Newsroom

Portrait Dr. Felix Deschner and Dr. Max Kellner with their prizes
News
PhD students play a crucial role in the advancement of knowledge and technologies that shape our world. At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and its locations, more than 300 doctoral students are working on solving important questions in infection research. Two HZI scientists have now been honored for their successful doctoral theses. Dr. Felix Deschner, postdoc at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), was awarded the Eduard Martin Prize of Saarland University. HZI junior research group leader Dr. Max Kellner received the PhD Award of the Vienna BioCenter for his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna.
17.11.2025
[Translate to English:] Rasterelektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme einer Escherichia coli-Zelle (rot), die von Bakteriophagen (grün) infiziert wird.
Story
Since the middle of the 20th century, antibiotics have been among the greatest successes in medicine. They save millions of lives every year, prevent complications during operations and make many therapies possible in the first place. But their success has a downside: More and more bacteria are developing strategies to evade the attacks of these drugs. Resistant germs are spreading around the globe, against which hardly any drugs are effective. With the annual World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW) from 18 to 24 November, the World Health Organization reminds us how important it is to use antibiotics carefully and how urgently new approaches are needed to continue fighting infections effectively in the future. Almost 20 research groups in the research topic “Novel Anti-Infectives” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are developing new drugs against infectious diseases.
17.11.2025
Researchers from the HZI
News
The company Clarivate Analytics publishes an annual list of “Highly-cited Researchers” to recognize scientists whose publications have had a particularly large impact on their field. In 2025, three researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) are once again among the honorees: bioinformatician Prof. Andreas Keller, molecular biologist Dr. Max Kellner and biotechnologist Prof. Marc Stadler were recognized for their widely cited research and the significant contribution they have made to their respective disciplines.
12.11.2025
 Fabian Leendertz with certificate
News
During the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg , Fabian Leendertz, founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), was inducted as a full member. The ceremony took place on 16 October 2025 in Hamburg. Five new members joined the interdisciplinary network, which currently comprises 145 leading scientists from northern Germany. HIOH is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI).
11.11.2025
Dr. Lina Herhaus heads the junior research group “Immune Signalling” at the HZI.
News
Scientist Dr. Lina Herhaus, who heads the junior research group “Immune Signaling” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), will receive one of the coveted Exploration Grants from the Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung starting in March 2026. This program offers outstanding basic researchers in biology, chemistry and medicine the opportunity to explore new directions in research. In addition, Herhaus received the Walther Flemming Award from the German Society of Cell Biology (DGZ) and ibidi GmbH on October 27, 2025. The prize is endowed with 3,000 euros and is awarded to experienced postdoctoral researchers and young scientists for outstanding achievements in cell biology.
29.10.2025
Portrait Caroline Klett-Tammen
Interview
Poliomyelitis, also known as polio, is a contagious disease caused by the poliovirus. Thanks to the development of effective vaccines, the poliovirus has been largely eradicated and was endemic in only two countries in 2024. However, until the virus is eradicated worldwide, vaccination protection is important in Germany as well, as the virus could be reintroduced at any time. Epidemiologists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have now shown that many people do not know their vaccination status and cannot find it on their vaccination record. In an interview on the occasion of World Polio Day on October 24, Dr. Carolina Klett-Tammen, deputy head of Clinical Epidemiology in the department “Epidemiology” at the HZI, explains the study results, which have been published in the journal BMC Public Health.
23.10.2025

HZI in the media

... validierte Daten der MHH und des Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), die zeitnah in Fachjournalen veröffentlichet ...

19.01.2026
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wallstreet:online

Lange , Kommissarische Leiterin der Abteilung Epidemiologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), Braunschweig, gegenüber dem

16.01.2026
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Medscape

... maßgeblich vorantreiben. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Braunschweiger Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Utah State ...

16.01.2026
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IT Boltwise

... Deutschen Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung und am Max-Delbrück-Centrum für ...

16.01.2026
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Handelsblatt

Das interdisziplinäre Team aus TWINCORE , Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) und der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover ( ...

15.01.2026
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Arzt & Wirtschaft

Manche fordern Placebo-kontrollierte Vergleiche von Geimpften und Ungeimpften, um die Sicherheit der Masern-Impfung zu testen. ...

15.01.2026
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BR Bayerischer Rundfunk

... können wir Pandemien früh erkennen? Forschende des Helmholtz‑Instituts für One Health zeigen, warum Mensch, ...

13.01.2026
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Deutsche Welle

... gewinnbringend eingesetzt werden. Das HIPS ist ein Standort des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Zusammenarbeit ...

13.01.2026
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juraforum.de

... nach SARS-CoV-2, sagt Fabian Leendertz. Er ist Direktor des Helmholtz-Instituts für One Health (HIOH) in ...

13.01.2026
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Deutsche Welle

from the University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), and University of Münster. The

12.01.2026
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MSN.com

... des Universitätsklinikums Würzburg (UKW), des Helmholtz-Instituts für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI) und der Universität ...

12.01.2026
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Biermann Medizin

... potential pandemics early on? Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health are showing why ...

12.01.2026
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Deutsche Welle

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