Newsroom

Portrait Prof Dr Fabian Leendertz
News
Regarding the current reporting on the origin of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, Prof. Fabian Leendertz, Director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), makes the following statement: “Based on the data published to date, it can be assumed that the transmission to humans took place via intermediate hosts (e.g. animal farms), as the contacts and risks are much higher there. This data has been published in various WHO reports and relevant peer-reviewed scientific publications. If there is now other and new data that supports an origin in the laboratory, then that is a different picture. We now have to wait until this data has been examined and reviewed by experts.”
13.03.2025
Portrait Natalia Torow
Interview
Dr Natalia Torow researches the immune system of newborns, seeking to understand how it responds to pathogens and vaccinations to better prevent early-life infections. Since 2024, she has led the junior research group "Early Life Immunity" at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, introducing a new research focus to the institution. In this interview, she discusses the neonatal immune system’s "silent mode," her goal of optimizing oral vaccines, and how she balances life as a researcher with family responsibilities.
06.03.2025
Podcast with Julia Port
News
In May 2022, alarming headlines emerged: A mysterious and deadly disease was spreading in Central Africa. Was this the beginning of a new pandemic? Today, we know that it was Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), a viral disease that has once again been declared a public health emergency. In this episode of the HZI podcast Infact, Dr Julia Port, head of the research group “Laboratory of Transmission Immunology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), discusses virus transmission and the role of the immune system. Her research bridges immunology, viral ecology, and global health.
27.02.2025
Fabian Leendertz with a group of students standing with their backs to the camera
News
Today, the Citizen Science project CiFly will enter its second year. This year, 9th and 10th grade students from the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium will again have the opportunity to get to know the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), but also the chance to explore the biobank of the University Medical Center and the Greifswald Zoo from the perspective of a researcher.
27.02.2025
[Translate to English:] 3D-kontrastierte Oberflächenstruktur von LasB (beige) mit einem Inhibitor der 3. Generation (dunkelblau), der Zink (grau) bindet.
News
Infectious keratitis blinds 1.5 million people worldwide every year. This severe eye disease is often caused by the hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which the World Health Organization considers one of the most dangerous bacteria of its kind. Now, scientists at Saarland University and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) have found a way to combat this resilient pathogen. Their study has been published in Advanced Science. The HIPS is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University.
24.02.2025
Cryo-electron microscopy image: The anti-CRISPR protein AcrVIB1 (magenta) attaches to the nuclease Cas13b (light gray)
News
The CRISPR-Cas gene scissors offer a wide range of potential applications, from the treatment of genetic diseases to antiviral therapies and diagnostics. However, to safely harness their powers, scientists are searching for mechanisms that can regulate or inhibit the systems’ activity. Enter the anti-CRISPR protein AcrVIB1, a promising inhibitor whose exact function has remained a mystery—until now. A research team from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg, in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, has uncovered the precise way AcrVIB1 works that expands the known means by which Acrs can shut down CRISPR. The results were published today in the journal Molecular Cell.
17.02.2025

HZI in the media

at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) in Würzburg has

10.09.2025
|
Phys.org

Leiter der Abteilung Chemische Biologie am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung in Braunschweig www.helmholtz-hzi.de ...

10.09.2025
|
BR Bayerischer Rundfunk

... at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg. The institute is a ...

09.09.2025
|
Analytik NEWS

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) und assoziiertes Mitglied des Helmholtz-Instituts für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI).

08.09.2025
|
Verband Deutscher Biologen e.V.

and manufactured the investigational product. The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) contributed through the

07.09.2025
|
ScienceDaily

and an associate member of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI).

 

Additional collaborators included Professors

04.09.2025
|
Phys.org

JMU) Würzburg und ein Forscher vom Helmholtz-Institut für RNA-basierte Infektionsforschung (HIRI) mit ihren Bewerbungen ...

04.09.2025
|
Open PR.de

Studie und Hersteller des Prüfpräparats. Das Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland (HIPS) war bei ...

03.09.2025
|
Biermann Medizin

Das undatierte Foto vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) zeigt die elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme von EHEC-Bakterien. © ...

02.09.2025
|
MSN Deutschland

Register now for the HZI-Newsletter