Explore Exciting New Career Opportunities at Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI)

The Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) at DESY Campus in Hamburg advances structural biology to combat infections, employing advanced imaging and structural methods for disease-related molecular insights.

• Structural Infection Biology
• Structural Systems Biology
• High-Resolution Imaging Techniques
• Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogens
• Drug Target Structures

Programs include training in cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, and integrative structural biology applied to infections, supporting PhD and postdoctoral research.

The Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald addresses interlinks between human, animal, and environmental health, focusing on zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogen evolution for pandemic prevention, affiliated with the University of Greifswald.

• Ecology and Emergence of Zoonotic Diseases
• Epidemiology of Antimicrobial Resistance
• Evolutionary Community Ecology
• One Health Surveillance
• Pathogen Evolution

Interdisciplinary courses cover One Health approaches, field epidemiology, and evolutionary biology, training experts in zoonotic disease management.

The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) specializes in developing novel anti-infectives to combat antibiotic resistance, integrating medicinal chemistry, microbiology, and pharmacology in collaboration with Saarland University.

• Actinobacteria Metabolic Engineering
• Anti-infectives from Microbiota
• Antiviral and Antivirulence Drugs
• Biological Barriers and Drug Delivery
• Chemical Biology of Carbohydrates
• Drug Bioinformatics
• Microbial Natural Products

Research programs include graduate courses in drug design, natural product synthesis, and bioinformatics for anti-infective development, fostering interdisciplinary skills for pharmaceutical innovation.

The Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg pioneers RNA research in infection biology, aiming to develop RNA-targeted diagnostics and therapies for human infections, in partnership with the University of Würzburg.

• RNA Biology of Bacterial Infections
• Host-Pathogen-Microbiota Interactions
• RNA Synthetic Biology
• Single-cell Analysis
• Systems Microbiology
• Integrative Informatics for Infection Biology

Key programs offer advanced training in RNA sequencing, synthetic biology, and computational modeling of infections, preparing students for RNA therapeutics research.

The HZI Campus in Braunschweig serves as the main hub of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, focusing on basic research into bacterial and viral pathogens, immune responses, and anti-infectives. Scientists investigate how pathogens cause diseases, how the immune system defends against them, and develop new protective substances. This campus hosts core facilities and interdisciplinary programs emphasizing infection mechanisms and therapeutic interventions.

• Bacterial Pathogens Research
• Viral Pathogens and Immunity
• Anti-Infective Drug Development
• Systems Biology of Infections
• Immune Intervention Strategies
• Pathogen-Host Interactions

Graduate training and PhD programs in infection biology are offered, integrating experimental and computational approaches across these areas to train future leaders in biomedical research.

TWINCORE in Hannover bridges basic research and clinical practice in infection research, as a joint venture between HZI and Hannover Medical School. It emphasizes translational studies on infectious diseases, combining expertise from medical professionals and basic scientists to advance diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines.

• Antiviral Antibody-Omics
• Biomarkers of Infectious Diseases
• Experimental Infection Research
• Experimental Virology
• Microbial Pangenomes
• Molecular Bacteriology

The site supports specialized training in clinical infection medicine, virology, and bacteriology, with courses on experimental models, biomarker discovery, and translational research methodologies.