Lyme disease is the most common disease transmitted by tick bites in Germany. Whether a particular genetic predisposition plays a role in the development of the disease and which immunological processes in the body are involved is not yet sufficiently understood. A research team from the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), has now discovered a responsible gene variant and the immune parameters involved in cooperation with Radboud University Hospital (Radboundumc; Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum) and Amsterdam UMC (both in the Netherlands). The researchers have published their findings in two studies. These have been published in the journal Nature Communications and BMC Infectious Diseases.

Dr Katarina Barley, Member of the European Parliament, visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig on Tuesday, 30 April 2024. She was accompanied by Braunschweig's Mayor Dr Thorsten Kornblum and other party colleagues. During the visit, the management of the HZI, led by Prof. Josef Penninger and Christian Scherf, presented the current research program and the future strategy of the center. They also provided insights into the management of research data and the use of artificial intelligence.

Today, around 70 students from years 5 to 9 visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig to get an idea of what it is like to work in a modern research facility. They got a taste of the world of science and its administration in ten scientific and two administrative departments.