More than 17 million people die of infectious diseases every year – that is one third of all deaths worldwide. In view of the growing threat posed by infectious diseases, the goal of the last five years’ research has been to understand the fundamental mechanisms of infection and immunity. Researchers examine the causes of pathogens to gain new insights into molecular and cellular infection processes.

They also analyse how immunity functions – the host organism’s ability to prevent or control infection. Based on these findings, they are able to produce new strategies to combat infectious diseases and develop immune-therapy based strategies for the treatment of other chronic diseases such as auto-immune disorders and cancer.