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Exploring fungal pathogens within unexplored microbial networks

Project description

Tackling the global threat of fungal infections

Although fungal infections pose a growing threat to global health, they remain severely understudied compared to bacterial and viral diseases. Pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans are becoming increasingly resistant to existing treatments, prompting urgent calls to action from the World Health Organization. Developing new antifungal therapies requires a new generation of highly trained researchers who understand infections within the context of microbial ecosystems. With support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the Fellows4Fungi project is recruiting 12 postdoctoral researchers to conduct pioneering research across drug discovery, fungal pathogenesis, multi-omics, computational microbiomics and epigenetics. Their work, supported by cutting-edge robotics and AI-driven approaches, will advance diagnostics and therapies by targeting fungal infections in the context of complex microbial communities.

Objective

Fellows4Fungi is a prestigious international postdoctoral programme addressing the urgent global health challenge of fungal infections. Hosted by the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (LEIBNIZ-HKI) in Jena, Germany, the programme will recruit 12 top-tier researchers through two calls, offering 36-month fellowships that combine research freedom with structured, interdisciplinary training.
LEIBNIZ-HKI is Germany’s only academic centre dedicated to human-pathogenic fungi and a global leader in antifungal research and natural product discovery. Fellows will carry out pioneering work across six strategic research areas, ranging from AI-driven drug discovery and fungal pathogenesis to microbiome modelling and epigenetics. The programme’s scientific mission directly addresses the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call to action on fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans, which are rising in clinical relevance due to increasing antifungal resistance.
Fellows4Fungi offers access to cutting-edge infrastructure – including robotics platforms, high-performance computing, and a unique microbial strain collection -alongside secondments and mentoring with 18 leading academic, clinical, and biotech partners in 7 countries. The programme combines scientific excellence with a strong commitment to open science, equality, and responsible research, supporting fellows with competitive salaries, personalised career development, and an inclusive research environment. Fellows4Fungi will train the next generation of leaders to bridge innovation gaps and drive advances in antifungal therapy, diagnostics, and data-driven healthcare solutions.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-Cofund-P - HORIZON TMA MSCA Cofund Postdoctoral programme

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-COFUND-01

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Coordinator

LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR NATURSTOFF-FORSCHUNG UND INFEKTIONSBIOLOGIE EV HANS-KNOLL-INSTITUT
Net EU contribution
€ 2 030 400,00
Address
BEUTENBERG STRASSE 11A
07745 Jena
Germany
Region
Thüringen Thüringen Jena, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
No data

Partners (18)