DFG Research Training Group 2485 (Graduiertenkolleg) VIPER

The Research Training Group (RTG) ‘Virus detection, pathogenesis and intervention’ (VIPER, speaker Prof. Dr. W. Baumgärtner) aims at training next generation scientists to tackle complex health issues caused by emerging and re-emerging viruses using an inter-disciplinary approach.

The VIPER research and training program will cover the global chain of events involved in virus emergence, all the way from virus discovery, isolation, molecular characterization, surveillance, and pathogenesis, towards animal and public health impact and intervention strategies including new approaches for prevention and control.

The VIPER research projects are subdivided into three pillars:

• virus discovery, host range and transmission
• virus-host cell interactions and pathogenesis, and
• immune interference and intervention strategies.

VIPER will for the first time combine the long-term veterinary expertise in virology, pathology, clinic and wildlife research at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo). The Twincore Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research Hannover and two leading partner institutions outside of Hannover (Heinrich-Pette-Institute Hamburg, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich) will further provide the participating students with opportunities to advance their scientific and collaborative skills, and promote their mobility and scientific independence.

The VIPER research framework will represent the core element of the training program, and will be incorporated into the Hannover Graduate School of Veterinary Pathobiology, Neuroinfectiology and Translational Medicine (HGNI) of the TiHo and will lead to the academic degree of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.). The RTG will strive towards the forming of young scientists who are capable of functioning at the core of interdisciplinary teams, to enable a holistic understanding of emerging disease processes and the development of innovative intervention strategies.