Newsroom

Symbolic image of HI viruses
News
A team of scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the University of Regensburg has unveiled insights into how HIV-1, the virus responsible for AIDS, skillfully hijacks cellular machinery for its own survival. By dissecting the molecular interplay between the virus and its host, the researchers identified novel strategies that HIV-1 employs to ensure its replication while suppressing the host’s cellular defenses. The study was published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
16.01.2025
3D model of a protein and an inhibitor
News
Antibiotics are a double-edged sword – they should be as toxic as possible to pathogenic bacteria while being harmless to the cells of the human body. An international research team led by the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now developed drug candidates that achieve precisely that. The new molecules target a metabolic pathway that only occurs in bacterial cells, thus sparing human cells. The team published its results in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
13.01.2025
Atomic model of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron RbpB protein with individual B. thetaiotaomicron bacteria in the background
News
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) in Würzburg have identified a protein and a group of small ribonucleic acids (sRNAs) in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, which regulate sugar metabolism. These discoveries shed light on how this gut microbe adapts to varying nutritional conditions. The findings deepen our understanding of this bacterium's role in the human gut and may pave the way for new therapeutic strategies to promote health through the microbiota. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
09.01.2025
Vaccination on the upper arm.
News
Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have developed a promising new vaccine technology. Their studies to date show that just one dose of vaccine leads to effective and long-lasting immune protection. The basis of this so-called MCMV vaccine vector technology is the mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV). It acts as a carrier virus that introduces selected antigens of a pathogen to be vaccinated against into the body. In the follow-up project VIVA-VEK-2, which was launched at the HZI at the beginning of January, a proof-of-concept vaccine candidate against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is now to be produced and tested for efficacy and tolerability. The researchers believe that with the new vaccine technology, one vaccine dose could possibly even provide lifelong protection. The project is funded by the GO-Bio initial program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) over two years with a funding volume of one million euros.
07.01.2025
The Horizon Europe project DEFENDER is exploring new targets for antiviral therapies
News
The interdisciplinary project DEFENDER is developing innovative approaches to combat (re-)emerging viruses. The project, coordinated by the Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV), is being funded with around eight 9.6 million euros as part of Horizon Europe. Almost 700,000 euros of these will go to Prof. Mark Brönstrup, a researcher at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
06.01.2025
Isolated bacteria
News
A research team from the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) has investigated the distribution and characteristics of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the Baltic Sea. The findings prove that resistant pathogens occur not only in samples taken from clinical settings but also from the environment. The BMBF-funded study also underlines the importance of an integrated strategy for combatting multidrug resistance that takes equal account of environmental and health protection. The results were published recently in the scientific journal npj Clean Water.
23.12.2024

HZI in the media

... an der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover und am Helmholtz Institut für Infektionen in Braunschweig die Wirkung ...

28.03.2026
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Hamburger Abendblatt

led by wildlife veterinarian Fabian Leendertz, who heads the Helmholtz Institute for One Health, took hundreds of samples from meat and

27.03.2026
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Science.org

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

 

After infection with SARS-CoV-2, up to 10 percent of people in Germany go on to develop Long COVID.

26.03.2026
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Mirage.News

... von verschiedenen Hörnchen, wie jüngste Erkenntnisse des Helmholtz Instituts für One Health in Greifswald kürzlich ...

26.03.2026
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Tagesschau

zur Bekämpfung der Tuberkulose und des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung erstellt. Zahlreiche weitere Fachgesellschaften und

24.03.2026
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

... fünf Teams durch, darunter PROTON vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung. Dieses entwickelt einen neuartigen Wirkstoff gegen ...

22.03.2026
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Ad Hoc News

Vor allem durch die Coronapandemie sind Forschende des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung in den vergangenen Jahren bundesweit bekannt geworden. Auf welche Themen die Einrichtung für die Zukunft setzt.

20.03.2026
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

... beschäftigt sich daneben unter dem Dach des Helmholtz Institutes für Pharmazeu­tische Forschung Saarland (HIPS) ...

18.03.2026
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Biermann Medizin

... Ausbau von Produktions- und Vermarktungskapazitäten.

 

Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung HZI begrüßt den Erhalt der GMP- ...

18.03.2026
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Bionity.COM

... der Universität zu Lübeck, des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Braunschweig, der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover ...

17.03.2026
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Biermann Medizin

Vorsorge Das Coronavirus hält die Welt nicht mehr in Atem. Doch was, wenn ein ­anderer gefährlicher Erreger auftaucht? So wappnet sich unser Gesundheitssystem

16.03.2026
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Apotheken Umschau

... stumpfen ab“, erklärt Marc Brönstrup vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig. Neue Antibiotika sind dringend ...

14.03.2026
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ARD Mediathek

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