Leibniz-HKI

@leibniz-hki.de

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We are exploring microbial natural products and fungal pathogens to develop new diagnostics and treatments for infectious diseases. #LeibnizHKI https://www.leibniz-hki.de/en/

Scanning electron microscope image: Bacteria of the species Enterococcus faecalis (purple) attach to hyphae of the fungus Candida albicans (turquoise). Source: Leibniz-HKI
A fluorescent microscopy image of a transverse section through the colon of a mouse reveals the intricate architecture of crypts and epithelial layers, with microbial and cellular structures highlighted in vivid colors. Picture credits go to Merle Hammer and Sindy Oekler from the Leibniz-HKI.
Two men, Christian Hertweck and Jonas Fiedler, standing outdoors on the grounds of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) in Jena. Both are dressed casually, facing each other and smiling. Institute buildings and greenery visible in the background.
A man and a woman stand side by side in a hallway, leaning casually against a doorframe. Both are smiling and wearing light-colored shirts and trousers. On the left side of the image, a large colorful speech-bubble graphic contains a research quote about metabolic adaptations during bacterial infections. A pink arrow near the bottom right indicates swiping. The wall features decorative artwork, and a ‘Leibniz-HKI’ logo appears in the lower left corner.
Transparent anatomical 3D illustration of the human abdomen showing the digestive tract, with the colon highlighted in bright orange and red to indicate inflammation and tumor-affected areas. © Adobe Stock / appledesign
A lab scientist in a white coat and blue gloves looks through a microscope, with computer screens showing colorful data in the background.
Four young adults are jumping with their arms raised on a grassy area in front of a modern, curved building, smiling and appearing joyful.
A laboratory researcher wearing a white coat and blue gloves uses a pipette to transfer liquid into a tray of small tubes, surrounded by lab equipment and bottles.
A scientist with dark curls and black glasses in a white lab coat and blue gloves holds up a sample slide for inspection in a bright laboratory, slightly smiling, with lab equipment, shelves and a big window in the background.
Two researchers in white lab coats and blue gloves stand in a laboratory, smiling and reviewing a document together, surrounded by scientific equipment and supplies.
A woman sits at a desk with two computer monitors, focused on her work in a bright office; a blurred screen with a scientific graphic is visible in the foreground.
A woman in a white lab coat and blue gloves works at a lab bench, smiling as she uses a pipette to transfer liquid into a small tube. Colorful laboratory containers and equipment are arranged in front of her, and another person works in the background.
A man and a woman in white lab coats sit at a computer in a bright laboratory. The man, wearing blue gloves, smiles and points at the monitor while the woman beside him also smiles, watching the screen.
A woman and a man wearing white lab coats sit together at a desk in a bright office, looking at a laptop screen. The woman is smiling and gesturing toward the laptop as they discuss the information displayed.
Portrait of Prof. Axel Brakhage with short white hair, glasses, and a dark blazer over a patterned shirt. He is centered against a dark background with flowing green lines. In the upper right corner are the green Spotify logo and a white Deezer logo with a heart graphic.
A young woman with curly reddish-brown hair stands by a staircase railing in a modern building. She is wearing a long yellow pleated skirt, a black top, and black boots. She is holding several notebooks or books in her arms and is smiling gently at the camera.
Christine Vogler, Equal Opportunities Officer at Leibniz-HKI, accepted the TOTAL E-QUALITY award and the Sustainability Award.
Zoltán Cseresnyés, an older man with short gray hair and a friendly smile, stands indoors beside a long office table. He is wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt, gray trousers, and brown shoes. He holds a small potted bonsai tree in both hands. On the table next to him are a large potted plant, a green watering can, and a book. The background shows a bright modern room with white walls and wooden flooring. In the upper left, a colorful speech bubble contains the text: “I am an image analyst. I help biologists and chemists to analyze their image data and get information and quantification out of microscopy images, thus allowing them to modify or plan experiments.” The Leibniz-HKI logo appears in blue at the bottom left, and an orange arrow points to the right.
Kerren Volkmar and Maria Straßburger from the Leibniz-HKI are honored with an award and flowers
ways of the Biosynthesis of Psilocybin © Tim Schäfer, Leibniz-HKI
Biophelion aims to recover new recyclable materials from industrial waste in the future.
A young woman with glasses sits on a wooden bench outdoors, smiling at the camera while holding a viola on her lap. She is wearing a black top, wide green pants, and black heeled sandals. On the left side of the image, there is a large colorful speech bubble with the following quote: “I primarily focused on the symbiosis between fungi and endosymbiotic bacteria. We identified natural products produced by the bacteria that protect the fungi from predators and play a key role in the symbiotic relationship.” At the bottom left, the “Leibniz-HKI” logo is visible. At the bottom right, a large purple arrow points to the right.
One module of the “ISMEA” device system. A logo at the bottom left reads "Co-funded by the European Union".
Two researchers in white lab coats working at a biological safety cabinet. One is handling lab equipment while smiling and looking toward the camera, with his reflection visible in the glass. The other researcher is partly visible in the foreground, wearing blue gloves.
View from the roof of the HKI Biotech Center over Jena, which lies in a valley between small green mountains. Further ahead is a blue lake, to the right a green meadow and to the left many green deciduous trees. In the background you can see the houses and red roofs of the city as well as a high-rise building.
A scientist wearing a white lab coat and blue gloves uses a pipette to transfer liquid into a small test tube inside a biosafety cabinet.
Patrick Penndorf and Jakob Sprague sit on a biosafety workbench in a modern laboratory and carry out scientific experiments, both of them wearing white lab coats.
Michael Hetz in a workshop, wearing a yellow polo shirt, working at a vise. Next to him is a speech bubble with the quote: “I’m the technician, driver, handyman, I do everything except for scientific work.” In the background, there are toolboxes and shelves.
Picture: Miriam Agler-Rosenbaum, Lena Saniye Güngör, Christian Schaft, Axel Brakhage
Serratia marcescens and Candida albicans colonies form interesting structures on agar plate after long-term incubation. Picture credit: Sarah Vielreicher, Leibniz-HKI
A scientist wearing a white lab coat and blue gloves leans over a desk, working on a computer in a bright, modern laboratory. Laboratory equipment and monitors surround him as natural light streams in through large windows.
The Thuringian Science Minister Christian Tischner visits the Leibniz-HKI. Group picture. From left to right: Slavica Janevska, Bernd Ebersold, Elke Jäcksch, Christian Tischner, Axel Brakhage, Luzia Gyr, Jethro Hemmann and Christine Vogler.
Sascha Schäuble concentrates on his work at his standing desk in the office. In the accompanying quote, he explains his work at the Leibniz-HKI: “As Head of Integrative Data Analysis, I am a bioinformatic hub at the Leibniz-HKI and open for collaboration with all groups on data (pre-)processing, analysis and integration.”
A comparison of two photos of Candida albicans shows that a denser biofilm is formed in the presence of human albumin (right) than in its absence (left). In the photos, the yeast cells were colored in a golden hue.
Group picture on the roof terrace of the Leibniz-HKI with Thuringian Finance Minister Katja Wolf.
A student tries out VR glasses at the Chair for Research on Teaching and Learning of the University of Jena.
ancient teeth
bottle with yellow pigmented substance
Central pie chart shows genes of different Pseudomonas syringae strains. Chemical structures on the outside represent newly discovered compounds. Phylogenetic tree of relationships at the top.
A scientist with a beard and glasses, François Keiff, is wearing a white lab coat and working on a device in the laboratory. Next to it is a quote: “As part of my doctorate, I worked on the antituberculosis drug BTZ-043. My aim was to tackle a metabolic instability on a chemical level.” The Leibniz-HKI logo can be seen in the bottom left corner.
Two neat hands of a presumably female person hold an open blister pack of long, bright yellow pills. You can see a piece of a bright cobalt blue woolly sweater and a piece of gray-blue denim under her hands.
The participants in the ATHANA workshop sit at tables arranged in a U-shape in a bright room with plenty of natural light and floor-to-ceiling windows. White transparent, lowered blinds protect the room from too much light, but you can see the surroundings outside, a leave tree on the left and presumably reddish stone like a wall or a house on the right. At the front, a projection shows the current slide of the presentation, which is in lilac and salmon colors. The Ascenion logo can be seen on it. The two presenters, a man and a woman, stand in front of the participants. To the right of the picture is a table against the wall with a selection of drinks such as water and coffee.
The graphic shows how the bacterium Pandoraea sputorum absorbs iron (Fe³⁺) with the help of pandorabactins and thus competes with other lung bacteria for this resource.
Group picture of the young international participants of the first MiCCrobioTAckle project training event on the grounds of the Leibniz-HKI in Jena. In the background are green trees and modern buildings, the sky is bright and blue with some big white clouds.
Photo of Moemi Kawashima in a gray long dress standing in a large bright room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. She leans against a tall white column that supports the room and gazes dreamily out of the window. There is a little smile on her face. In her hands, she holds a small white origami artwork depicting a swan. There is the following text: “I am characterizing a protein in the plasma membrane of a mold called Aspergillus nidulans. The protein is conserved in many organisms but nobody knows its exact function and that is what I am trying to find out.”
In the photo you can see small green piles of bright green moss growing on a stony surface, which is somewhat blurred in the picture.
You can see a photo collage with lots of cheerful snapshots of Leibniz-HKI employees before, during and after the Jena Company Run 2025.
The growth of 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴 (orange), a member of the murine lung microbiome, along the hyphae of the lung-pathogenic fungus 𝘈𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 (blue), with lung tissue in the background.
Close-up of a petri dish with the white microbial fungus Fusarium oxysporum, a close relative of the intestinal fungus Fusarium foetens investigated in the study. Photo credit: Slavica Janevska, Leibniz-HKI