Oh wow, amazing!

Day 3 at #GfV2026!

Our researchers are presenting at the final poser session today. Stop by to discuss the science, share ideas, and connect with us! 🧠

👉P394, P400, P407, P449, P451, P531, P537
📍 Check the conference program for poster locations.

#GfV #PosterSession #Virology #Research

Plenary session on Synthetic/Novel Approaches in Virology (hat tip to #SynthImmune @uniheidelberg.bsky.social for great speaker suggestions!).

Starting off: Mark Bathe on DNA origami for better targeting vaccine strategies.

#gfv2026

🎉 Last week, HUPs members Rachel Gilmore and Sabrina Lewis attended the very first German Postdoc Network Conference 2026.

Rachel also served on the organizing committee, helping shape the conference. 🤝

Great to see such a vibrant national postdoc community! Already looking forward to next year! 🚀

Congratulations, Lisa Maier and Stephen Cusack!

The two EMBL alumni have received the 2026 John Kendrew and Lennart Philipson awards for their outstanding contributions to host–microbiome research and structure-guided drug development, respectively.

Learn more: www.embl.org/news/awards-...

We’ll be at #GfV2026 (Mar 17–19), presenting posters and oral presentations on our latest virology research. Each morning we’ll share a short preview of the work being presented. If you’re attending, we’d be happy to connect and discuss our research.
#Virology #Research

Polymerase trapping as the mechanism of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus genesis Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) derive from H5 and H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs). Although insertion of a furin-cleavable multibasic cleavage site (MBCS) in the...

Transient RNA structures play a key role in the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses! Great to see this collaboration with Mathis Funk, Mathilde Richard, Stephen Cusack, and others in @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Check out our publications on influenza virus cap-snatching! 🥳

Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expr…

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it.
A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

Infografik: A mutated TLR8 gets degraded faster however forms a more stable TLR8 homodimer that leads to increased activation and inflammatory signals.

TLR8 helps the body detect viral genetic material — but what happens when it’s mutated?

A new study in @insight.jci.org from scientists from @leibnizliv.bsky.social, DZKJ and collaborators combines computational modeling and functional experiments to find out:

insight.jci.org/articles/vie...

The deadline for applying to the open postdoc position in our lab is coming up!

Reach out if you have questions about the project, our lab and ISTA!

Mosquitoes like Aedes aegypti spread viruses that cause major global diseases. We decided to have a closer look at a family of mosquito carbohydrate-binding proteins involved in infecting these vector species. We found some unexpected things 😁

Preprint out now 🦟🦟🦟

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New week, new HUPs member spotlieght!

👋🏻 Meet Jules Duruz, General Executive. He studies the behaviour of small marine invertebrates to better understand nervous system evolution. He values building a supportive, interdisciplinary postdoc community and especially enjoys HUPs networking events.

New week, new HUPs member spotlight!

👋🏻 Meet Magdalena Wierzbicka, Communication Manager & Event Coordinator. She works on the development of drugs targeting the blood–brain barrier in brain cancers. She enjoys connecting with fellow postdocs while exploring the many paths postdoc life can offer.

Together with colleague and friend Carl Herrmann @uniheidelberg.bsky.social, we are looking for a motivated postdoc with experience in organoid culture and data analysis (#bioinformatics), for a project in the @hlsalliance.bsky.social Joint Postdoc call.

www.health-life-sciences.de/opportunitie...

Cryo-EM structure reveals how influenza A virus NEP binds the viral polymerase at a regulatory hotspot, coordinating RNA synthesis and nuclear export. Fantastic collaboration with @loiccarrique.bsky.social and Jon Grimes. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New week, new HUPs member!

👋🏻 Meet Oscar O’Dwyer Lancaster-Jones, Treasurer of our network. He develops new methods for engineering heart tissue from many cells. He enjoys being part of a young, interdisciplinary network and helping shape something new at Heidelberg University.

New week, new HUPs member!

👋🏻 Meet Karel Mocaer, Vice-President of our network. She works with volume electron microscopy and complementary techniques to study the visual system of marine flatworms. She is passionate about building platforms that connect postdocs and help access career development!

Adaptation differences and mechanisms of influenza viruses to ANP32 proteins across species | Journal of Virology The influenza virus RNA polymerase is a heterotrimeric complex comprising the PB2, PB1, and PA subunits. It binds to the eight segmented genomic RNAs of the virus, each of which is encapsidated by nuc...

Adaptation differences and mechanisms of influenza viruses to ANP32 proteins across species journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

How does it behave for thicker chlamy lamella? 👋

For our English speaking members (and friends): the polls are in! As of March '26, we will have a new Board of Directors ("Vorstand"), as well as a new Advisory Board ("Beirat").

Our new president will be Prof. Sandra Ciesek (Frankfurt)! Cordial congratulations, Sandra 💐

Further board members ⬇️

Last chace to register for this year's Influenza Update Meeting - and places are going fast. Don't miss out!

Looking forward to seeing you there, flu people

Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳

Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?

👇

Mysteries of trafficking of the vRNP segmented genome and assembly of influenza A virus revealed by in situ cryo-ET!
🔗 rdcu.be/eMmct
We are very excited that our paper is finally out!
🎉 Big congratulations to Moritz Wachsmuth-Melm and to everyone involved.

🦠 Abstract submission for the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for Virology is open!

Share your research with the virology community and help shape the scientific dialogue next year in Heidelberg.

🕐 Deadline: Jan 4, 2026

🔗 virology-meeting.de/programme-ab...

#GfV2026 #virology #virologymeeting

Happens when cars are just seen as one mode of transportation and not religion 😉

Dear scientific community,

I am looking for two postdoctoral structural biologists to join my group at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Very proud of this achievement. Lots of exciting work ahead - stay tuned!

Big personal news: Today I’ve started as Full Professor & Director of the Molecular Virology Department at Heidelberg University (@uniheidelberg.bsky.social). 1/4

A new mural has been unveiled in the French city of Roubaix to mark #July4th.

(🎨 Judith de Leeuw)