(2025)
Convergent evolution of a fungal effector enabling phagosome membrane penetration.
bioRxiv
[Preprint]
Prof. Dr. Axel A. Brakhage
Director Molecular and Applied Microbiology · Head of Department Transfer Group Antiinfectives · Acting head +49 3641 532-1001 axel.brakhage@leibniz-hki.deCurriculum vitae
Main Research Areas
- Infection biology of human pathogenic fungi
- Molecular biotechnology / synthetic biotechnology of microbial compounds
- Microbial communication
- Eukaryotic gene regulation / transcription factors
Professional Career
| since 2005 | Scientific Director, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) Jena |
| since 2005 | Head of Department Molecular and Applied Microbiology, Leibniz-HKI Jena |
| since 2004 | Professor (C4/W3) and chair in microbiology and molecular biology, Institute for Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena |
| 2001-2004 | Professor (C4) and chair in microbiology, Leibniz University Hanover |
| 1998-2001 | Professor (C3) in microbiology, Technical University Darmstadt |
| 1996 | Habilitation in microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich |
| 1992-1998 | Research assistant (C1), Institute for Genetics and Microbiology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
| 1990-1992 | Research assistant, The University of Sheffield, UK, funded through postdoc grants of the DFG |
| 1989-1990 | Group head, Biotechnology, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen |
| 1989 | Dr. rer. nat. in microbiology, „summa cum laude“ University Münster and Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (IBPC) Paris |
| 1985 | Studies in biology/chemistry, diploma in biology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster |
Awards · Appointments · Scientific Activities
| 2024 | Ferdinand Cohn-Medal of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) |
| 2023 | Member of the FWF Cluster of Excellence Jury, Vienna, AUT |
| since 2020 | Vice President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) |
| since 2020 | Head of section 13 "Microbiology and Immunology" and Senator in the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina |
| since 2020 | Founding member and Board of Directors, Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research gGmbH (LPI), Jena |
| since 2020 | Founding member and Board of Directors "Incate" Incubator for Antibacterial Therapies in Europe, Basel, CH |
| since 2019 | Member of the scientific panel of the Leibniz Institute of Virology (LIV), Hamburg |
| since 2019 | Member of the foundation board of the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT), Regensburg |
| 2019-2022 | Spokesperson of the Excellence Cluster "Balance of the Microverse" (DFG) |
| since 2018 | Member of the scientific panel of the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF), Münster |
| since 2017 | Member of the Steering Committee DZIF/TTU Novel Antibiotics |
| since 2017 | Elected member of the American Academy of Microbiology |
| since 2017 | Member of the scientific panel of the Robert Koch Foundation (RKS), Berlin |
| since 2017 | Member of the scientific panel of the MRC Medical Mycology Centre, Exeter, UK |
| since 2016 | Member of the Clusterboard RIS3 Thüringen |
| since 2016 | Member of the scientific panel of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB), Berlin |
| 2016-2020 | Spokesperson of the Leibniz Research Cluster “Biotechnologie 2020+“ |
| since 2015 | Elected member of the European Academy of Microbiology |
| since 2015 | Honorary member of the Deutschsprachige Mykologische Gesellschaft e.V. (DMykG) |
| 2014 | Main Research Award of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) |
| since 2013 | Spokesperson of the SFB/Transregio 124 FungiNet (DFG) |
| 2013-2020 | Deputy representative of the Leibniz-Research-Alliance Compounds and Biotechnology |
| since 2013 | Board member of the research campus “InfectoGnostics” (BMBF) |
| since 2012 | Spokesperson of the consortium “InfectControl 2020 – New Anti-infection Strategies – Science • Society • Economy” in the BMBF-programme “Zwanzig 20 – Partnership for Innovation” |
| 2012-2016 | Representative of the DFG-Professional Council 204 Microbiology, Immunology, Virology |
| 2010-2012 | Board member of the Integriertes Forschungs- und Behandlungszentrum “Center for Sepsis Control and Care” (CSCC) at the University Hospital Jena |
| 2010-2018 | Authorised commissioner of the Leibniz Association for Biotechnology |
| 2010-2018 | Member of the scientific panel of the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig |
| 2010-2018 | Member of the scientific panel of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Research (HIPS), Saarbrücken |
| 2010-2020 | Member of the scientific panel of the Research Centre Borstel, Borstel |
| 2010-2017 | Member of the scientific panel of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), Halle |
| 2009-2017 | Supervisory Board Leibniz-Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig |
| 2009-2016 | Member of the scientific panel of the Research Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), Würzburg |
| 2009-2011 | President of the Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM) |
| 2008-2019 | Member of the university council (reappointment 2011+2015) at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena |
| 2008-2016 | Member of the DFG-Professional Council 204 Microbiology, Immunology, Virology |
| 2008 | Appointed member of the Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften, Leopoldina |
| 2007-2016 | Liaison Officer for scientific misconduct at the FSU Jena |
| 2007-2020 | Spokesperson of the excellence graduate school „Jena School for Microbial Communication” (JSMC) |
| 2006-2008 | Spokesperson of the graduate school "International Leibniz Research School (ILRS) for microbial and biomolecular interactions“ |
| 2006 | Heinz-Seeliger award for infection biology |
| since 2005 | Scientific panel "Goettinger Center for Molecular Bio/Sciences" (GZMB), Georg-August-University Göttingen |
| 2005-2022 | Member of the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena |
| 2004-2010 | Representative of the DFG Priority Programme 1160 "Colonisation and Infection by Human-pathogenic Fungi" |
| 2003-2010 | Scientific panel „Center for Microbial Biotechnology“ DTU Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 2003-2009 | Member in the programme committee of the DFG Priority Programme 1152 "Evolution of Metabolic Diversity" |
| 2003-2004 | Dean, faculty biology, Leibniz-University Hanover |
| 2002-2006, 2009-2020 |
Member of the scientific panel of the Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF), Würzburg |
| since 1998 | Editor of several magazines |
| since 1995 | Principal investigator in EU projects |
Publications
(2025)
Candida albicans biofilm extracellular vesicles deliver candidalysin to epithelial cell membranes and induce host cell responses.
Infect Immun ,
e0040424.
(2025)
The murine lung microbiome is disbalanced by the human-pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus resulting in enrichment of anaerobic bacteria.
Cell Rep 44(3),
115442.
(2024)
The proteomic response of Aspergillus fumigatus to Amphotericin B (AmB) reveals the involvement of the RTA-like protein RtaA in AmB resistance.
microLife 6,
uqae024.
(2024)
Microbial hub signaling compounds: natural products disproportionally shape microbiome composition and structure.
microLife 5,
uqae017.
(2024)
Human and animal relationships.
In: Brakhage AA, Kniemeyer O, Zipfel PF (eds.) The Mycota - Human and animal relationships. 3. 6, pp. vii-viii. Springer, Cham.
ISBN: 978-3-031-64853. (Review)
(2024)
The influence of Aspergillus fumigatus fatty acid oxygenases PpoA and PpoC on Caspofungin susceptibility.
J Fungi 10(11),
749.
(2024)
Interplay between host humoral pattern recognition molecules controls undue immuneresponses against Aspergillus fumigatus.
Nat Commun 15(1),
6966.
(2024)
ProQ-associated small RNAs control motility in Vibrio cholerae.
Nucleic Acids Res 53(4),
gkae1283.
(2024)
Aspergillus fumigatus-derived gliotoxin impacts innate immune cell activation through modulating lipid mediator production in macrophages.
Immunology 173(4),
748-767.
