Pathogen/host Interactions and Zoonosis Research

The interdisciplinary research areas listed below (such the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics), which receive funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, study microorganisms that may be hazardous to humans.

Food-related transmission of zoonoses is handled in a large collaborative research group (food-borne zoonotic infections in humans). The human and veterinary medicine research institutions involved are working on different projects to analyze major food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. The “Porkchip” project is working on developing a system for rapid, parallel detection, anywhere on the food chain, of porcine pathogens that may have a financial and health impact.

Under the auspices of the Institute for Molecular Parasitology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wild Animal Research (IZW) and the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, in cooperation with New York University, are members of an international DFG research training group (RTG 1121/1). This research training group handles possible interactions between pathogens and their hosts at the molecular level.