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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

  • DFG Research Training Group RTG 2355: Regulatory networks in the mRNA life cycle: from coding to noncoding RNAs
    Funding Period: 2018 to 2028
Research Infrastructure

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

At Justus Liebig University Gießen

  • Prof. Dr. Katja Becker
    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Dr. Bork Berghoff
    Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Albrecht Bindereif
    Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Trinad Chakraborty
    Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Eugen Domann
    Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • PD Dr. Elena Evguenieva-Hackenberg
    Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Linda Falgenhauer
    Institute for Medical Microbiology, JLU
  • Jane Falgenhauer
    Institute for Medical Microbiology, JLU
  • Dr. Moritz Fritzenwanker
    Institute for Medical Microbiology, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Gäth
    Waste Management and Environmental Research, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Dieter Glebe
    Medical Virology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Alexander Goesmann
    Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Grevelding
    Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Parasitology, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Herold
    Acute Lung Injury, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Dr. Sybille Herzog
    Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, JLU

  • Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Kämpfer
    Microbiology of Recycling Processes, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU

  • Prof. Dr. Gabriele Klug
    Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Kogel
    Phytopathology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Dr. Matthias König
    Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Michael Kracht
    Pharmacology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Stephan Pletschka
    Medical Virology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Dr. Martin Rühl
    Food Chemistry and Food Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Christos Samakovlis
    Molecular Pneumology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Till Schäberle
    Natural producst research with a Focus on Insect Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Sylvia Schnell
    General and Soil Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Dr. Christian Schüttler
    Medical Virology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Werner Seeger
    Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Bernhard Spengler
    Anorganic and Analytic Chemistry, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Katja Sträßer
    Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. med. vet. Anja Taubert
    Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Parasitology, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Gergely Tekes
    Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Kai Thormann
    Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Vilcinskas
    Applied Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ecotrophology and Environmental Management, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Friedemann Weber
    Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. John Ziebuhr
    Medical Virology, Medical Faculty, JLU
  • Prof. Dr. Holger Zorn
    Food Chemistry and Food Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, JLU

At Philipps-Universität Marburg

  • Prof. Dr. Gert Bange
    Molecular Plasticity of Microbial Adaptation, Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO and Faculty of Chemistry, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Bauer
    Immunobiology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Anke Becker
    Comparative Genomics, Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO and Faculty of Biology, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Stephan Becker
    Virology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Patricia Bedrunka
    Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO)
  • Prof. Dr. Michael Bölker
    Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Erhard Bremer
    Moloecular Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Lars-Oliver Essen
    Structural Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Eva Frieberthäuser
    Virology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Georg Fritz
    Quantitative and Computational Microbiology, Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO and Faculty of Physics, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Peter Graumann
     Molecular and cellular biochemistry of microorganisms, Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO and Faculty of Chemistry, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Roland Hartmann
    Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharamceutics, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Dominik Heider
    Bioinformatics, Faculty of Mathematics and informatics and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Johann Heider
    Microbial Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Magdalena Huber
    Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Gerhard Klebe
    Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharamceutics and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Dr. Peter Kolb
    Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharamceutics and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Dr. Marcus Lechner
    Department of Pharmacy
  • Prof. Dr. Peter Lenz
    Complex Systems, Faculty of Physics and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Shu-Ming Li
    Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Fachbereich Pharmazie und Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Roland Lill
    Cytobiology, Medical Faculty and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Michael Lohoff
    Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Uwe Maier
    Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Andrea Maisner
    Virology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Mikhail Matrosovich
    Virology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Eric Meggers
    Chemical Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, UMR
  • Dr. Hans-Ulrich Mösch
    Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biology and LOEWE-Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Lennart Randau
    Department of Biology
  • Dr. Stefan Rensing
    Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Harald Renz
    Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiochemistry, Molecular Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Bernd Schmeck
    Lung research, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Markus Schnare
    Immunlogie, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Jan Michael Schuller
    Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO)
  • Jun.-Prof. Dr. Leon Schulte
    Lung research, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • PD Dr. Frank Sommer
    Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Fachbereich Medizin, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Steinhoff
    Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Dr. Thomas Strecker
    Virologie, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Thanbichler
    Bacterial Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology and Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Olalla Vazquez
    Department of Chemistry
  • PD Dr. Hans Günther Wahl
    Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiochemistry, Molecular Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, UMR
  • Prof. Dr. Torsten Waldminghaus
    Chromosome Biology, Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie SYNMIKRO and Faculty of Biology, UMR

 

At Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences

  • Prof. Dr. Peter Czermak
    Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Life Science Engineering, THM
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Fiebich

    Medical Physics and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Life Science Engineering, THM

  • Prof. Dr. Frank Runkel

    Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Life Science Engineering, THM
  • Prof. Dr. Klemens Zink
    Medical Physics and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Life Science Engineering, THM