“Faszination Forschung” Magazine no. 25

Virology and Infection Control

“This Vaccination Should Benefit every Country”

Hepatitis B infections kill 890,000 people each year. Ulrike Protzer developed a therapeutic vaccination which could finally cure the disease.

What a Virus really Needs

In order to replicate, viruses change their host’s protein production. Andreas Pichlmair investigates which proteins are important for the virus. They could provide a starting point to develop therapies.

“There is a Great Willingness to Donate Data”

Pandemics are times of crisis, but this also increases solidarity, for instance to donate medical data. Alena Buyx advocates making these “data donations” available for publicly funded medical research.

Circuit Breaker for the Immune System

If the immune system is unable to get to grips with an infection or a tumor, it switches into a lower functional state. Dietmar Zehn has identified the pro­tein which causes this switch. It could pave the way for more effective treatment approaches for both chronic infections and tumors.

Healthy Lives for All

Worm infections are widespread in low-income coun­tries. Clarissa Prazeres da Costa investigates how these neglected tropical diseases affect the immune system.

Global Health Needs a Multidisciplinary Approach

“Ensuring healthy lives for all” is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Center for Global Health at the TUM School of Medicine is addressing these topics.

Fighting Cancer with Viruses

Jennifer E. Altomonte harnesses the lethal power of viruses to combat malignant tumors. To optimize the therapeutic potential, they engineer these oncolytic viruses by means of genetic modification.

Fighting Superbugs with Superdrugs

Stephan Sieber has discovered a substance that very effectively fights dangerous, multi-resistant hospital germs.

Turning Enemies into Allies

Highly specialized viruses offer an effective treatment for bacterial infections. TUM spin-off Invitris makes the production process for these bacteriophages faster and more cost effective.