We have founded the ‘German Association of Women Infection Researchers’!
At our 5th network meeting in Munich on 25 March 2025, we officially founded the association ‘Association of German Women Infection Researchers - Infect-Net’ . At the founding meeting in the seminar room of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene at the Technical University of Munich, the new association board was elected under the direction of TUM virologist Prof Dr Ulrike Protzer and the statutes and membership fee regulations, which had already been discussed in advance, were voted on. Prof Dr Bettina Löffler from Jena University Hospital took the minutes of the meeting.
A total of 36 women attended the meeting and elected the following six candidates to the association's board by ballot paper:
The board of the association
- Chairwoman: Prof Dr Gabriele Pradel (RWTH Aachen)
- 1st deputy: Prof Dr Antje Flieger (RKI Wernigerode)
- 2nd deputy: Prof Dr Clarissa Prazeres da Costa (TU München)
- 1st secretary: Junior Prof Dr Christina Karsten (UK Essen)
- 2nd secretary: Prof Dr Asisa Volz (TiHo Hannover)
- Treasurer: PD Dr Michaela Petter (UK Erlangen)
All candidates accepted the election. We would like to congratulate all the new board members on their election and thank them for their willingness and commitment to Infect-Net!
Who are the new Infect-Net board members?
The team that forms the new association board has been elected for an initial period of three years. We would like to briefly introduce the individual board members here:
Chairwoman: Prof Dr Gabriele Pradel
Parasitologist Prof Dr Gabriele Pradel heads the Department of Applied and Cellular Infection Biology at RWTH Aachen University. There she conducts research on the gametocyte development of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. She is the spokesperson of the DFG priority programme Exit Mechanisms of intracellular pathogens SPP2225 and initiator and spokesperson of the BMBF-funded network initiative ‘Infect-Net’. Gabriele Pradel is a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission and a DFG liaison lecturer for women and early career researchers at RWTH Aachen University. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
1st deputy: Prof Dr Antje Flieger
Prof Dr Antje Flieger is a microbiologist and head of the Department of Bacterial Intestinal Pathogens and Legionella (FG 11) at the Robert Koch Institute in Wernigerode and teaches at the Humboldt University in Berlin and at the TU Braunschweig. Antje Flieger has been a member of the SPP2225 steering committee and the Infect-Net board for several years. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
2nd deputy: Prof Dr Clarissa Prazeres da Costa
The infectious disease specialist Prof Dr Clarissa Prazers da Costa leads the Diagnostic Parasitology and the Infection and Immunity in Global Health working group at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene at the Technical University of Munich. Her work focusses on the Schistosomacouple fluke, women's health and capacity building in countries of the global South. She is co-founder and co-director of the Center for Global Health @TUM and an active member of the Infect-Net board. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
1st secretary: Junior Prof Dr Christina Karsten
Junior Prof Dr Christina Karsten researches at Essen University Hospital and the antibody response to sugar-bound viral proteins in HIV infections. The virologist and immunologist is also involved in the Young Society for Virology as co-spokesperson for the Young PIs and in the Equal Opportunities Department of the Faculty of Medicine at Essen University Hospital. As she was unable to attend the meeting in Munich in person at short notice, she introduced herself via video message instead. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
2nd secretary: Prof Dr Asisa Volz
Virologist Prof Dr Asisa Volz researches viral vaccination strategies and emerging viruses at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover . She is a new member of the Infect-Net board and represents the TiHo Hannover as a founding member. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
Treasurer: PD Dr Michaela Petter
Parasitologist PD Dr. Michaela Petter researches at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen molekulare Infektionsmechanismen des Malaria-Erregers Plasmodium falciparum. As treasurer, she will keep track of the organisation's finances on the board. Photo: Kathrin Czoppelt.
With the founding of the association, we have not only reached the most important milestone of our BMBF-funded network initiative, but can also sustainably consolidate and independently develop our goals of strengthening the visibility and scientific-political influence of female infection researchers in Germany. This step would not have been possible without the support, commitment and impetus of all the women who have already joined our network – Thank you very much for that!
Two universities and ten female scientists are founding members
Ten of the female scientists present signed the association's statutes as founding members. They are as follows:
- Prof Dr Marylyn Martina Addo
- Prof Dr Dunja Bruder
- Prof Dr Antje Flieger
- Prof Dr Bettina Löffler
- PD Dr. Michaela Petter
- Prof Dr Gabriele Pradel
- Prof Dr Clarissa Prazeres da Costa
- Prof Dr Ulrike Protzer
- Prof Dr Asisa Volz
- Prof Dr Ina Maja Vorberg
Gabriele Pradel and Asisa Volz have each signed as representatives of their respective universities, making RWTH Aachen University and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover founding members of the German Association of Women Infection Researchers.
Funding project vs. association - what's the difference?
It may be a little confusing that there are currently two networks with the name ‘Infect-Net’: a BMBF project and an association. The following two sections are intended to help distinguish between the two structures
Infect-Net as BMBF-funded network initiative
In October 2022, Gabriele Pradel and her colleagues received three years of project funding under the ‘Innovative Women in Focus’ funding guideline of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to improve the visibility of female infection researchers in Germany, to network them with each other and to strengthen their social and science policy voice. The funding essentially covers the costs of a coordination office, travel expenses for lecture series and network meetings as well as the organisation of workshops in accordance with the BMBF funding guidelines. As project manager, Gabriele Pradel is supported by 9 colleagues on the board, which discusses the objectives and progress of the project at monthly meetings. The aim of the project is to establish an association to continue Infect-Net's mission in the long term. The funding will continue until the end of September 2025.
Verband Deutscher Infektionsforscherinnen – Infect-Net e.V.
The newly founded non-profit organisation ‘Verband Deutscher Infektionsforscherinnen - Infect-Net’ is no longer funded by the BMBF, but will be supported by membership fees and donations. This will enable it to independently finance the infrastructure, the association's administration, an annual general meeting and, if necessary, small prizes. Due to the elimination of the coordination centre, the individual tasks must be carried out by association members on a voluntary basis. In return, the individual members have more opportunities to help shape the organisation and the association can decide independently which specific measures should be taken. In addition to the general meeting, a six-member board decides on the association's business. The extended board also includes five assessors and a nestor. The participants in the founding meeting are already members of the association.
What happens next?
Before the newly founded association can begin its work and replace the BMBF project, a few formalities still need to be completed. Next, we will establish the non-profit status of the association and arrange for the notarised entry in the register of associations. This will be followed by the opening of an account and the start of an official admission procedure. We will of course keep you informed about these steps. A membership fee for full members of the association will not be due until January 2026.
Together we are shaping the future of Infect-Net and us infection researchers!
René Lesnik | Coordination Infect-Net
English 
German