German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research
Associated partners of the DZIF are researchers based at German universities and research institutions that are not among the DZIF’s member institutions. Partner at the German Primate Center is (as of March 31, 2026): Stefan Pöhlmann.
The German Primate Center (DPZ) in Göttingen participates in the DZIF research area Emerging Infections through Prof. Dr. Stefan Pöhlmann as an associated partner. In his DZIF project, he investigates characteristics of emerging viruses that are relevant to assessing their potential risks.
To this end, Pöhlmann and his DPZ team develop and optimize surrogate systems. These are safe experimental model systems that can be used, for example, to study how emerging viruses enter host cells and how this process can be inhibited by antibodies, without the need to work with the complete pathogenic virus. The research focuses, among other things, on emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, MERS coronaviruses, and filoviruses, as well as their zoonotic potential and potential for human-to-human transmission.
In addition, the team at the DPZ supports DZIF projects by analyzing neutralizing antibody responses following infection or vaccination, thereby contributing to the development and evaluation of vaccines. The surrogate systems are also intended to enable the rapid analysis of previously unknown emerging pathogens ("Disease X") and thus contribute to pandemic preparedness.