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Molecular Principles of RNA Phages
The research group led by Jens Hör investigates the dynamics of infection, host takeover, and anti-phage defense during the interaction between RNA phages and their hosts. They seek to understand the molecular principles underlying these processes to develop new and improved antibacterial strategies such as phage therapy.
Genome Analytics
The Genome Analytics (GMAK) facility provides next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology to the HZI. External users may also have access to the technology, e.g. upon collaborative arrangements. In addition to sample DNA/RNA quality check, library preparation and sequencing, the facility provides primary data processing, data quality check and analysis. A number of pipelines for secondary data processing are established.
One Health Surveillance
The One Health Surveillance Core Unit facilitates the comprehensive long-term collection of samples and data on human, animal and environmental health. This sample collection serves as the basis for research in HIOH‘s departments, as well as for collaboration with our partners.
Natural products from underexplored pathways and extreme environments
Drugs with new chemical entities are urgently needed to tackle the emerging antibiotic resistance. We investigate natural products from underexplored pathways and extreme environments to characterize bioactive molecules with true structural novelty and their biosynthetic enzymes to bioengineer and improve potent anti-infectives.
Central Facility for Microscopy
Light microscopy and electron microscopy are excellent high resolution tools to investigate the adhesion and invasion mechanisms of pathogenic bacteria. High resolution electron microscopy permits to examine and unravel pathogenicity mechanisms on a morphological basis. ZEIM offers equipment and highly sophisticated expertise for the preparation and observation of biological samples.
Core Facility of Comparative Medicine
To be able to investigate diseases, understand the relationships between pathogens and their host and to develop novel strategies against pathogens, the scientists at the HZI depend on experiments that involve the use of laboratory animals. For this purpose, the HZI operates a central animal facility on campus. The primary task of this service unit is the breeding and keeping of laboratory mice as well as provision of services for the scientists of the HZI, centered around laboratory animal science.
Transgenic Mice
Genetically modified mice can provide information about the function of particular genes or individual genetic elements. Further, they can be specifically designed to mimic certain physiologic or pathologic conditions. The Service Unit "Transgenic Mice" (TGSM) creates such genetically modified mice for researchers of the center.
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)
