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Actinobacteria Metabolic Engineering
The growing resistance towards established antibiotics presents a serious problem especially with infectious diseases. The development of new drugs is mainly based on known molecules and mechanisms, which allows bacteria to assimilate rapidly. Hence, scientists are looking for novel drugs. At the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) , a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) at Braunschweig, the researchers develop new pathways, by which they force actinomycetes to produce hitherto unknown compounds.
Recoding Mechanisms in Infections
Many important viruses such as Ebola, Influenza, and HIV use RNA as genetic material. These viruses have an extremely small genome size compared to the eukaryotic host genomes, and therefore employ various alternative translation strategies such as stop codon read through, leaky scanning, non-IRES initiation and ribosome frameshifting to express their genes by the host translation machinery. Interestingly, the same strategies are also used in the host’s cellular gene expression. With our research we aim to understand how translational recoding changes the rules of standard decoding, allows simultaneous encoding of multiple proteins from the same mRNA and regulates gene expression in time and space. This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI).
Drug Design and Optimization
In order to combat the increasing number of resistant pathogens, the development of new anti-infective drugs is an important goal for pharmaceutical research. Efficient medications with novel modes-of-action to fight infectious diseases are urgently needed. Below, you may read more about the design, identification and optimisation of new drug candidates. This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) .
Drug Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is instrumental in all areas of molecular biology, from analysis of genome sequences towards predicting three-dimensional structure of drug-target complexes. We apply cutting-edge bioinformatics and computer science techniques for discovery of novel resistance mechanisms and predicting mode-of-action of bioactive compounds. This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
Microbial Natural Products
Even today efficient drugs against many diseases are missing but finding new active substances is very complex. Support comes out of the ground. Myxobacteria are soil-living microorganisms that produce many active agents. Here you learn more about the search for new compounds with biological activity. This department is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) .
Genome Mining for Secondary Metabolites
The misuse of antibiotics on a global scale has led to an ever-growing antibiotic resistance crisis. Novel antimicrobial compounds are urgently needed. Microorganisms are considered to be one of the most prolific sources for natural product drugs including antibiotics. Developing novel genome mining approaches to harness the potential of the underexplored biosynthetic gene pathways and discover novel microbial natural products, is a potential antibiotic resistance crisis mitigation path. This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
Clinical Bioinformatics
The Department of Clinical Bioinformatics group is concerned with analyzing molecular information using computer-based methods such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, or other algorithms. Its focus lies on spatially and temporally resolved processes to help understand how bacteria, as producers of natural products, interact with humans and can trigger or even protect against disease. This department is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) .
Human-Microbe Systems Bioinformatics
The human body encompasses fewer human cells than microbes. They constantly interact with each other and the host and greatly affect an individual's health and well-being. In our group, we develop and apply state-of-the-art bioinformatics software to study the human-microbe systems and aim to discover natural products involved in communication between the two realms. This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) .
Experimental Immunology
Immune cell populations are characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity to enable efficient and specialized responses to the diverse set of pathogens. This is particularly true for cells of the adaptive immune system, but also innate immune cell populations are heterogeneous and can adapt to different environmental conditions. Adaptation of immune cells is often associated with epigenetic alterations that lead to the fixation of gene expression patterns, finally resulting in cells with highly specialized fates, phenotypes and functional properties.
Virology and Innate Immunity
Pathogens (germs) infiltrate our bodies daily but do not remain undetected. They encounter the strong defenses of our immune system, which recognizes invaders and promptly takes appropriate measures. However, many pathogens can produce life-long infections even with an intact immune system. The herpesvirus family is one such group of pathogens. Upon infection, herpesviruses establish a chronic infection and become lifelong companions.
