Tuberculosis: Discovering Novel Molecular Targets for the Prevention of Tubercle Infection

With around 10 million infections per year and 1.5 million deaths, tuberculosis remains one of the most dangerous infectious diseases in the world. So far, no reliable and long-lasting vaccine (above all, for adults) has been discovered, and the available antibiotic therapies have been complicated due to the increase in multidrug-resistant strains.

We focus on the complex systems and the secretion systems embedded in the highly specific and extensively impermeable membrane of the tuberculosis pathogen that play a significant role in its virulence. Because they mediate interaction with the environment, they could be good points of application for future therapies. In this project, we want to characterize more fully the detailed role of these systems and their substrates. The project’s location at the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) on the DESY campus provides access to the center’s internal light microscopy and electron microscopy core facilities as well as to the cutting-edge light- and photon-source technologies on the DESY campus.

By securing the expertise of participating partner universities in the field of biology and immune responses of infections, we have created the best conditions to drive this tuberculosis research over the long term.