Emerging Infectious Diseases
The constantly increasing transmission of novel pathogens into the human population threatens human health, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic being a striking example. The goal of the GGNB graduate program Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDIS) is to provide young scientists with an excellent training in the area of emerging and re-emerging pathogens, with a strong focus on virus-host cell interactions, thereby enabling them to adequately meet future research challenges.The research focus of EIDIS PIs is on host cell interactions of emerging viruses, in particular corona- and herpesviruses, and the identification of novel therapeutic targets. EIDIS members have made major contributions to COVID-19 research, including the identification of the virus receptor, ACE2, and the demonstrations that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern evade immune control. Students will learn important technologies in the areas of virology, molecular biology and cellular biology and will be trained how to work safely in BSL2 and BSL3 laboratories. EIDIS PIs offer several lecture series, including “Basic Virology” and “Molecular Biology of HIV Replication and Pathogenesis”.