Newsroom

Group photo with 11 people behind a 3D lettering “HZI 60”
News
On November 27, 2025, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) celebrated its 60th anniversary with a ceremony attended by cooperation partners, alumni, and guests from the worlds of science, politics, and industry. The research institution has been located on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd since 1965 and underwent several reorientations and renaming in the following decades. Among those offering their congratulations at the ceremony were Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies, the new President of the Helmholtz Association Prof. Martin Keller, and his predecessor and long-time companion of the HZI, Prof. Otmar D. Wiestler.
27.11.2025
Crystal structure of LecA and tolcapone.
News
When the hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa infects the body, it uses the sugar-binding protein LecA to attach itself to human cells, invade them, and form so-called biofilms. LecA thus plays a central role in the development and progression of infections with this pathogen, which is classified as particularly critical by the WHO. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now discovered that the approved Parkinson's drug tolcapone is able to specifically inhibit the activity of LecA. This finding allows the research team to develop new strategies for combating Pseudomonas infections. The researchers published their findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
26.11.2025
Group of people discussing research findings
News
Liver transplants often save the lives of seriously ill patients. However, there remains a risk that the body will reject the new organ. Doctors distinguish between acute and chronic rejection. While acute rejection is easy to diagnose and treat, chronic rejection causes lasting damage to the organ, is difficult to detect – currently only possible by examining tissue samples under a microscope – and is often overlooked. An international research team led by Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has now discovered clear molecular signatures for chronic rejection even after liver transplantation, which could aid diagnosis. After ten years of work, the findings have now been published in the Journal of Hepatology.
24.11.2025
Poster for the HZI in the Science Showcase from December 3-17; topic: "Mikrokosmos ganz groß"
News
To mark its 60th anniversary, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) is bringing its research to the heart of Braunschweig's city center from 3 to 17 December 2025. Under the motto “Bringing science to life where people spend their everyday lives ”, the HZI is presenting an interactive exhibition, hands-on stations, offers for school classes in cooperation with the BioS school laboratory and exciting after-work talks with experts from the HZI in the science showcase ("Wissenschaftsschaufenster") at Waisenhausdamm 8.
20.11.2025
Group picture of 6 people with an oversized cheque
News
A novel oral immunotherapy for cancer and a drug for treating chronic liver fibrosis: What many patients are hoping for is already a part of cutting-edge research in Lower Saxony. To ensure that such innovative ideas are translated into practical applications more quickly, the state of Lower Saxony is funding particularly promising projects: “Citrapeutics” from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and “RNA Healer” from the Hannover Medical School (MHH) will receive a total of nearly €2.5 million in funding from the Institute for Biomedical Translation (IBT) Lower Saxony to spur their innovations.
19.11.2025
banner of the WHO
News
In Germany, around 10,000 people die every year from antibiotic-resistant pathogens. At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), scientists are using artificial intelligence to find new antibiotics. In particular, they are looking for active substances that circumvent known resistance mechanisms. They are supported by citizen scientists sending them soil samples from various habitats. On the occasion of World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2025, the Helmholtz Association explains how the researchers are fighting against multi-resistant germs.
18.11.2025

HZI in the media

Nachwuchsgruppe „Nanoinfektionsbiologie“ am HZI. Diese Lücke soll das Projekt ONEMUC (Respiratorischer Mukus als One Health-Schnittstelle) ...

03.03.2026
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DeutschesGesundheitsPortal

Hochschule Hannover (MHH) und des Helmholz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) erforschen im Rahmen des Projektes StopPSC ( ...

03.03.2026
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Biermann Medizin

Mdisk, stock.adobe.com

 

Braunschweig – Das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung ( HZI ) in Braunschweig erhält für sein ...

03.03.2026
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

Josef Penninger, wissenschaftlicher Geschäftsführer des Helmholtz Zentrums für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig und Professor für

01.03.2026
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EUROPE SAYS

... Körperzellen. Damit tragen wir, wie das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) es treffend beschreibt, unseren „ganz ...

27.02.2026
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MSN Deutschland

Eine Impfung bringt das Immunsystem in Stellung, bevor der echte Erreger kommt. Erfahren Sie, wie ...

26.02.2026
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Apotheken Umschau

Livia V. Patrono, one of the senior authors at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Germany, said in a statement .

 

The research

25.02.2026
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IFL Science

says Livia Patrono, a veterinarian and disease ecologist at Helmholtz Institute for One Health in Greifswald, Germany. In 2012, an infected

24.02.2026
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Science News

... Dr. rer. nat. Jakob Wirbel vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (Braunschweig). Das Experiment aus Stanford sei ...

20.02.2026
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Deutsches Ärzteblatt

... unseres Immunsystems zu entziehen. Strukturbiologen des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) konnten nun mittels ...

18.02.2026
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Bionity.COM

of our immune system. Structural biologists at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) have now used cryo-electron microscopy to

16.02.2026
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Phys.org

Was es mit Mpox – früher Affenpocken genannt – auf sich hat, welche Symptome erkrankte Personen haben und wie man sich anstecken kann.

13.02.2026
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Apotheken Umschau

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