Welcome to the Parasitology Unit at the Centre for Infectious Diseases
Parasitology is a science at the heart of clinical medicine, epidemiology, immunology, molecular biology and biochemistry.
It deals with some of the most important infectious diseases of mankind.
Parasitology has the potential to help us understand questions regarding the complexity of life and the interactions between different species.
Parasitology may provide the tools to alleviate the suffering of millions of people stricken by parasites.
Prof. Michael Lanzer, Ph. D.
Current Highlights (for further info see our News section)
Interview with F. Frischknecht
(19 September 2024)
On the occasion of the annual report 2023 of Heidelberg University hospital Prof. Till Bärnighausen (Heidelberg Institute for Global Health) and our group leader Prof. Friedrich Frischknecht were interviewed on the fascinating topic of 'Mosquitoes and Men'. A very interesting insight, especially as the infection route of malaria is also explained. The complete annual report 2023 is available here
ERC Grant for F. Hentzschel
(5 September 2024)
We are delighted to announce that our research group leader Dr Franziska Hentzschel has been awarded one of the prestigious and highly endowed Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). This makes her the only scientist in Heidelberg to have achieved this in the current funding round. The 5-year grant of approximately 1.5 Mio Euros will be used to explore new strategies against malaria. We wish our research group leader every success in this endeavour!
New article by Frischknecht lab
(5 August 2024)
Very slow malaria pathogens could be suitable as a vaccine
Team members of the Frischknecht lab together with collaborators from the German Center for Infection Research have successfully tested a new approach for a malaria vaccine in animal experiments: As a vaccine, they used genetically modified malaria parasites that developed normally in the mosquito but at a significantly slower rate in the mouse. When later infected with unmodified pathogens, the rodents were protected from severe illnesses and typical malaria symptoms did not occur. The results have been published online in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.