SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19
Since the end of 2019, a novel virus that can cause respiratory diseases and pneumonia has been spreading worldwide. The pathogen SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the coronavirus family and is closely related to the SARS virus, which caused a pandemic in 2002. Here we will keep you informed about current developments in research and provide answers to the most important questions.
Coronavirus

The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that includes a series of very different pathogens. These viruses usually infect mammals, rodents, and birds, but only few coronaviruses adapted to humans. They did this with great success: About one third of all typical "common colds" and some cases of diarrhoea as well are caused by these RNA Viruses, which are the largest of their kind. [more]
Interview
Dr Peggy Riese, scientist in the Department “Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology” at HZI, talks in an interview about current developments in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research. [more]
Support
With your donation to the HZI you directly support innovative coronavirus research projects that contribute to solutions for the containment of the virus and the identification of possible therapies. [more]
Involved research groups
- Innate Immunity and Infection- Prof. Dr. Andrea Kröger
- Computational Biology for Infection Research - Prof. Dr. Alice McHardy
- Chemical Biology- Prof. Dr. Mark Brönstrup
- Single-cell Analysis- Dr. Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba
- Epidemiology- Dr. Berit Lange
- Experimental Infection Research- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kalinke
- Immune Regulation- Prof. Dunja Bruder
- Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory- Dr. Kai Schulze
- Long non-coding RNA and Infection Biology- Jun. Prof. Dr. Mathias Munschauer
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration- Prof. Dr. Martin Korte
- Recoding Mechanisms in Infections- Jun. Prof. Dr. Neva Caliskan
- RNA Biology of bacterial infections- Prof. Jörg Vogel
- Systems Immunology- Prof. Dr. Michael Meyer-Hermann
- Vaccinology and applied Microbiology- Prof. Dr. Carlos A. Guzmán
- Viral Immunology- Prof. Dr. Dr. Luka Cicin-Sain
- Virology and Innate Immunity- Prof. Dr. Melanie Brinkmann