Our researchers are fighting the coronavirus pandemic with innovative approaches. With your donation you can support them in developing drugs and vaccines against the virus or in deciphering the mechanisms of disease development and progression. Here you can find out all about donation opportunities.
Learn more about how the HZI, with its translational focus, will help to facilitate a faster and more targeted approach when it comes to fighting and preventing existing, emerging or recurring infectious diseases.
Here you can find out more about the scientific results of the HZI in the research topics ”Bacterial and Viral Pathogens”, “Immune Response and Interventions” and “Anti-Infectives”.
Around 900 employees in research, administration and infrastructure, and about 220 visiting scientists from 40 different countries are employed at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research. To ensure top quality research we need top quality employees. Your creativity and innovative capabilities are the basis for the long-term success of our work. That's why we undertake a great deal to attract the best people to us. Learn more about this.
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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. We have compiled more information about the coronaviruses for you.
With the pathogen SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus that can cause respiratory diseases and pneumonia has been spreading worldwide since the end of 2019. Here we will keep you informed about current developments in research and provide answers to the most important questions.
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2022-07-12
The rapid global spread of the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the importance of having effective drugs available to treat viral diseases. While the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been mitigated by the rapid development of effective vaccines, this option does not yet exist for many other viruses. In order to research substances for the treatment of such viruses and to develop them for…
2022-07-11
Over the next three years, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research will provide funding for the establishment of a network of German female researchers of infectious diseases with its Innovative Women in Focus program. RWTH Professor Gabriele Pradel from the Department of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology at the Institute of Biology 2 is responsible for the…
2022-07-07
"Itaconic acid has two isomers, natural relatives that differ only slightly in chemical structure, mesaconic and citraconic acid," says PD Dr. Frank Pessler, head of the working group "Biomarkers for Infectious Diseases" at the Institute for Experimental Infection Research at TWINCORE - Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hannover, a joint facility of…
2022-07-04
”When a hazardous pathogen with epidemic or even pandemic potential emerges, it is most important to react as quickly as possible,” says Prof Michael Meyer-Hermann, head of the Department of Systems Immunology at the HZI. ”We are developing LOKI as an early warning software that will support health authorities in the future in detecting local outbreaks and modelling the…
2022-06-22
Hepatitis D is caused by coinfection of hepatitis B patients with the hepatitis D virus (HDV). Up to 20 Million individuals are infected with HDV worldwide including about 250.000 patients in the European Union. There is very limited knowledge on disease pathophysiology and host-virus interactions explaining the large interindividual variability in the course of hepatitis D. It is…