Newsroom

Marco Galardini (left) and Maureen Obara in the lab.
News
Certain changes in the genetic material of pathogens can alter their ability to infect human cells or protect them better from defense by the immune system. Researchers were able to observe this effect particularly impressive in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. During the coronavirus pandemic, an interdisciplinary team at TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hanover, investigated the interaction between pairs of mutations that might have triggered several of these changes in infectivity and immune escape. They have now published their findings in the journal Genome Biology. The TWINCORE is a joint institution of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School (MHH).
23.08.2024
3D illustration of the cytomegalovirus
News
The protective effect of established COVID-19 vaccines is initially very robust, but wanes relatively quickly. This limitation imposes a need for periodic booster shots, which drives vaccine hesitation. In contrast, an innovative vector vaccine developed at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) presents a compelling alternative. It elicits prolonged immune response in animal models, and maintains its efficacy over extended time. The concept employs an animal cytomegalovirus (MCMV; murine cytomegalovirus) as the vector that expresses and delivers the coronavirus spike protein information. Crucially, this vector poses no threat to humans, enhancing the vaccine's safety profile.
20.08.2024
Preview of sCIRCLE
News
Modern cutting-edge research generates enormous amounts of data, presenting scientists with the challenge of visualizing and analyzing it. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) have developed a tool for visualizing large data sets. The sCIRCLE tool allows users to explore single-cell analysis data in an interactive and user-friendly way. Their results have been published in the journal NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics.
30.07.2024
3D culture of hair follicles with three hairs.
News
Hair follicle infections are often difficult to treat because bacteria settle in the gap between hair and skin, where it is difficult for active substances to reach them. In order to investigate this scenario more closely in the laboratory, researchers from the Department of Drug Delivery Across Biological Barriers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have now developed a model with human hair follicles embedded in a matrix produced using 3D printing. In the future, this model can be used to test the effectiveness of new drug candidates against corresponding pathogens directly on human follicles. The team has published their results in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.
29.07.2024
Graphical representation of the world
News
In the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of government-ordered measures to contain the pandemic, such as regular testing and the wearing of medical masks, was repeatedly called into question. Through a large-scale analysis of viral genome data, a working group led by DZIF researcher Prof Alice McHardy at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) has now discovered that significantly fewer new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus entered Germany in connection with the introduction of certain measures such as the wearing of medical masks and free access to rapid antigen tests.
18.07.2024
Lina Herhaus (top left), Martin Jahn (top right), Milan Gerovac (bottom left) and Natalia Torow (bottom right) are MICROSTAR junior research group leaders at HZI.
News
At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, four young scientists will start their work in late summer and fall 2024 to investigate resilience mechanisms of microbes and humans. As part of the MICROSTAR (Microbial Stargazing) project, Lina Herhaus, Martin Jahn, Milan Gerovac and Natalia Torow were recruited in a highly competitive process. Over an initial period of five years, their research groups will investigate cutting edge issues related to signal transmission in infections, the intestinal microbiome, bacteriophages and the development of immunity.
17.07.2024

HZI in the media

... group within the Microstar Program at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and a ...

31.03.2026
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Informations Dienst Wissenschaft

... 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

Gesellschaft. Apropos Standort Braunschweig: Auch das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung HZI, in dessen Räumlichkeiten auf dem ...

27.03.2026
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transkript

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

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