Newsletter

Happy New Year from the Microverse!

As any microbe knows, a successful year begins with adaptation, a bit of movement, and the occasional dose of controlled chaos. 2026 is no exception.

We are starting not only a new calendar year, but also the second funding phase of our Cluster of Excellence. We are looking forward to a new round of exciting research projects, and we warmly welcome the many new PhD students and postdocs who are joining the cluster – even if, for now, this welcome happens digitally. At the same time, our community continues to grow: several positions are currently open, and we encourage interested researchers to take a look at the advertised opportunities on our website.

Movement will play a very literal role this spring: large parts of our community will be relocating to the new Microverse Center Jena. Between freezers that require strategic planning, equipment that looks almost interstellar, and labs briefly turning into high-stakes games of scientific Tetris, this transition will create many memorable moments. We are inviting you to help document these moving moments and share the stories behind them.

Alongside the move, this issue also features microbial fun facts you can now wear on your socks, new diversity initiatives, support offers for everyday life, open calls, and a full events calendar. All in all, 2026 is shaping up to be an active year – at the micro scale and far beyond.

Let’s start it together: curious, collaborative, and with a sense of humor worthy of the microverse.

AI generation based on a prompt from Juliane Seeber.

Moving Microbes, Big Moments – Share Your Move!

This spring, several research groups will be moving into the new Microverse Center Jena – a major milestone for our community. A move like this is not just about boxes and floor plans; it is full of memorable, surprising, and sometimes slightly chaotic moments.

We would love to capture these moments together with you.

• Unusual or impressive equipment moves (did it look more like a space probe than a microscope?)

• Logistical challenges (did a freezer require near military-level planning?)

• Funny or emotional scenes (a farewell tour for an incubator, or an office briefly turning into scientific Tetris)

• Unexpected situations that perfectly capture the spirit of the move

Whether impressive, funny, or completely unexpected – we are looking for moving moments in every sense of the word.

Please share your:

• Photos

• Short videos

• Anecdotes or observations

from the move to the Microverse Center Jena.

For social media, feel free to tag your posts with our shared hashtag: #MicroverseOnTheMove

We look forward to your contributions and to sharing this milestone with the entire Microverse community.

Our Microverse Socks, Photo: Anna Schroll

Did you know that… Microbes are already part of your everyday outfit?

Our Cluster of Excellence merchandise is now fully listed in the intranet (Category "Outreach & Communication") – and ready to make your daily life just a little more microbial.

Each item comes with a small twist:
a “Did you know that…?” fun fact about the microverse or microorganisms, reminding us that microbes are everywhere – on us, around us, and very much at the heart of our research.

All merchandise items can be ordered and collected at the administrative office (contact@microverse-cluster.de).
For larger quantities, please contact us early so we can plan accordingly.

And because the microverse is endlessly creative:
We are always happy to hear your ideas for new and exciting merchandise. If you have a brilliant thought that makes you smile and think “Did you know that…?” – let us know.

Explore the full selection in the intranet and help us spread microverse knowledge, one fun fact at a time.

Microverse Diversity and Culture

Diversity Committee Meeting

January 13, 2026 | 12 pm | Leibniz HKI, Nucleus Cafeteria, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena

You're warmly invited to join our next Diversity Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 13 at 12 pm, in the Nucleus Cafeteria. We’ll chat about Microverse diversity topics in a relaxed setting — feel free to join just once or regularly!

During this meeting, we will also discuss, among other topics, new ideas for creative content for upcoming awareness days.

Please note: food and drinks aren’t provided, so you're welcome to buy something at the café.

Hope to see you there!

Looking for Childcare?

The University of Jena’s Babysitting Pool is a free service for employees and students, connecting families with trained student babysitters. Support is also available in English, making it especially helpful for international staff.

Learn more and start a request.

Jena Anti-Discrimination Office – Support, Advice, and Advocacy

The City of Jena is actively committed to combating discrimination and fostering a diverse urban society in which difference is recognized and valued as an enrichment. As part of this commitment, the independent municipal Anti-Discrimination Office serves as a local point of contact for people who have experienced discrimination.

The office offers confidential advice, guidance, and support, helping those affected to understand their options and, where appropriate, to take further steps. The service is independent, free of charge, and open to everyone living or working in Jena.

Read more

Your Diversity Committee
Rosalind Allen, Merle Hammer, Silvia Kolossa & Johannes Zimmermann

Tara Polar Station on her maiden voyage near Spitsbergen

Photo: Maéva Bardy - Tara Ocean Foundation

Public Saturday Lecture: From the Tropics to the Eternal Ice

We would like to draw your attention to an upcoming public Saturday lecture at the University of Jena featuring Prof. Dr. Georg Pohnert, Professor of Instrumental and Bioorganic Analytical Chemistry and Principal Investigator in our Cluster of Excellence.

The lecture offers insights into current research on microalgae (phytoplankton), the microscopic organisms that form the basis of marine food webs and produce nearly as much oxygen as all land plants combined. Prof. Pohnert will present results from expeditions ranging from tropical regions to the Arctic Ocean, including research conducted aboard the Tara Polar Station drifting through sea ice near Svalbard.

By connecting data from extreme and contrasting ecosystems—from the Amazon delta to the polar night—this research helps to better understand how microbial life enables and sustains ocean ecosystems.

• Date: January 31, 2026 | 10.30 am to 12 pm
• Venue: IAAC, Humboldtstraße 8, Lecture Hall, 07743 Jena
• Language: German
• Admission: Free

The lecture is part of the university’s public Saturday lecture series “ChemGeo aktuell” and is open to all interested members of the public.

Open Calls

• ERC Consolidator Grant
  Deadline: January 13, 2026
  Further Information
• Call for French-German projects in the Natural, Life and Engineering Sciences
  Deadline: January 14, 2026
  Further Information
• EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships
  Deadline: January 23, 2026
  Further Information
• Three Minute Thesis Competition
  Deadline: January 30, 2026
  Further Information

• LIFE Talent Award - Recognition for Excellence in Life Sciences
  Deadline: January 31, 2026
  Further Information

• EIPOD-LinC Fellowship Programme
  Deadline: February 2, 2026
  Further Information

• KlarText-Prize for Science Communicators
  Deadline: February 28, 2026
  Further Information (only available in german language)
• Deutscher Studienpreis 2026
  Deadline: March 1, 2026
  Further Information (only available in german language)
• DFG Funding Initiative “Global Minds in DFG Consortia”
  Deadline: March 6, 2026
  Further Information

Upcoming Events & Workshops

• Sustainable Campus Café: Sustainable Mobility & Internationalization
  January 13, 2026 | Thuringian University and State Library (ThULB), Bibliotheksplatz 2, 07743 Jena (barrier-free)
  Read more
• FLI Seminar: Miguel Godinho Ferreira: "Organ Communication in Aging of Zebrafish"
  January 14, 2026 | 1 to 2 pm | FLI 1, Seminar Room "Nucleus", Beutenbergstr. 11, 07745 Jena
  Read more
• L³ (LIGHT–LIFE–LIBERTY): Public Lecture with Prof. Sebastian Seiffert
  January 14, 2026 | 5.15 pm | IAAC, Humboldtstraße 8, Lecture Hall, 07743 Jena
  Read more

• PhD and Postdoc Day 2026
  January 29, 2026 | Rosensäle, Fürstengraben 27, 07743 Jena
  Read more
• Research Data Management - Essentials for project coordinators
  February 12, 2026 | 10 t0 11.30 am | online via Zoom
  Read more
• JEMS with Yen-Ping Hsueh
  February 17, 2026 | 12.15 pm | Leibniz HKI – Seminar Room Pasteur, Building A8, Beutenbergstr. 11a, Jena
  No registration is required.
• 17^th German Peptide Symposium 2026
  March 4 to 6, 2026 | University of Duisburg-Essen, central campus in Essen, in the old Audimax (building S04), located at Universitätsstraße 2, 45141 Essen
  Read more

• ChemBioSys International Symposium
  March 9 to 11, 2026 | Rosensäle, Fürstengraben 27, 07743 Jena
  Read more

• Microverse Seminar with Karina Xavier
  March 17, 2026 | 12.15 pm | Leibniz HKI – Seminar Room Pasteur, Building A8, Beutenbergstr. 11a, Jena
  No registration is required.

More dates from the Microverse

Selected Publications

• Herbst R, Ibrahim A, Hübner A, Knüpfer U, Regestein L, Wiedemann C, Hellmich UA, Warinner C, Stallforth P. Actifensin Evolution in the Human Oral Cavity over the Past 100,000 Years. J Am Chem Soc. 2025;147(52):48060-71.

• Escobar Doncel A, Patinios C, Campos A, Walter Costa MB, Turkina MV, Murace M, Staals RHJ, Vignolini S, Dutilh BE, Ingham CJ. Deletion of the moeA gene in Flavobacterium IR1 drives structural color shift from green to blue and alters polysaccharide metabolism. Elife. 2026;14.

• Klepsch LC, Ismail J, Bachmann V, Páez Larios F, Roesner NC, Obeysekara U, Behnke M, Vollrath A, Pretzel D, Jordan PM, Hoeppener S, Guerrero Sanchez C, Werz O, Eggeling C, Schubert US. Efficient delivery of magnolol via polymer and hybrid lipid-polymer particles to human macrophages. Materials Today Chemistry. 2025;50.

• Gauthier L, Koceva H, Bachelot Y, Koutstaal RW, van Kasteren PB, Figge MT, Eggeling C, Mosig AS. Generation of an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Alveolar Type II In Vitro Model to Study Influenza A Virus Infection and Drug Treatments. Adv Healthc Mater. 2025:e05141.

• Pan X, Kelani AA, Schrettenbrunner L, Prabakar S, Israni B, Blango MG. An Improved Description of the Small RNA Landscape of the Human Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Mol Microbiol. 2026.

• Bolduc B, Zablocki O, Turner D, Bin Jang H, Guo J, Adriaenssens EM, Dutilh BE, Sullivan MB. Machine learning enables scalable and systematic hierarchical virus taxonomy. Nat Biotechnol. 2025.

• Thielemann N, Leal Siliceo S, Rau M, Schöninger A, Reus N, Aldejohann AM, Shehata A, Behr IS, Nieuwenhuizen NE, Herz M, Hermanns HM, Mirhakkak M, Löffler J, Dandekar T, Hünniger-Ast K, Martin R, Panagiotou G, Geier A, Kurzai O. Mycobiome Dysbiosis and Genetic Predisposition for Elevated IL-17A Contribute to Fibrosis in MASLD. JHEP Reports. 2025.

• Saghaei S, Siemers M, Ossetek KL, Richter S, Edwards RA, Roux S, Zielezinski A, Dutilh BE, Marz M, Cassman NA. VirJenDB: a FAIR (meta)data and bioinformatics platform for all viruses. Nucleic Acids Res. 2025.

All publications

Feedback, ideas or suggestions for the newsletter? - Then get in touch with us at juliane.seeber@uni-jena.de!