Philipp Popp, group leader with Professor Marc Erhardt at the Institute of Biology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, will establish his own research line and investigate in his project BacDefiant how bacteria coordinate their defense repertoire against bacteriophages (phages).
Using advanced microscopy and microfluidics, individual cells are monitored in real time to uncover when and how distinct defense systems act together. Combining microbiology, live-cell imaging, and synthetic biology, the project aims to decipher bacteria–phage interactions at the single-cell level.
The findings aim to provide a detailed picture of bacterial immunity and improve our understanding of factors that could influence the success of phage-based treatment approaches.