Data-driven Clinical Microbiology
Our Research
The junior research group “Data-driven Clinical Microbiology” aims to enhance the understanding of infections caused by hospital-associated bacterial pathogens. We leverage data collected during hospital stays, including reported or newly diagnosed pre-existing conditions, specific laboratory values, and information regarding the necessity and duration of intensive care.
Additionally, routine diagnoses of bacterial infections generate substantial data, such as pathogen growth characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles (antibiograms). Thanks to our close collaboration with the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology of MHH, we can utilize this data to derive prognoses and risk assessments for specific pathogens.
To classify bacteria based on their relatedness or to clarify the functions of certain genes, we analyze the entire bacterial genome through next-generation sequencing, enabling precise characterization. This process also produces vast amounts of data that help us better understand bacterial pathogens in the hospital context. Integration of clinical and diagnostic data with the genome information enables answering the following key questions: What enables bacteria to cause infections? How are they transmitted within the hospital environment? What characteristics do multidrug-resistant bacteria exhibit? What insights can be gained from whole genome sequencing for the treatment of these pathogens?
The hypotheses guiding our research projects are derived from Dr. Knegendorf's experience in diagnostics and the area of antimicrobial therapy consultation. These hypotheses are carefully formulated to address the current challenges in diagnostics and treatment, ensuring that our research is directly relevant to improving patient care and outcomes.
Our Research
The junior research group “Data-driven Clinical Microbiology” aims to enhance the understanding of infections caused by hospital-associated bacterial pathogens. We leverage data collected during hospital stays, including reported or newly diagnosed pre-existing conditions, specific laboratory values, and information regarding the necessity and duration of intensive care.
Additionally, routine diagnoses of bacterial infections generate substantial data, such as pathogen growth characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles (antibiograms). Thanks to our close collaboration with the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology of MHH, we can utilize this data to derive prognoses and risk assessments for specific pathogens.
To classify bacteria based on their relatedness or to clarify the functions of certain genes, we analyze the entire bacterial genome through next-generation sequencing, enabling precise characterization. This process also produces vast amounts of data that help us better understand bacterial pathogens in the hospital context. Integration of clinical and diagnostic data with the genome information enables answering the following key questions: What enables bacteria to cause infections? How are they transmitted within the hospital environment? What characteristics do multidrug-resistant bacteria exhibit? What insights can be gained from whole genome sequencing for the treatment of these pathogens?
The hypotheses guiding our research projects are derived from Dr. Knegendorf's experience in diagnostics and the area of antimicrobial therapy consultation. These hypotheses are carefully formulated to address the current challenges in diagnostics and treatment, ensuring that our research is directly relevant to improving patient care and outcomes.
Dr. med. Leonard Knegendorf
An increasingly diverse range of opportunities for data integration is emerging in infectious disease diagnostics, which we aim to translate into tangible benefits for patients.
Dr. Leonard Knegendorf (born 1994) has been a Junior Group Leader at TWINCORE since 2024 and is a board-certified specialist in Microbiology, Virology and Infection Epidemiology. Working clinically at the Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology, Hannover Medical School, he operates at the interface of patient care and data-driven infection research.
He studied medicine in Hannover (medical license 2020) and conducted his doctoral research in parallel at TWINCORE in the lab of Prof. Eike Steinmann on hepatitis E virus replication and genotype-specific differences. He further obtained an M.Sc. in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science in 2023. His work focuses on data-driven analysis of bacterial infections. His publications address epidemiological risk factors and genomic analyses of hospital-associated pathogens, including targeted sequencing studies in defined patient populations such as bloodstream infections and intensive care settings, with a growing focus on integrating large-scale clinical and genomic data for data-driven, untargeted approaches.
Selected Publications
Böhne, C., Baier, C., Erdmann, J., Ebadi, E., Zirkler, C., Lindenberg, M., Schlüter, D., Pirr, S., Peter, C., Bohnhorst, B., & Knegendorf, L. (2026). Prospective genomic and epidemiologic surveillance of Klebsiella pneumoniae in a tertiary NICU. Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 15(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-026-01753-4
Knegendorf, L., Sommer, A., Baier, C., Weber, R. E., Fischer, M. A., Werner, G., Ziesing, S., & Schlüter, D. (2026). Genomic epidemiology of Enterococcus faecium bloodstream infections during a VanB-type VRE peak reveals an oligoclonal scenario: an observational study at a German university hospital (2017-2022). Journal of clinical microbiology, 64(4), e0104425. https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.01044-25
Rubalskii, E., Sedlacek, L., Hegermann, J., Knegendorf, L., Salmoukas, C., Mueller, C., Schwerk, N., Schlüter, D., Ruhparwar, A., Kuehn, C., & Ruemke, S. (2025). Characterization and genome analysis of the novel virulent Burkholderia phage Bm1, which is active against pan-drug-resistant Burkholderia multivorans. Archives of virology, 170(5), 106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-025-06282-w
Vital, M., Woltemate, S., Schlüter, D., Krezdorn, N., Dieck, T., Dastagir, K., Bange, F. C., Ebadi, E., Vogt, P. M., Knegendorf, L., & Baier, C. (2024). Molecular epidemiology, microbiological features and infection control strategies for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a German burn and plastic surgery center (2020-2022). Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 13(1), 99. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-024-01459-5
Böhne, C., Knegendorf, L., Schwab, F., Ebadi, E., Bange, F. C., Vital, M., Schlüter, D., Hansen, G., Pirr, S., Peter, C., Bohnhorst, B., & Baier, C. (2022). Epidemiology and infection control of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a German tertiary neonatal intensive and intermediate care unit: A retrospective study (2013-2020). PloS one, 17(9), e0275087. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275087
Publications
A complete list of publications can be found here.
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