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Microorganisms and Viruses

Short Description

This Campus Research Focus pools the molecular, ecological and medical expertise in microbiology, virology and parasitology of the universities of Giessen and Marburg and the THM University of Applied Sciences, with the cooperation partners Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Paul Ehrlich Institute in Langen and the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg.

In microbiology, the interdisciplinary field of research addresses the entire spectrum of microorganisms with their ecology, pathogenesis, genetics and evolution as well as the pioneering topics of synthetic microbiology and recycling processes.

In virology the focus is on the deciphering of the molecular mechanisms of common viral diseases such as influenza on the one hand and emerging diseases caused by Ebola- or MERS coronavirus on the other.

Parasitology research concentrates on malaria and schistosomiasis, as well as infection models and the development of active agents and vaccines.

All areas involved in this Campus Research Focus aim to obtain a basic mechanistic understanding of microbes and viruses from the molecular and cellular level via microbiotic communities all the way through to preclinical models. In this context, the researchers are particularly interested in identifying overarching strategies that microbes and viruses use, and seeing how they interact – with each other and with the host. The focus of the translational research here is on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, the utilisation of microorganisms, the improvement of technologies in the pharmaceutics industry, the agricultural sciences and the chemicals industry.

These approaches of basic and translational research lead to close cooperation with the campus research areas "Infection and Inflammation", "Insect Biotechnology and Bioresources", "Digital Medicine and E-Health" and "Lung and Heart", as well as the Research Division Bioresources of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Giessen.

Successful Joint Research

Research Infrastructure

  • DFG core facility: Marburg Core Facility for Interactions, Dynamics and Macromolecular Assembly Structure
    German Research Foundation. Coordinator: Dr. G. Bange/UMR, 2016; UMR
Research Environment

  • German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF); the Justus Liebig University, Philipps-Universitaet Marburg, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut Langen form the DZIF-site Gießen-Marburg-Langen; speaker Trinad Chakraborty (JLU), deputy speaker Stephan Becker (UMR)
Participating Researchers

Contact person

Philipps-Universität Marburg
Prof. Dr. Anke Becker
Faculty for Biology and LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology
Hans-Meerwein-Str. 2
35032 Marburg

E-Mail

Philipps-Universität Marburg
Prof. Dr. Stephan Becker
Faculty for Medicine
Center of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity
Hans-Meerwein-Str. 2
35032 Marburg

E-Mail

Justus Liebig University Giessen
Prof. Dr. Friedemann Weber
Institute of Virology
Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg (BFS)
Schubertstr. 81
35392 Gießen

E-Mail