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ERC Starting Grant awarded to Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research
In the fight against multi-resistant bacteria, bacteriophages—the natural enemies of bacteria—are attracting increasing research interest. However, the targeted therapeutic application of these “bacterial killers” requires a precise understanding of their molecular basis. This is at the heart of the research in the team of Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg. Starting in February 2026, the European Research Council (ERC) will fund his research project “RIBO-PHAGE” with a 1.5 million euro ERC Starting Grant for a period of five years.
Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a serious threat to global health. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new antibacterial compounds. One promising avenue of research is bacteriophages, commonly known as phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. They attach to a bacterium and inject their genetic material into it. This allows them to hijack the cell machinery and transform the bacterium into a “phage factory”. The bacterium then produces new phages until the infected microbe bursts and releases them. Each new phage can infect other bacteria, creating a chain reaction that destroys all the microbes.
These “bacteria eaters”—a meaning derived from the original Greek term “bacteriophage”—are the focus of Jens Hör's research at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg. The institute is a site of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). Hör has now received a Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros from the European Research Council (ERC) for his research project “RIBO-PHAGE”.
“The rising antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. This makes it all the more gratifying that the ERC awarded a Starting Grant to junior professor Jens Hör. Thanks to this prestigious funding award, he will be able to continue his pioneering research at the highest level,” says Jörg Vogel, Managing Director of the HIRI.
“Phages are much more than fascinating biological tools—they have the potential to become a game changer in everyday clinical practice, especially in the fight against multi-resistant bacteria. To exploit this potential, we need research like that conducted by Jens Hör at our HZI institute HIRI in Würzburg. ERC grants are among the most important and prestigious sources of funding in the international scientific community and create the freedom to pursue such innovative approaches, thereby laying the foundation for future therapies,” states Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the HZI. “I warmly congratulate Jens Hör on this great success.”
Focus on RNA phages
The therapeutic use of phages dates back to the early 20th century. Nevertheless, it gradually faded into obscurity due to the development and widespread success of conventional antibiotics. Recent discoveries have brought phages back into the spotlight, highlighting their tremendous potential in basic and applied research. For example, phage research has shown that certain aspects of the human innate immune system can be traced back to bacterial defense mechanisms. In addition, researchers made significant progress in developing phages as a therapeutic agent for treating infections caused by multi-resistant bacteria.
However, this renaissance neglected an understudied group: phages with ribonucleic acid (RNA) as their genetic material. “Their biology is fundamentally different from that of DNA phages, which are based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). To start, their appearance differs: While DNA phages have a head and a tail, RNA phages consist only of a head,” explains Hör. Currently, only very few RNA phages have been discovered. Through his ERC-funded project, Hör aims to further our understanding of this unique group of phages.
To reproduce efficiently, RNA phages use unique regulatory mechanisms that determine which proteins are produced and when. Hosts—bacteria infected by phages—have their own defense systems to stop the intruders. These processes are carefully coordinated. The goal of the phages is to reproduce as quickly as possible. The host cell, on the other hand, aims to ward off the phages to protect the bacterial population.
“Understanding these mechanisms of action facilitates the effective use of RNA phages as therapeutic agents. It also bears the potential to discover entirely new biotechnological tools,” says Jens Hör. “In my RIBO-PHAGE project, I want to elucidate the unique lifestyle of RNA phages and provide a detailed picture of the molecular processes involved in RNA phage infection.” Hör is particularly interested in deciphering how RNA phages efficiently regulate their replication and which host factors they hijack in the process. In addition, he intends to shed more light on how bacteria defend themselves against RNA phage infections. He will use, amongst others, RNA phages from the Fiersviridae and Cystoviridae families, which infect bacteria of the genera Escherichia and Pseudomonas, as model systems.
Jens Hör is already the fifth HIRI group leader to receive ERC funding. Jörg Vogel concludes that “the successful acquisition of this new grant is not only impressive proof of the HIRI's outstanding position in the international research landscape. This also shows that phage research has reached a critical mass, making it an integral part of future medicine.”
About Jens Hör
Jens Hör studied life and medical sciences at the University of Bonn (Germany) and received his PhD from the University of Würzburg (Germany) in 2020. During these studies, he focused on the global analysis of bacterial RNA-protein complexes. He then joined the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel) as a postdoc, where he worked on the mechanisms of bacterial anti-phage defense systems. Since 2024, he has been a research group leader at HIRI and a junior professor at JMU.
You can learn more about Jens Hör, his research on RNA phages, and the steps still needed to enable widespread use of phage therapies in Germany in today's episode of “InFact – The HZI Podcast. Science that is contagious”: https://infacthzi.podigee.io/34-phages-bacteria-eaters-against-dangerous-infecti....
About HIRI
The Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) is the first institution of its kind worldwide to combine ribonucleic acid (RNA) research with infection biology. Based on novel findings from its strong basic research program, the institute’s long-term goal is to develop innovative therapeutic approaches to better diagnose and treat human infections.
HIRI is a site of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) and is located on the Würzburg Medical Campus. More information at http://www.helmholtz-hiri.de
The ERC Starting Grants
ERC Starting Grants are funding instruments of the European Research Council to support young scientists in their efforts to become independent top researchers. At the time of application, a maximum of seven years may have passed since the candidates have obtained their doctoral degree. The only explicit evaluation criterion is the scientific excellence of the researchers and the proposed project. The successful projects are funded for up to five years with a total amount of up to 1.5 million euros.
The European Research Council
The European Research Council, established by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organization for excellent cutting-edge research. Each year, it selects the best and most creative researchers of any nationality and funds projects based in Europe. The ERC offers four core-funding programs: Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant Program, the ERC helps grant holders to bridge the gap between their frontier research and the early stages of commercialization. https://erc.europa.eu/
This press release, further information and an image are also available on our website: https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/media-center/newsroom/news-detail/15-million-eur....
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research:
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and its other sites in Germany are engaged in the study of bacterial and viral infections and the body’s defense mechanisms. They have a profound expertise in natural compound research and its exploitation as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) the HZI performs translational research laying the ground for the development of new treatments and vaccines against infectious diseases. http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en
Media Contact:
Luisa Härtig
Manager Communications
Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI)
luisa.haertig@helmholtz-hiri.de
+49 931 31 86688
https://www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/news/detail/news/catch-a-virus-by-its-... News "Catch a virus by its tail"
Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) receives an ERC Starti ...
Quelle: Nik Schölzel
Copyright: HIRI / Nik Schölzel
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Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) receives an ERC Starti ...
Quelle: Nik Schölzel
Copyright: HIRI / Nik Schölzel
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