Holger Sondermann

Structural microbiology

Holger Sondermann is Professor at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and head of the "Structural Microbiology" group at DESY. At the Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) on the DESY campus, he and his group conduct research on topics in the fields of bacterial infection biology and fundamental cell biology. Holger Sondermann has taken over as Scientific Director of the CSSB from 2024 to 2026.

He is particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms that allow bacteria to react to their environment and to form social associations in order to ensure survival even under unfavorable growth conditions, such as nutrient deficiencies or the use of antibiotics. This basic research could then serve as a blueprint for the targeted control of pathogens, especially those associated with chronic diseases. For this purpose, methods of molecular and structural biology based on modern X-ray sources like PETRA III are applied. The development of new radiation sources and innovative methods at DESY will make it possible to apply new approaches to the study of these processes, which will provide deeper insights into this topic.

Academic career

2024 - 2026 Scientific Director of the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB)
Since 2020 Professor at Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel and Lead Scientist at DESY, Research Group Forschungsgruppe “Structural Microbiology” at the Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB)
2016-2020 Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
2010-2016 Associate Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
2005-2010 Assistant Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
2001-2005 PostDoc at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
2001 PostDoc at Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
2001 PhD (Biochemistry) at the University of Cologne and Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried
1997 Diploma (Biology) at the University of Cologne