The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, based in Braunschweig, is a member of the Helmholtz Association and conducts top-level research on infectious diseases. Our scientists are developing novel methods and strategies to combat infectious diseases more quickly and effectively. Our shared objective is to develop innovative approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases.

The Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering initiative aims to foster new synergies by enhancing collaboration between Helmholtz Research Centres and Research Fields, while also engaging with partners from the applied and entrepreneurial sectors. It focuses on interdisciplinary innovations that deliver rapid solutions to medical challenges.

The research of our group aims to discover and characterise the specific ecological principles and factors that govern the assembly of the human gut microbiome and the bidirectional communication between the microbiome and the host. This communication influences the host's susceptibility to infectious diseases and inflammation in both mouse models and humans. To understand the effects of microbiota on the host, we use an interdisciplinary mix of sequencing-driven, microbiological, and immunological approaches on gnotobiotic mouse models and patient cohorts (e.g., El Mouali et al., Cell Host Microbe, 2024; Osbelt et al., Nature Microbiology, 2024; Osbelt et al., Cell Host & Microbe, 2021).

In order to strengthen our team for a Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering-funded research project, we are seeking highly motivated candidates who are interested in contributing to the development of innovative microfluidic systems for studying microbial communities (e.g., those found in the human gut). The successful candidate will work in an interdisciplinary team across three Helmholtz centres, each with complementary expertise in microfluidics technologies, imaging, AI-supported image analysis and innovative reporter systems. The scientist will set up a microfluidics-based imaging system at HZI, perform experiments in prototype systems, and provide critical feedback to collaborating engineers to optimise the system. The ultimate aim of the system is to provide critical insights into microbial ecology that can be translated into novel types of microbiome-centric medicines.

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.