North German Science Prize for the DEEP-DV research consortium

“Chronic viral infections and their long-term consequences are becoming increasingly significant in an ageing society and for vulnerable groups. By pooling scientific expertise and state-of-the-art technologies, we aim to gain a better understanding of persistent viral infections and develop new approaches to prevention and treatment,” says Prof. Nicole Fischer, co-spokesperson for the consortium, Director of the Institute for Molecular Virology and Tumour Virology at the UKE, and associate researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Virology (LIV).

“Major scientific advances rarely arise in isolation. They emerge where people bring their different strengths together and work collaboratively on an idea. That is precisely what DEEP-DV stands for. This award therefore recognizes not only our scientific results, but also a strong North German network that demonstrates what we can achieve together,” says Prof. Melanie Brinkmann, co-spokesperson for the consortium, professor at the Institute of Genetics at the TU Braunschweig and leader of the research group “Virology and Innate Immunity” at the HZI.

How DNA viruses evade the immune system

Many DNA viruses – including herpesviruses, polyomaviruses, papillomaviruses and adenoviruses – can remain in the body permanently. They remain largely inactive, but can reactivate under certain conditions. This can have serious consequences, particularly for people with weakened immune systems. The consortium, which has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2022, therefore focuses on the question of which molecular mechanisms enable DNA viruses to evade the immune system and remain in the body over the long term. Using modern genome, transcriptome and single-cell analyses, as well as innovative organoid models, DEEP-DV investigates how the virus and host cell interact with one another. The aim is to decipher the mechanisms of viral persistence and thereby lay the foundations for new approaches to prevention and treatment.

A key joint project of DEEP-DV is the development of a transcription atlas – a molecular map of DNA virus infections, which is to be made available to the international research community in future. It is intended to reveal which genes from the virus and the host cell are active at different stages of an infection. Another key focus is on epigenetic regulation. The researchers are investigating molecular switches that control gene activity and may contribute to the establishment of long-term viral reservoirs.

The consortium brings together leading expertise in infectious disease research from northern Germany across the sites of Hamburg, Braunschweig and Hanover: at the UKE and the LIV, molecular virology, viral genomics and systems biology are combined; TU Braunschweig and the HZI contribute specialist knowledge in the immune response and the molecular regulation of viral infections. The Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) and Hanover Medical School (MHH) complement the consortium by providing state-of-the-art research infrastructure for structural biology, imaging and integrative systems biology, as well as expertise in herpesvirus research. This has resulted in the creation of a closely networked research area along the Hamburg–Hannover–Braunschweig axis.