GRK 2771:  Humans and Microbes: Reorganisation of Cell Compartments and Molecular Complexes during Infection

• Subject Area: Microbiology, Virology and Immunology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 453548970

Globally, infectious diseases cause about 20% of all deaths, and emerging infections such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic threaten public health and economic stability.The research training group initiative "Humans and Microbes: Reorganisation of Cell Compartments and Molecular Complexes during Infection" has brought together a group of highly competent infection researchers and university teachers from Hamburg. Humans and Microbes is proposed in the belief that a fundamental understanding of host-pathogen interaction at the molecular level and its transmission to the next generation of scientists will pave the way for the discovery of new treatment strategies against bacterial, viral and parasitic infectious diseases alike.The study of host-pathogen interaction at different temporal and spatial scales is a central topic in infectious disease research. Notably, approaches that study complexes between host and pathogen molecules and their role in host membrane trafficking at multiple levels of resolution and in an integrative manner have only recently become possible. This was promoted by technological advances, e.g., in super-resolution microscopy, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), mass spectrometry/proteomics, bioinformatics, and image analysis. Overarching scientific aim of Humans and Microbes is to uncover in 9 original projects how human pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites utilise, modulate or subdue large molecule complexes and membrane trafficking in host cells. The outcomes of the Humans and Microbes projects will provide the scientific community with deeply elaborated molecular principles of unique pathogen traits and will foster a systematic and in-depth analysis of the commonalities and differences in pathogen infection strategies. These findings will also greatly aid the identification of molecular principles of pathogen infection that may be targeted by therapeutics or may be employed as specific research tools.A comprehensive and international educational programme will provide doctoral and postdoctoral researchers of Humans and Microbes a timely, flexible and all-encompassing platform for their career development in- and outside academia.Altogether, the scientific mission of Humans and Microbes represented by its highly-experienced PIs in combination with cutting-edge technologies and a comprehensive educational programme will establish a top research and training site with structure-forming potential in Hamburg. This research training group has enormous potential to unite the different already connected participating institutes from Hamburg focusing on infectious diseases and thereby enforce the structural impact of the RTG PIs on this community.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Participating Institution: Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM); Leibniz-Institut für Virologie (LIV); Zentrum für strukturelle Systembiologie (CSSB); c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Martin Aepfelbacher
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Jens Bernhard Bosse; Professor Dr. Thomas Braulke; Professorin Dr. Carmen Buchrieser; Professorin Dr. Nicole Brigitte Fischer; Professorin Dr. Gülsah Gabriel; Professor Dr. Tim-Wolf Gilberger; Professor Dr. Kay Grünewald; Professor Dr. Aymelt Itzen; Professor Dr. Stefan Linder; Professorin Dr. Arwen Pearson; Dr. Susanne Pfefferle; Professor Dr. Klaus Ruckdeschel; Dr. Tobias Spielmann; Professorin Dr. Charlotte Uetrecht