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A detailed understanding of cellular immune responses in acute and chronic hepatitis is essential for the development of new drugs against hepatitis B and D infections. This means that standardised immunomonitoring under the necessary security conditions of risk level 3 is required, where immune cells can be sorted and genotypically [...]

The intestinal microbiome plays a crucial role in the course of infections. As part of this research platform, Prof. Bärbel Stecher and her team are examining what exactly happens when gram-negative pathogens and opportunists colonise the intestine. An important project is targeting enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria, which can trigger [...]

Andreas Moosmann’s research group investigates the immune system’s responses to viruses, particularly T cell responses. Widespread viruses such as the Epstein-Barr virus and the cytomegalovirus are at the core of their interest. After infecting healthy individuals, these viruses often remain in the body for a lifetime without causing any damage [...]

Professor Andreas Pichlmair and his team study the interactions between viruses and the human immune system. They aim to determine how the immune system reacts to an external attack and how this affects the pathogen. Human cells have developed a technique to combat viruses. However, viruses themselves have so-called immunomodulators [...]

The know-how for microbiome analysis coalesces at the Centre for GI Microbiome Research (CEGIMIR). The gastrointestinal microbiome, i.e. all the microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, plays a key role in the course of infections. Changes in composition, such as those caused by environmental factors or diseases, may, among other things [...]

A sequencing platform will be made available as part of this research unit, whose focus is translational microbiome research. The know-how for sequencing and bioinformatic data analysis is used in various preclinical and clinical trials at the DZIF. One example is the so-called SPEKTRUM study, which is investigating the influence [...]

CEGICLIN is a virtual centre for gastrointestinal clinical trials. Study nurses from this centre are available to the three DZIF Partner Sites involved in this area of research. The Centre also collaborates closely with the DZIF’s clinical trial units and regional clinical trial centres. This enables more flexible provision of [...]

The working group of Prof. Jörg Janne Vehreschild in Köln cooperates with the Robert Koch Institute. To pave the way for the upcoming challenges in HIV research, the Translational Platform was founded in 2015. It supports clinical and epidemiological cohort studies in HIV. The platform provides protocols, software, databases, biobanking [...]

New HIV infections occur mostly outside of Europe. That is why the DZIF has set up its own task force to coordinate clinical trials on location (mainly in Africa). The "International Clinical Trials Unit" gives DZIF member institutions access to large existing cohorts and biobanks that they can use for [...]

Medical data and biological samples obtained from transplant patients are collected and managed across Germany with the help of the DZIF Transplant Cohort. The data and samples form the basis of scientific studies which investigate the connections between numerous factors influencing an organ’s susceptibility to infection and organ function. In [...]

The working group runs a platform to evaluate the efficacy of new drugs and to select optimal treatment options for tuberculosis patients. In vitro test systems are available for preclinical testing, which are used to test the activity of substances against tuberculosis-causing mycobacteria. An aerosol inhalation mouse model is available [...]