03
Feb
2026
Whether during the annual flu season or the coronavirus pandemic, we repeatedly experience firsthand the impact that viruses and bacteria have on our everyday lives. In the HUMAN programme, junior research groups participating in the HUMAN programme at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig are investigating the complex interaction between humans and microbes.
Depending on age, lifestyle, individual immune system, among other factors, each person’s body interacts with microbes differently. The main goal of the HUMAN programme, short for Human Microbe Alliance for Universal Health, is to explore the ‘human ecosystem’. ‘With HUMAN, we want to unravel the complex alliance between humans and microbes in order to better understand acute infectious diseases, but also infection-related chronic diseases and thus the overall state of human health,’ says Prof. Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI).
Positioning ourselves for the future with young researchers
The keys to success are the junior research groups: young, talented, and ambitious young scientists who are willing to try out new ideas. ‘The many new junior research groups in the HUMAN programme give rise to numerous symbioses in research. We enjoy the freedom to implement highly creative research approaches and also to try out unconventional ideas,’ explains Dr Maren Schubert, one of the six new leaders of these groups.
Marek_Kruszewski/HZI
At the beginning of February, the new research group leaders presented their work to sponsors and the press (from left to right): Lower Saxony's Minister of Science Falko Mohrs, Dr Maren Schubert, Dr Max Kellner, Dr Jan Schlegel, Christian Scherf (Administrative Director of the HZI), Dr Jakob Wirbel, Dr Georg Schütte (CEO, Volkswagen Foundation), Dr Christiane Iserman, Prof Josef Penninger and Dr Sampurna Chakrabarti.
Maren Schubert actually completed her doctorate at HZI. After working in Würzburg and at the Technical University of Braunschweig, she returned in September 2025 to head the junior research group ‘Virus-like Particle-based Technologies’ (VLPT). ‘With its excellent facilities, HZI has become a veritable El Dorado for innovative infection research,’ she says. With her team, she focuses on systems for combating infectious diseases that are technologically based on virus-like particles. The technologies she helped develop have been used, among other things, for the development of COVID-19 antibodies. ‘In the event of a pandemic, I hope that my research will be able to contribute by enabling rapid diagnostics,’ she emphasizes. You can learn more about her approach in this short video.
Dr Max Kellner has been leading the junior research group VICO (‘Virus-Host Coevolution’) since April 1, 2025. His research focuses on the interactions between viruses and their hosts. Together with his group, the Vienna-born scientist concentrates on the evolutionarily developed mechanisms of innate immunity and viral resilience in mammals. You can read more about Kellner and his research in our portrait.
He was followed in August 2025 by Dr Jan Schlegel, who previously conducted research at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and now heads the CODE (‘Biological Codes of Pathogens’) junior research group in Braunschweig. His team is researching biological codes of pathogens, such as the glycocode or biophysical codes. Schlegel explains how they proceed and their working thesis in this short video. Their goal is to use this knowledge to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to infectious diseases.
Since October 2025, the junior research group ‘Biomolecular Condensates in Infections’ (BCON) led by Dr Christiane Iserman, has been focusing on the aggregate structures that form during the assembly of viruses. They want to better understand these structures in order to develop antiviral tools against infection. In her short video, she explains what the relatively new field of condensate research is all about, how it could help develop new drugs—and what a classic salad dressing has to do with it. Iserman is convinced that HUMAN presents a special opportunity: ‘These many new groups with their innovative ideas can really achieve something by pooling results in such cool research.’
Marek_Kruszewski/HZI
Dr Sam Chakrabarti presents her work in the laboratory. She has been at the HZI since October 2025.
Dr Sam Chakrabarti also started at the HZI at the same time. After several research stays in the UK, the US, and Berlin, she now heads the junior research group ‘Mechanisms of Infection and Nociception’ (PAIN). ‘Pain is a huge global affliction,’ explains Chakrabarti. During her stay in the USA and the opioid crisis there, she became interested in pain and its causes. She hopes her research will have an impact on people’s quality of life. That is why she will be investigating changes in nerve function triggered by infections and how these contribute to the development of pain in mice and humans. Find out more in her short video. ‘The title HUMAN is significant, emphasising that we are doing research for people—and not merely for the sake of research itself.’
Most recently, Dr Jakob Wirbel joined the team in early 2026, moving from Stanford University to the HZI, where he heads the junior research group ‘Microbial Precision Genomics’ (PMIG). The biologist, who specializes in computer-assisted research, is particularly interested in the gut microbiome and antibiotic resistance, a growing issue in medicine. ‘I would be delighted if my research contributes to a better understanding of how antibiotic resistance develops and how it spreads in bacteria.’ Wirbel uses ‘long-read metagenome sequencing’ to evaluate bacterial populations, which enables researchers to draw conclusions and make predictions about infectious diseases. His goal is to derive new biological principles and potential measures for treatment. More about his project in this video.
Marek_Kruszewski/HZI
Dr Maren Schubert explains the basic idea behind her approach to Lower Saxony's Minister of Science, Falko Mohrs, using a model made of building blocks.
And there’s more coming later this year when Dr Iana Fedorova will launch the junior research group ‘Antiviral Immunity of Bacteria’ (AIBA). She studies the interaction and conflict between humans and bacteria, as well as the viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages, and analyses both the defence mechanisms of bacteriophages and those of bacteria in search of novel therapeutic approaches. Further junior research group leaders are being sought in parallel, with the aim of building up additional expertise in areas such as AI.
In addition to their research work, the junior research group leaders will also hold professorships at the partner universities in Lower Saxony: Hannover Medical School, the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, and the Technical University of Braunschweig. During their time at HZI, translation, i.e., application in medical practice, will play a major role alongside basic research. Schubert: ‘Translation is very important for me because I want my research to ultimately make a difference.’
Largest single grant to date
The direct relevance of the project for patients is made possible by the integration of additional programmes for research physicians. Other focal points of the programme include technology transfer, public relations, and flexible financing, which can serve as a blueprint for further projects. Just under €32 million is available for HUMAN from zukunft.niedersachsen funds. Following a successful interim evaluation, this amount could be increased to up to €70 million. This makes it the largest single grant under zukunft.niedersachsen and, with so many highly motivated researchers, a sound investment in the future.