🚨 Exciting #PhD opportunities across multiple labs, including those of @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @cciollimattioli.bsky.social, @ffaberlab.bsky.social & @westermannlab.bsky.social at #HIRI in Würzburg. 🎓🥼 More about the projects: www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/career/gr...

Joint One Lab Call for Doctoral Researchers 2026

The HZI offers 16 fully funded PhD positions - an exceptional opportunity for curious, young scientist to work in a stimulating environment.

helmholtz-hzi.de

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI)@helmholtzhzi.bsky.social · 2d ago

🚨 We're recruiting! The HZI is offering 16 fully funded PhD positions to tackle pressing challenges in infection research — from basic science to translational innovation. 📍 Braunschweig, Würzburg, Hannover or Saarbrücken 📅 Apply by September 11 Learn more: jobs.helmholtz-hzi.de/job/Braunsch...

Macrophages are known as the immune system’s “scavenger cells”. Yet some pathogens use them as hiding places. Researchers from HIRI & @unimarburg.bsky.social have discovered an lncRNA called SAILR that helps macrophages balance their response to infection: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)

Excited to share our PNAS paper with @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social and @westermannlab.bsky.social! We identify SAILR, a human-specific lncRNA that binds 14-3-3β to support macrophage viability—its loss during infection strengthens antimicrobial defense. #RNA www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The Bacterial RNA Biology Group in Jena is hiring a new PhD student! 🔬🧫🧬 We are looking for a motivated candidate to study bacteriophages of the opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. 🔥 Apply by July 26, 2026 🔥 Details on the position and application: jobs.uni-jena.de/jobposting/9...

The NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence is hiring! Shape the future of nucleic acid sciences 🧬 🚀 Group Leaders: All 3 locations (LMU, TUM, JMU Würzburg) 🔬 PhDs & Postdocs: Open call in Würzburg and speculative applications welcome! Deadline: Aug 16, 2026 👉 More info: nucleate-cluster.de/careers/

How can we harness the vast functional diversity of microbes on our planet? Join us at EMBL Heidelberg from 8–10 December 2026 to hear about ongoing efforts to decode gene function and organisation in human gut microbes, and to present your own research. www.embl.org/about/info/c...

Welcome to the official account of the NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence👋🧬 We’re building a community around nucleic acid sciences and technology, and innovation 🚀 Expect research highlights, collaborations, events, and opportunities — with open positions coming soon. #Biotech #Science #RNA #Research

Is colorectal cancer driven by a disruption of anaerobiosis? A recent study by Spiga et al. makes this idea walk and talk like a duck. Read more here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

An anaerobic pathogen rewires host metabolism to fuel oxidative growth in the inflamed gut

To colonize their host and cause disease, enteric pathogens must deploy their virulence factors to establish distinct nutrient niches. How anaerobic p…

sciencedirect.com

Unser nächstes Infect-Net Netzwerktreffen steht bald an! Prof. Dr. Franziska Faber und Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kampmeier laden Infektionsforcherinnen zu unserem 7. Netzwerktreffen nach Jena ein. 📅 22.-23.09.2026 📍Würzburg, Deutschland Topic "RNA&Infection: From bed to bedside" Save the date!

Researchers from #UniJena and @microverse.bsky.social have demonstrated how cholera bacteria regulate the activity of a pathogen-associated phage. A small RNA molecule inhibits the formation of new phage particles, which carry the genes for the cholera toxin. ➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/425326/res…

Latest research from the lab out now. We examined the role and expression of fimbriae during UPEC bloodstream infection. A real team effort and brilliant collaboration with Mark Schembri’s lab in Brisbane. Thanks to the MRC and BBSRC for supporting our research @ukri.org

Yad fimbriae are triggered by host cues and enhance extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli tissue colonisation during bloodstream infection

Author summary Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) colonise the human gut without causing disease but can disseminate to the urinary tract and bloodstream. Understanding the mechanisms...

journals.plos.org

New paper out in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social! Microbes evolving with modern lifestyles 🧬🦠 S. copri uses PerR to manage oxygen stress, but some strains acquired OxyR via HGT, boosting oxygen tolerance. These strains are enriched in industrialized populations. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Biogeography-associated emergence of enhanced oxygen tolerance in the abundant human gut commensal Segatella copri

El Mouali and Tawk et al. characterize the oxygen-tolerance response in the human gut-residing bacterium Segatella copri. They identified a subset of strains that acquired an additional oxygen regulat...

cell.com

Yay! Hoda Kooshapour, #PhD student in the @westermannlab.bsky.social, has received a Paper of the Month Award from the @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social. Congratulations, @kooshapour.bsky.social! 🥳👏 Learn more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)

Mapping hidden RNA regulators in Salmonella infection

HZI Paper of the Month Award for Hoda Kooshapour

helmholtz-hiri.de

New preprint from the Ghigo lab (@jmghigolab.bsky.social): crossfeeding B. theta <--> E. coli within a microfluidics system. Shows spatial structure and oxygen availability can qualitatively transform the nature and ecological outcome of microbial interactions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Want to research the basis of how drug resistant bacteria interact with human immune cells? Fully funded 4-year PhD position available (UK home students). Come and join our amazing interdisciplinary team at the intersection of microbiology, immunity, metabolism and the clinic! Please spread the word

Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

It is with great sadness that we announce J. Craig Venter has died. 🧪🧬 www.jcvi.org/media-center...

J. Craig Venter, genomics pioneer and founder of JCVI and Diploid Genomics, Inc., dies at 79

La Jolla, California—April 29, 2026—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announced that J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., the Institute’s founder, board...

jcvi.org

New paper from the lab! Spearheaded by soon-to-be doctor Athina Eleftheraki. Fantastic collaboration with Anaïs Le Rhun lab at Uni Bordeaux! academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

An RNA structural switch controlling bacterial toxin translation

Abstract. Type I toxin–antitoxin systems (T1TAs) rely on tight posttranscriptional control to prevent inadvertent toxin synthesis, yet the molecular mechan

academic.oup.com

Excited to share the first preprint from the lab! We show that ApeA defends against RNA phage infection by cleaving the phage genome: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Takeshi Kanda represented our team at the Japanese Society for Bacteriology conference, founded by Prof. Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato - one of Japan's oldest societies. He also took the opportunity to connect with several Würzburg alumni.

We are looking for RNA enthusiasts to join us at the @uniregensburg.bsky.social as a junior group leader! Our university offer excellent infrastructure and collaboration opportunities for ground breaking RNA research. Please RT @jrrnascientists.bsky.social @rnasociety.bsky.social

We have an open position for a #PhD student (last week to apply!) & a lab technician/TA. For more information see: www.beuschlab.org/join-us Interested in understanding post-transcriptional regulation and how #RNA #splicing decisions are made? Then take a look or share with people who might be! 🧪🧫

RNA Splicing Lab - JOIN US

Are you interested in investigating basic mechanisms in splicing regulation and gene expression? Our research group was launched in September 2024 and is hosted at the Institute of Molecular Infection...

beuschlab.org

Like bacteria, phages use sRNAs to regulate gene expression! Out today in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social, @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social and I highlight a recent RIL-seq study from the @saharmelamed.bsky.social lab that looked into posttranscriptional regulation of lambda! tinyurl.com/lambda-RIL-seq

Unraveling posttranscriptional regulatory networks in phage infection

Phages employ sophisticated transcriptional regulatory networks to optimize replication. Recently, Silverman et al. used RIL-seq (RNA interaction by l…

tinyurl.com

Looking for a truly unique PhD programme on RNA drugs and therapeutics? We have just opened the call for the second cohort of RNAmed-Future leaders in RNA-based medicine. More details under www.rnamed.de Please spread the word.

Two days of inspiring exchange 🧬🤝✨ On February 10 and 11, our Scientific Advisory Board came together to review the scientific orientation and performance of #HIRI. We are grateful for the insightful discussions and valuable feedback. 👉 Read more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/...

Scientific Advisory Board Meets at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg

Two days of intensive scientific exchange

helmholtz-hiri.de

Thrilled to announce that I’ve just opened my research lab at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to my mentor Roi Avraham (and lab members!) for the incredible training and support that made this possible.

Do you want to understand how RNA #splicing decisions are made? We‘ve got a PhD position open for you (see 👇👇)!! Please share #RNAsky and RT! tinyurl.com/4ztu9cb9

📢 We are hiring 📢 1st round of recruiting for our ERC project BacImmune-Decode! @erc.europa.eu We are looking for a postdoc for wet-lab work on regulation of phage defence systems in bacteria using high-throughput microbial genetics. Check it out: lnkd.in/es7AE968 #Hiring #Postdoc #Microbiology

Our first paper is out today in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We introduce a prostate organoid model and show that UPEC invades prostate cells via FimH binding to the prostate-specific protein PAPP. A step toward targeted therapies against bacterial prostatitis. 🎉 #UTI #UPEC #Organoids #AMR

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli invade luminal prostate cells via FimH–PPAP receptor binding - Nature Microbiology

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli infection of a murine prostate organoid model reveals a bacterial FimH–host prostatic acid phosphatase adhesin-receptor interaction enabling invasion and replication wit...

nature.com

3′UTR-derived small RNA couples acid resistance to metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella within macrophages url: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

3′UTR-derived small RNA couples acid resistance to metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella within macrophages

Abstract. Acid resistance is crucial for enterobacteria to withstand host acidic environments during infection, including the gastrointestinal tract and ma

academic.oup.com

RIL-seq boosts the study of sRNAs. Here comes its first application to intracellular bacteria. Plus, 10 years after its characterization, we now present an RNA sponge of Salmonella PinT. Congrats to @kooshapour.bsky.social & great collaboration w/ @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

Intramacrophage RIL-seq uncovers an RNA antagonist of the Salmonella virulence-associated small RNA PinT

Abstract. Salmonella virulence chiefly relies upon two major pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, which enable host cell invasion and intracellular surv

doi.org