The DEEP-DV consortium, led by Prof. Dr. Nicole Fischer and Prof. Dr. Melanie Brinkmann, has been awarded the 2026 North German Science Award in recognition of its research achievements within a cross-state collaboration. With this award, the five northern German federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein honour outstanding collaborations in the field of infectious disease research.
“Chronic viral infections and their long-term consequences are becoming increasingly important in an ageing society and for vulnerable groups. By combining scientific expertise and state-of-the-art technologies, we aim to gain a better understanding of persistent viral infections and develop new approaches to prevention and therapy,” says Prof. Dr. Nicole Fischer (Hamburg site).
One of the consortium’s key projects is the development of the DEEP-DV Transcription Atlas, a molecular map of DNA virus infections that will be made available to the international research community. “DEEP-DV demonstrates what can be achieved when universities and non-university research institutions combine their complementary strengths. The award therefore recognizes not only the project’s scientific achievements, but also the close collaboration and strong research structures that we have jointly established in northern Germany,” says Prof. Dr. Melanie Brinkmann (Braunschweig site).