Junior Research Groups
The Junior Research Groups are led by outstanding young scientists and complete the research strategy of the Cluster. The CMFI provides financial support and equips the laboratories with cutting-edge technology.
Baumdicker Lab
The Baumdicker Lab combines mathematical population genetics theory, computational biology, and machine learning approaches to understand how the diversity of microbes emerged and how bacterial populations cooperate to adapt to their environment. Focus is on (i) understanding how the transfer of genetic material and the evolutionary dynamics of gene gain and loss influence the composition of bacterial pan-genomes; (ii) explaining the maintenance and spread of CRISPR-Cas systems in prokaryotic populations; (iii) improving the estimation and classification of bacterial genome evolution and human population history.
Bastounis Lab
Host cells interact with bacterial pathogens in a milieu dominated not only by chemical but also mechanical signals, including those imposed on them by the extracellular environment or neighboring cells. The Bastounis Lab wants to reveal (i) how bacteria hijack host cellular forces to facilitate their spread, and (ii) which biomechanical strategies host cells use to obstruct bacterial dissemination. The lab intends to discover novel biomechanical virulence mechanisms and new aspects of host cell and tissue mechanobiology.
Brochado Lab
The Brochado lab studies how bacteria cope with drugs in their environment with goal is to expose druggable features to aid treatment design. In parallel, our overarching goal is to gain biological insight into how bacteria operate. We combine basic microbiology, high-throughput screening and systems biology approaches to tackle our questions with a comprehensive perspective that extends beyond conventional drug targets. Current projects in our lab focus on i) systematically understanding fast appearing multi-faceted intrinsic antibiotic resistance mutations in Enterobacteriacea, ii) uncovering the molecular mechanism of synergies against difficult-to-treat pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, iii) developing systematic approaches to unravel drug transport regulation in Gram-negative bacteria, and iv) investigating the interface between bacterial immunity (phage defence) and antibiotic response. Ultimately, we believe that bringing our molecular understanding on how bacteria cope with their environment to a systems level will enable efficient strategies to fight the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Ratzke Lab
Microbes usually don’t live isolated but together with myriads of other microbes in large communities, in the environment as well as on and in our bodies. Despite their importance for human health, we have very limited understanding of the mechanisms that shape and govern these communities. The long term goal of the Ratzke lab is to understand how interactions between microbes can prevent microbial infections and how microbial communities could be modified and constructed for medical applications.
Wimmers Lab
Studying immunity in humans promises insights into disease mechanisms with direct translational impact. Previous attempts to explore immune responses in humans were hampered by small sample volumes, diversity between individuals, and the immune system’s complexity. Technological advances helped overcome many of these obstacles, promoting the field of human systems biology. The Wimmers Lab answers questions in fundamental and translational immunology using systems biology tools. Their goal is to understand how the immune system fights cancer and infections and what happens when it is forced to battle both at the same time.