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Holger Sondermann
Structural microbiology
Holger Sondermann is Professor at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and head of the "Structural Microbiology" group at DESY. At the Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) on the DESY campus, he and his group conduct research on topics in the fields of bacterial infection biology and fundamental cell biology. Holger Sondermann has taken over as Scientific Director of the CSSB from 2024 to 2026.
He is particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms that allow bacteria to react to their environment and to form social associations in order to ensure survival even under unfavorable growth conditions, such as nutrient deficiencies or the use of antibiotics. This basic research could then serve as a blueprint for the targeted control of pathogens, especially those associated with chronic diseases. For this purpose, methods of molecular and structural biology based on modern X-ray sources like PETRA III are applied. The development of new radiation sources and innovative methods at DESY will make it possible to apply new approaches to the study of these processes, which will provide deeper insights into this topic.
Academic career
| 2024 - 2026 | Scientific Director of the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) |
| Since 2020 | Professor at Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel and Lead Scientist at DESY, Research Group Forschungsgruppe “Structural Microbiology” at the Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) |
| 2016-2020 | Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA |
| 2010-2016 | Associate Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA |
| 2005-2010 | Assistant Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA |
| 2001-2005 | PostDoc at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA |
| 2001 | PostDoc at Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA |
| 2001 | PhD (Biochemistry) at the University of Cologne and Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried |
| 1997 | Diploma (Biology) at the University of Cologne |
