The research in the Chair of “Prevention of Microbial Disease” focuses on using integrative approaches combining single-cell technologies, culture-independent techniques, multi-omics, and machine learning to understand the underlying mechanisms of phage-host interactions and their impact on the human host.

Gut bacteria are central to human health by regulating multiple functions, producing essential metabolites, and protecting against pathogen invasion. Conversely, changes in their community composition are associated with several diseases and conditions like stunting. Likely, these bacteria are amenable to external perturbations. However, nonspecific changes can cause unpredicted long-term consequences. Bacteriophages or phages' high level of specificity, which reduces the risk of damaging these communities, suggest them as the right tools for safe manipulation of gut bacteria. 

We study phage-host interactions to develop novel phage-based therapeutics for i) targeting drug-resistant bacteria and ii) preventing or iii) ameliorating severity in dysbiosis associated diseases and conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal cancer (CRC), graft versus host disease (GVHD), allergy, and much more by manipulating the human microbiota.

To facilitate the acceptance of phage therapy, which uses phages to target pathogenic bacteria, in Germany, we have developed highly efficient phage cocktails against multiple critical multiresistant bacteria, such as Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, we promote increasing collaborations between scientists and physicians toward defining a roadmap for future translational phage research in Germany.