Pathogens and their molecular “weapons“, mechanisms of immune defence, new therapies and agents against bacteria and viruses: this year’s program of the „North Regio Day on Infection“, in short “NoRDI”, offers a multitude of topics dealing with infection research. The expert meeting at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig will take place already for the third time on Friday 7 September. During the symposium, the Jürgen Wehland Prize and the Seeliger Prize will be awarded.
“Infections are continually posing a substantial threat worldwide“, says Prof. Petra Dersch, microbiologist and head of the department “Molecular Infection Biology” at the HZI. “New pathogens emerge repeatedly and spread in epidemics around the world. Even the well-known pathogens are more and more difficult to combat as they have developed resistances against antibiotics.”
Therefore scientists want to learn as much as possible about bacteria, viruses and their survival strategies and exchange their knowledge at an international level. This is the aim of visitors and speakers of the NoRDI III: Experts from leading research institutes in the United States, Sweden and Germany report on the latest findings from their scientific fields on 7 September. Topics cover dangerous pathogens like legionella, the influenza virus and the tubercle bacteria as well as the correlation between infections and cancer.
On the occasion of the meeting, the HZI will award the Jürgen Wehland Prize to honour an outstanding junior scientist in memoriam of the former Scientific Director of the HZI. For the first time, also the Heinz-P. R.-Seeliger Foundation will award the Seeliger Prize as part of the NoRDI meeting. Both prizes are endowed with 5 000 Euros.
“The NoRDI meeting offers young scientists, especially from Northern Germany, the possibility to meet internationally renowned infection researchers face-to-face”, says Prof. Dirk Heinz, Scientific Director at the HZI. “We are proud to host such an event in Braunschweig.”
For application, program and further information, please visit:
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/nordi
NoRDI
The „North-Regio-Day“ on Infection“ (NoRDI) was established in 2010 as a central event and meeting place for scientists from universities and research institutes of the North Regions of Germany to exchange new research results, recent technical developments and to discuss important questions and future tasks in different fields of infection biology. NoRDI is coordinated by the HZI, the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Robert Koch Institute Wernigerode and the Twincore and is sponsored with funds from the Ministery for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the Robert Koch Institute. No participation fee is required.
The Jürgen Wehland Prize
The Jürgen Wehland Prize of the HZI, which is endowed with 5 000 Euros, is awarded every year on the occasion of the NoRDI meeting. It honours outstanding junior scientists focusing on infection biology. The prize is named after the former Scientific Director of the HZI, Prof. Jürgen Wehland.
The Seeliger Prize
This Prize is named after Prof. Dr. P. R. Seeliger, who held the chair in Hygiene and Microbiology at the University of Würzburg from 1965 to 1989. He was one of the internationally most known German microbiologists and is considered to be one of the pioneers in listeria research. In order to promote microbiological research, his widow Brigitte Seeliger-Wagner established the Seeliger Foundation in 1998.
