Prof. Dr. Julia Frunzke appointed W3 professor of biology at HHU
At the beginning of the winter semester 2025/2026, Prof. Dr. Julia Frunzke was appointed W3 Professor and Director of the Institute of Microbial Interaction at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). At Forschungszentrum Jülich, she investigates interactions between bacteria and phages, as well as their potential applications in synthetic biology and biotechnology.
Phages are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, replicate within them, and ultimately destroy them. As a result, they are considered promising tools in the fight against pathogenic bacteria. Prof. Frunzke’s research group studies the interactions between phages and their bacterial hosts to gain new insights into bacterial immune systems. Based on these findings, innovative biotechnological applications are being developed, as demonstrated by well-known examples such as CRISPR/Cas systems and restriction enzymes.
Another research focus is the analysis of complex regulatory networks and bacterial communication, which enable microorganisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Through this work, the group is involved in the Collaborative Research Center SFB 1535 “MibiNet – Microbial Networking” at HHU.
About
Julia Frunzke (born in 1980 in Lich, Germany) studied biology at Philipps University Marburg, where she received her diploma degree in 2004. She earned her PhD in 2007 at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) with a thesis on iron homeostasis in Corynebacterium glutamicum. After a postdoctoral stay at ETH Zurich, she became a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Leader at Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2011. She was appointed Junior Professor in 2013, W2 Professor in 2017, and in October 2025 W3 Professor of Microbial Interaction at HHU.
Prof. Frunzke’s research focuses on interactions between bacteria and phages to gain fundamental insights into bacterial immune systems, as well as on the structure and dynamics of microbial regulatory networks. She has published numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Microbiology, mBio, and PNAS. She was awarded an ERC Starting Grant for the project “Pro_Phage” and serves as spokesperson of the DFG Priority Programme SPP 2330 “New Concepts in Prokaryotic Virus–Host Interactions” and co-spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Center SFB 1535 “MibiNet” at HHU.
Origial press realease: https://www.hhu.de/neuberufene/detailansicht-neuberufene/prof-dr-julia-frunzke-zur-w3-professorin-in-der-biologie-an-der-hhu-ernannt