Newsroom

Salmonella on a cell
News
Bacterial RNAs have shorter lifetimes than expected
The decay of ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a crucial mechanism for controlling gene expression in response to environmental stresses. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have developed a statistical approach that allows a more accurate prediction of RNA half-lives in bacteria.
28.03.2024
HIRI
Bacteria of the genus Bacteroides
News
Gut microbiota and antibiotics: Missing puzzle piece discovered
The intricacies of how intestinal bacteria adapt to their environment have yet to be fully explored. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg and the University of California, Berkeley, USA, have now successfully closed a gap in this knowledge: They have identified a small ribonucleic acid (sRNA) that affects the susceptibility of the gut pathogen Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron to specific antibiotics.
25.03.2024
HIRI
Portrait Berit Lange
News
Berit Lange becomes a member of the Federal Chancellor's new Expert Council
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz today welcomed the members of the new Expert Council on Health and Resilience to the inaugural meeting at the Federal Chancellery. Among the members is Dr. Berit Lange, Acting Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Head of Clinical Epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig.
18.03.2024
HZI Campus
Christian Scherf, Josef Penninger, Berit Lange, Christos Pantazis
News
Helmholtz “Research Breakfast“ at the Bundestag
On March 14, 2024, representatives of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Helmholtz Association met with around 30 members of the Bundestag in Berlin. Prof. Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the HZI, and Dr. Berit Lange, Acting Head of the HZI Department of Epidemiology, presented the current state of research on pandemic resilience at a parliamentary breakfast entitled "Mastering pandemics: Focus on resilience, innovation and cutting-edge international research". The patron of the event was Dr. Christos Pantazis, Member of the German Bundestag.
15.03.2024
HZI Campus
Electron micrograph of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
News
New starting point discovered in the fight against Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for life-threatening infections that are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Researchers from TWINCORE, the Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hannover, and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have now been able to show that an enzyme controls virulence through modification of tRNAs.
14.03.2024
HZI Campus
TWINCORE
Portrait Tobias Welte
News
MHH Professor Tobias Welte passed away
On March 10, 2024, Prof. Tobias Welte, Director of the Clinic for Pneumology and Infectiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH), passed away unexpectedly at the age of 64. Welte was a long-standing close cooperation partner in joint research projects between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the MHH, which resulted in numerous publications in renowned research journals.
12.03.2024
HZI Campus
TWINCORE
CiiM

HZI in the media

Professors Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller recognised with Tu Youyou Award

Dr. Rolf Müller, Managing Director of Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), were both named laureates of the

22.12.2025
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Research Information
Von KI-Urteil bis E-Lkw: Diese 8 Tech-Meldungen aus 2025 lassen hoffen

... ein Interview mit Josef Penninger geführt . Er ist wissenschaftlicher Geschäftsführer des Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in ...

21.12.2025
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T3N
Antibiotikaresistenzen: KI-Modelle bei Vorhersage oft zu optimistisch

Institut für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI), einem Standort des Braunschweiger Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in ...

19.12.2025
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healthcare-in-europe.com
Das Comeback der Biphenomycine

Biosyntheseweg aufzuklären. Das HIPS ist ein Standort des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI) in Zusammenarbeit mit ...

18.12.2025
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Bionity.COM
Fachleute fordern Strategie für Life Sciences

Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten fehlen.

 

Josef Penninger, wissenschaftlicher Geschäftsführer des Helmholtz-Zentrums für Infektionsforschung (HZI)

16.12.2025
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MedMedia
Indo-German study links gut bacteria imbalance to memory, cognitive decline

Korte from the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI).

 

The research was carried out as

12.12.2025
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The Hindu
Pharmazie: Neuer Arzneistoff-Kandidat gegen resistente Tuberkulose-Erreger

... des Leibniz Lungenzentrums Borstel, des Helmholtz-Instituts für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland sowie weiterer wissenschaftlicher ...

12.12.2025
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Bionity.COM
Changemaker*innen in der Verwaltung – TU Braunschweig

Einrichtungen des regionalen Forschungsökosystems – darunter das Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI), das Deutsche Zentrum für

12.12.2025
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EUROPE SAYS
Gut microbial imbalance can impact memory, says study

Korte of the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). The findings emerged from the

12.12.2025
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The New Indian Express
Nachgefragt: Dr. Laura Jenniches im Interview

Universität Würzburg. Seit 2018: Postdoc am Helmholtz-Institut für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI), Entwicklung Bayes’scher ...

12.12.2025
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BIOspektrum
Enzyme Blocker Could Tackle Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Center Borstel - Leibniz Lung Center, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland and other scientific institutions in

11.12.2025
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Technology Networks
Six new members of the ERC Scientific Council and three new Vice Presidents

von Humboldt professor, head of department at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig and full professor at the Hannover

10.12.2025
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European Research Council

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