Görzer

We are highly interested in the diversity of virus genomes as it appears in human infections and how it is associated with clinical disease and outcome. A special focus relies on mixed virus infections and their dynamics in the individual human host. This knowledge is important for understanding virus-host interaction and pathogenesis.

Our main research interest is on Human Cytomegalovirus, a major cause of serious illness in congenitally infected newborns and transplant patients under severe immunosuppression. One current project aims to characterize Cytomegalovirus strains in clinical samples using highly sensitive sequencing tools in order to uncover the occurrence and dynamic of mixed virus strain populations in the infected host and to reveal any association of certain strains or mixtures thereof with clinical outcome.

A further research project aims to understand the biological, biochemical and structural properties of the different Cytomegalovirus strains by focusing on polymorphic envelope glycoproteins involved in cell tropism.