Sabina Ganskih in the lab.
News
A human factor
How SARS-CoV-2 initiates its replication process during infection is not yet fully understood. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg have now shown for the first time in the journal Cell that it is the human protein SND1 which works together with the viral protein NSP9 to stimulate the virus’s genetic replication program in infected cells. The scientists were surprised to find that NSP9 acts as the first building block in the production of new viral genetic material. The findings are significant for further basic research, but they could also lead to new avenues for the treatment of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses.
04.10.2023
HIRI
The Microbelix team at the award ceremony at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin ©WID/Gesine Born
News
MICROBELIX conquers the Saarland
The cooperation project MICROBELIX was jointly launched in spring 2023 by researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Naturlandstiftung Saar (NLS). Together, both institutions set out to compete in the citizen science contest Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt. After a public voting phase and the evaluation by a jury of experts, the MICROBELIX team could claim one of the three winning places and a 50,000 € prize. The award ceremony took place on September 28, 2023 at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.
28.09.2023
HIPS
Mosquito bites into human skin
News
Project "ChloroMalaria": New class of active ingredients against tropical disease
Saarbrücken, 21. September, 2023 - Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have again succeeded in acquiring funding under the BMBF-funded "GO-Bio Iinitial" program. The funding measure aims to identify promising research approaches in the life sciences, to exploit their innovation potential and to enable a seamless transfer into application. In the now funded project "ChloroMalaria-2", a novel class of natural products for the treatment and control of malaria will be further optimized.
21.09.2023
HIPS
Stephanie Pfänder, winner of this year's Jürgen Wehland Award.
News
Virologist Stephanie Pfänder receives Jürgen Wehland Award
Virologist and Jun Prof Stephanie Pfänder has been awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award 2023. A scientist in the Department of Molecular and Medical Virology at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, her research focuses on so-called emerging viruses, in particular coronaviruses. She received the award during a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Braunschweig, Anke Kaphammel, and guests from science and the alumni network of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). This is already the ninth time that the HZI has awarded the Jürgen Wehland Award, which is endowed with 5,000 euros, to honour young scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of infection research. The award ceremony took place at the HZI Forum event centre in Braunschweig.
15.09.2023
HZI Campus
Swabbing a leaf to collect vertebrate eDNA in the Greifswald Botanical Garden.
News
Detecting a vast diversity of rainforest animals by swabbing their DNA from leaves
In a new study, an international research team shows that the very cotton buds, which we all got to know so intimately during the COVID-19 pandemic, are a valuable tool to map biodiversity. This was the result of an international research team led by scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald, a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany. In essence, the researchers demonstrate that a vast multitude of birds and mammals can be detected by simply swabbing the DNA left behind by animals from leaves. They showcased the power of this approach in an ecosystem that hosts a ton of wildlife and where detecting animals has historically proven extremely challenging - the tropical rainforest. The study was published in Current Biology.
22.08.2023
HIOH
Photo of Prof Rolf Müller
News
Charles Thom Award 2023 for Rolf Müller
Prof Rolf Müller, the Founding and Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Professor of Pharmaceutical Bioltechnology at Saarland University, has been honoured with the prestigious Charles Thom Award. This award, given by the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB) and named after industrial microbiology and mycology pioneer Charles Thom, honours researchers for their exceptional merit in industrial microbiology and biotechnology, and their independence of thought and originality that added appreciably to scientific knowledge. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.
07.08.2023
HIPS

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
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
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
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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