VirusREvolution
About Us
Vision and Scientific Rationale A comprehensive understanding of viruses—including their diversity, pathogenic potential, and host tropism—requires advanced bioinformatic and photonic tools. Although Germany hosts internationally recognised expertise in virology, bioinformatics, and photonics, sustained and systematic integration of these disciplines has so far been limited, with notable exceptions such as HIV-1, Influenza A virus, and SARS-CoV-2. […]
Team
- Manja Marz (Spokesperson), Virus bioinformatics, RNA bioinformatics, HTS data analysis | FSU Jena, Institute for Computer Science
- Sebastian Böcker (Coordination team), Bioinformatics, algorithmics, metabolomics | FSU Jena, Institute for Computer Science
- Stefanie Deinhardt-Emmer (Coordination team), Pathogenesis of viral and bacterial interferences | FSU Jena, Institute of Medical Microbiology
- Christian Eggeling (Coordination team), Super-resolution microscopy | FSU Jena, Institute for Applied Optics and Biophysics
- Friedemann Weber (Coordination team), RNA viruses, innate immune response | JLU Giessen, Institute of Virology
Research Programme
Research Goals
Overarching research goal of the CRC VirusREvolution The bold vision of the CRC VirusREvolution is to enable the rapid risk assessment of newly emerging viruses by integrating next-generation bioinformatics and photonic approaches. Our central goal is to establish the CRC platform capable of systematically characterising novel viruses, elucidate their tropism, and providing first estimations of […]
- G1 Tools for the systematic characterisation of novel viruses.
- G2 Tools for precise and comparative analysis of virus evolution.
- G3 Tools for the generalisation and quantification of virus-host interactions.
- G4 Tools for the early assessment and prediction of virus infection potential.
Projects
To achieve our objective we establish three project areas to tackle various tasks:
Read moreLong-term-Perspective
Long-term Perspective
Quite relentlessly, the COVID-19 crisis made transparent the lack of bioinformatic and photonic tools to understand even basic features of virus replication or, more strategically, approaches to fight outbreaks. The VirusREvolution initiative will provide virologists with the appropriate methods and tools to boost their knowledge of virus replication. The bioinformatics tools and photonic methods will […]
Events
- 3rd international DEEP-DV symposium
Hamburg, Germany | 14–15 september 2027 Symposium covering the latest developments in virology, ranging from… Read more: 3rd international DEEP-DV symposium - German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding our collaborative research centre (CRC) at the University of Jena »VirusREvolution: Decoding tools for virus research«
Bonn, Germany | 15 May 2026 A Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) is a long-term, interdisciplinary… Read more: German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding our collaborative research centre (CRC) at the University of Jena »VirusREvolution: Decoding tools for virus research« - Congratulations to A02 and B03 on their successful joint publication in Npj Viruses.
Lassa virus (LASV) remains a major public health threat in West Africa, with recurrent outbreaks,… Read more: Congratulations to A02 and B03 on their successful joint publication in Npj Viruses. - Congratulations to B02 and C01 on their successful joint publication in Biomedical Optics Express.
With the growing integration of artificial intelligence in scientific and medical applications, lightweight deep learning… Read more: Congratulations to B02 and C01 on their successful joint publication in Biomedical Optics Express. - Viruses of Microbes (VoM) conference
Prague, Czech Republic | 6-10 July 2026 The Viruses of Microbes (VoM) conference is the world’s… Read more: Viruses of Microbes (VoM) conference