Podcast with F. Frischknecht
Interview with Freddy in which he tells us how he got interested in malaria research and that we are still far a away from a malaria vaccine... Listen in!
Link to Podcast episodeMalaria Research: Frischknecht
Lab members
Current members
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Frischknecht (Group leader, 2005 - present)
Dr. Julia Sattler (Postdoc, since 2010 in the Frischknecht lab)
Dr. Mirko Singer (Postdoc, 2022 - present)
Dr. Yannik Voß (Postdoc, 2024 - present)
Long Chun (PhD student, 2025 ongoing)
Buyuan He (PhD student, 2021 - present)
Dongwan Zhang (PhD student, 2025 ongoing)
Yvonne Sokolowski (PhD student, 2024 - present)
Kevin Walz (PhD student, 2021 - present)
Tyrese Neumann-Hamid (MD student, 2025 ongoing)
Maximilian Winter (MD student, 2025 ongoing)
Miriam Reinig (Technician)
Lena Haaga (MSc student, 2024 - present)
Marzia Matejcek (MSc student, 2024-2025; student assistant, 2025 ongoing)
& various BSc students :-)
SPOT: a web-tool enabling swift profiling of transcriptomes
The Frischknecht lab proudly presents SPOT (Swift Profiling Of Transcriptomes), a web tool that allows not only differential expression analysis but also fast ranking of genes fitting transcription profiles of interest.
Podcast on young scientists in Germany (in German!)
Prof Frischknecht reports on the situation in the life sciences
Link to German podcast episode (5)Marsilius Podcast on the topic of fever (in German!)
Prof Frischknecht and colleagues discuss the "phenomenon of fever" and the effect of malaria in Episode 8 of the Marsilius Podcast
Link to German podcast episodeIntroduction by way of YouTube
Get an impression of Freddy's research!
Link to playlistFlashtalk by F. Frischknecht
Why study microtubules in Plasmodium?
watch the talkTalk by F. Frischknecht
Why have we not been able to eradicate malaria?
Watch the talk (also interesting for non-scientists)Job offers
We normally have open positions for medical doctoral students and master students. If you are interested in working in a highly interactive team within an interdisciplinary environment using reverse genetic approaches, state-of-the-art microscopy techniques and are not afraid of new challenges and biophysical methods, please send us your CV, 2 letters of recommendation and a 1-page statement of motivation within a single pdf. We also usually have some vacancies for short term stays of a minimum of 6 weeks. For those send an informal enquiry to "fratsch(at)gmail.com".
Projects
Visualising malaria transmission
Malaria is transmitted during the blood meal of the Anopheles mosquito, when Plasmodium sporozoites are injected into the skin. These sporozoites are highly motile using a unique type of motility system allowing them to move within the tissue in order to reach the blood circulation. This motility system is also important for the invasion of a variety of cell types at different stages of the Plasmodium life cycle thus being essential for the successful progression of the infectious cycle of the malaria parasite.
Four projects deal with different aspects of sporozoite biology. One project investigates Lyme disease borrelia.
Project 1: Deletion and modification of genes involved in parasite gliding motility
Project 2: Investigating the biophysical basis of gliding by measuring the forces that sporozoites generate on flexible and nano-patterned substrates as well as with laser traps
Project 3: Quantitative in vivo and in vitro imaging of sporozoites and their interaction with cells and substrates
Project 4: Investigation of sporozoite formation in 3D at high resolution using cryo-electron tomography, correlative light and electron microscopy
Project 5: Investigation of Lyme disease Borrelia
Organised Courses & Trainings
Advanced training:
Courses on Microscopy and imaging host pathogen interactions (e.g.: EMBO World Cup course in South Africa), WACCBIP Cell Biology course [Legon, Ghana], Cell Biology of Malaria course [Bahir Dar, Ethiopia], Biology of Parasitism course [Woods Hole, USA])
Science and Society:
Heidelberg Forum on Biosciences and Society.
Acknowledgement for Funding
For previous and current funding we gratefully acknowledge the following institutions:
Alexander von Humboldt foundation (postdoc fellowships to N. Dahan & C. Matos),
Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation (group leader fellowship for F. Frischknecht),
European Molecular Biology Organisation,
EU Network of Excellence EVIMalaR (PhD fellowship to K. Bane),
EU-FP7 (InterMalTraining - joint PhD student with Maria Mota),
European Research Council (ERC starting grant),
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, PhD fellowships for H. Kumar, M. Muthinja and S. Panda),
German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF),
German Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF through Biofuture and NGFN programmes),
German Research Foundation (DFG through SFB 544, SFB 1129, SPP 1128, SPP 1464, Coronin, Marsilius Kolleg, SPP 2225, SPP 2332),
Hartmut Hoffmann-Berling International Graduate School of Molecular and Cellular Biology Heidelberg (PhD fellowship to B. Spreng),
Human Frontier Science Program Organisation (joint grants with Dave Kovar, Anne Houdusse and Jake Baum),
Klaus-Georg-and-Sigrid-Hengstberger Foundation,
Marie Curie Action of the EU (postdoc fellowship for S. Egarter),
Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg (Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim)
University of Heidelberg Excellence Cluster CellNetworks (postdoc fellowships for L. Lemgruber and R. Douglas),
University of Heidelberg Frontier Programme (joint grants with Ulrich Schwarz, Christian Boehm, Michael Boutros, Carmen Ruiz de Almodovar and Rebekka Wade),
University of Heidelberg Medical School
Wellcome Trust (discovery award with Rob Moon)
Collaborators - past and present
Wolfgang Baumeister (Martinsried), Martin Baumgartner (Zurich), Martin Beck (EMBL), Oliver Billker (Cambridge), Jürgen Bosch (Baltimore), Michael Boutros (Heidelberg), Marek Cyrklaff (Heidelberg), Ulrike Engel (Heidelberg), Oliver Fackler (Heidelberg), Volker Heussler (Bern), Anne Houdusse (Paris), David Kovar (Chicago), Misha Kudryashev (Berlin), Inari Kursula (Bergen and Oulu), Sebastian Lourido (MIT), Julia Mahamid (EMBL), Gunnar Mair (Ames), Matthias Marti (Glasgow), Kai Matuschewski (Berlin), Alex Mayer (Canberra), Markus Meissner (Munich), Maria Mota (Lisboa), Stuart Ralph (Melbourne), Melanie Rug (Canberra), Carmen Ruiz de Almodòvar (Heidelberg), Ulrich Schwarz (Heidelberg), Inga Sidem Kiamos (Heraklion), Photini Sinnis (Baltimore), Dominique Soldati-Favre (Geneva), Joachim Spatz (Stuttgart), Rebecca Wade (Heidelberg), Reinhard Wallich (Heidelberg), Andy Waters (Glasgow)
Publications
Selected publications of the Frischknecht group
=> Books etc.
F. Frischknecht, Parasites - insects, worms, protozoa - repressed pests?, Springer Essentials, 2020
F. Frischknecht, Malaria - Deadly parasites, exciting research and no vaccine, Springer Essentials, 2018
J. Baum, and F. Frischknecht, Motorising Pathogens, Semin Cell Dev Biol, 46, 78-81, 2015.
F. Frischknecht, M. M. Mota, A. Scherf and A. P. Waters (eds), Malaria, a special themed issue of Cellular Microbiology, 16 (5), 599-795, 2014.
F. Frischknecht and S.L. Shorte (eds), Imaging host-pathogen interactions, Biotechnology Journal, Wiley-Blackwell, 4 (6), 773-948, 2009.
S. L. Shorte, F. Frischknecht (eds), Imaging Cellular and Molecular Biological Functions, Springer Verlag, 2007.
=> Reviews
Boddey JA, Frischknecht F. Francesco Redi: honoring the grandfather of parasitology on his 400th birthday. Trends Parasitol. 2025 Nov 17:S1471-4922(25)00304-6. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.10.014. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41249074.
Singer M, Kanatani S, Castillo SG, Frischknecht F, Sinnis P. The Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein. Trends Parasitol. 2024 Dec;40(12):1124-1134. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.10.017. Epub 2024 Nov 20. PMID: 39572325; PMCID: PMC12223538.
Göpfrich K, Platten M, Frischknecht F, Fackler OT. Bottom-up synthetic immunology. Nat Nanotechnol. 2024 Nov;19(11):1587-1596. doi: 10.1038/s41565-024-01744-9. Epub 2024 Aug 26. PMID: 39187581.
Douglas RG, Moon RW, Frischknecht F. Cytoskeleton Organization in Formation and Motility of Apicomplexan Parasites. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2024 Nov;78(1):311-335. doi: 10.1146/annurev-micro-041222-011539. Epub 2024 Nov 7. PMID: 39094056.
Frischknecht F, Rayner JC, Waters AP. 20 years of BioMalPar: Building a collaborative malaria research network. Trends Parasitol. 2024 Aug;40(8):657-659. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.06.016. Epub 2024 Jul 17. PMID: 39025766.
Reber S, Singer M, Frischknecht F. Cytoskeletal dynamics in parasites. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2024 Feb;86:102277. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102277. Epub 2023 Dec 3. PMID: 38048658.
Singer M, Frischknecht F. Still running fast: Plasmodium ookinetes and sporozoites 125 years after their discovery. Trends Parasitol. 2023 Oct 19:S1471-4922(23)00236-2. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.09.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37865610.
Ferreira JL, Frischknecht F. Parasite microtubule arrays. Curr Biol. 2023 Aug 21;33(16):R845-R850. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.001. PMID: 37607476.
Frischknecht F, Enninga J. Actin subversion for productive Plasmodium hepatocyte invasion. Trends Parasitol. 2023 May;39(5):319-320. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.03.003. Epub 2023 Mar 15. PMID: 36931922.
F. Hentzschel, and F. Frischknecht, Still enigmatic: Plasmodium oocysts 125 years after their discovery. Trends Parasitol. 2022 Jun 14:S1471-4922(22)00130-1. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.05.013. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35715304.
M. De Niz, F. Spadin, M. Marti, J.V. Stein, M. Frenz, F. Frischknecht, Toolbox for In Vivo Imaging of Host-Parasite Interactions at Multiple Scales , Trends Parasitol, doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.01.002, 2019.
J. M. Muthinja, J. Ripp, T. Kruger, A. Imle, T. Haraszti, O. T. Fackler, J. P. Spatz, M. Engstler, and F. Frischknecht, Tailored Environments to Study Motile Cells and Pathogens, Cell Microbiol, 20, 2018.
M. Cyrklaff, F. Frischknecht, and M. Kudryashev, Functional Insights into Pathogen Biology from 3d Electron Microscopy, FEMS Microbiol Rev, 41, 828-53, 2017.
M. De Niz, P. C. Burda, G. Kaiser, H. A. Del Portillo, T. Spielmann, F. Frischknecht, and V. T. Heussler, Progress in Imaging Methods: Insights Gained into Plasmodium Biology, Nat Rev Microbiol, 15, 37-54, 2017.
F. Frischknecht, and K. Matuschewski, Plasmodium Sporozoite Biology, Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med, 7, 2017.
M. Singer, and F. Frischknecht, Time for Genome Editing: Next-Generation Attenuated Malaria Parasites, Trends Parasitol, 33, 202-13, 2017.
R. G. Douglas, R. Amino, P. Sinnis, and F. Frischknecht, Active Migration and Passive Transport of Malaria Parasites, Trends Parasitol, 31, 357-62, 2015.
F. Frischknecht, Biological warfare: from history to current affairs, eLS, 2014.
M. Meissner, D. Fergusson and F. Frischknecht, Invasion factors of apicomplexan parasites: Essential or redundant? current Opinion in Microbiology, 16, 438-444, 2013.
M. Singer and F. Frischknecht, Challenges of imaging parasite transmission, Methods in Enzymology, 506, 19-33, 2012.
F. Frischknecht, Imaging parasites at different scales, Cell Host & Microbe, 8, 16-21, 2010.
F. Frischknecht, M. Gunzer and S.L. Shorte, Birth of the cool: Imaging and microbiology from lbn al-Haytham to Leewenhoek and Comandon, Biotechnology Journal, 4, 787-790, 2009.
S. Lepper, S. Münter, Spotlight on pathogens: Imaging host-pathogen interactions, Cellular Microbiology, 11, 855-862, 2009.
F. Frischknecht, The skin as interface in the transmission of arthropod-borne pathogens, Cellular Microbiology, 7, 1630-1640, 2007.
F. Frischknecht, O. Renaud, and S. L. Shorte, Imaging today's infectious animalcules, Current Opinion in Microbiology, 9, 297-306, 2006.
S. Münter, M. Way, and F. Frischknecht, Signalling during pathogen infection, Science STKE, re5, 2006.
R. Amino, R. Menard and F. Frischknecht, In vivo imaging of malaria parasites - recent advances and future perspectives, Current Opinion in Microbiology, 8, 407-414, 2005.
F. Frischknecht, and M. Way, Surfing pathogens and the lessons learned for actin polymerisation, Trends in Cell Biology, 11, 30-38, 2001.
=> Articles
Lettermann L, Singer M, Steinbrück S, Ziebert F, Kanatani S, Sinnis P, Frischknecht F, Schwarz US. Chirality of malaria parasites determines their motion patterns. Nature Physics. 24 November 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03096-0 (=> see also the blog article which gives further interesting insight)
Darif N, Rheinnecker M, Hildenbrand K, Chookajorn T, Dorner LP, Hériché JK, Henriksson S, Funaya C, Hentzschel F, Sandblad L, Billker O, Schwab Y, Frischknecht F. Cellular Hallmarks From Volume Electron Microscopy Reveal Developmental Progression of Plasmodium Ookinetes. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Sep 30:e08250. doi: 10.1002/advs.202508250. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41025598.
Ripp J, Probst D, Singer M, Schwarz US, Frischknecht F. Traction force generation in Plasmodium sporozoites is modulated by a surface adhesin. J Microsc. 2025 Jul 26. doi: 10.1111/jmi.70015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40716091.
Boddey JA, Frischknecht F. Interferoning with Plasmodium development in the liver. Cell Host Microbe. 2025 Apr 9;33(4):459-461. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2025.03.007. PMID: 40209672.
Kehrer J, Pietsch E, Ricken D, Strauss L, Heinze JM, Gilberger T, Frischknecht F. APEX-based proximity labeling in Plasmodium identifies a membrane protein with dual functions during mosquito infection. PLoS Pathog. 2024 Dec 18;20(12):e1012788. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012788. PMID: 39693377; PMCID: PMC11695019.
Sattler JM, Keiber L, Abdelrahim A, Zheng X, Jäcklin M, Zechel L, Moreau CA, Steinbrück S, Fischer M, Janse CJ, Hoffmann A, Hentzschel F, Frischknecht F. Experimental vaccination by single dose sporozoite injection of blood-stage attenuated malaria parasites. EMBO Mol Med. 2024 Sep;16(9):2060-2079. doi: 10.1038/s44321-024-00101-6. Epub 2024 Aug 5. PMID: 39103697; PMCID: PMC11392930.
Frischknecht F, Pradel G. Mechanisms of host cell exit by intracellular pathogens. Mol Microbiol. 2024 Mar;121(3):325-327. doi: 10.1111/mmi.15239. PMID: 38462237.
Thieleke-Matos C, Walz K, Frischknecht F, Singer M. Overcoming the egress block of Plasmodium sporozoites expressing fluorescently tagged circumsporozoite protein. Mol Microbiol. 2024 Mar;121(3):565-577. doi: 10.1111/mmi.15230. Epub 2024 Feb 23. PMID: 38396332.
Darif N, Albers J, Ronchi P, Duke L, Frischknecht F, Schwab Y. From Organ to Organelle: towards a Multimodal 3D Cell Atlas of the Malaria Parasite Mosquito stages using Correlative Light, X-ray and volume Electron Microscopy. Microsc Microanal. 2023 Jul 22;29(29 Suppl 1):1195-1196. doi: 10.1093/micmic/ozad067.615. PMID: 37613241.
Braumann F, Klug D, Kehrer J, Song G, Feng J, Springer TA, Frischknecht F. Conformational change of Plasmodium TRAP is essential for sporozoite migration and transmission. EMBO Rep. 2023 Jul 5;24(7):e57064. doi: 10.15252/embr.202357064. Epub 2023 Jun 12. PMID: 37306042; PMCID: PMC10328070.
Pashapour S, Seneca S, Schröter M, Frischknecht F, Platzman I, Spatz J. Design and Development of Extracellular Matrix Protein-Based Microcapsules as Tools for Bacteria Investigation. Adv Healthc Mater. 2023 Apr;12(11):e2202789. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202202789. Epub 2023 Jan 16. PMID: 36599129.
Ferreira JL, Pražák V, Vasishtan D, Siggel M, Hentzschel F, Binder AM, Pietsch E, Kosinski J, Frischknecht F, Gilberger TW, Grünewald K. Variable microtubule architecture in the malaria parasite. Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 3;14(1):1216. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36627-5. PMID: 36869034; PMCID: PMC9984467.
Wichers-Misterek JS, Binder AM, Mesén-Ramírez P, Dorner LP, Safavi S, Fuchs G, Lenz TL, Bachmann A, Wilson D, Frischknecht F, Gilberger TW. A Microtubule-Associated Protein Is Essential for Malaria Parasite Transmission. mBio. 2023 Feb 28;14(1):e0331822. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03318-22. Epub 2023 Jan 10. PMID: 36625655; PMCID: PMC9973338.
Kehrer J, Pietsch E, Heinze J, Spielmann T, Frischknecht F. Clearing of hemozoin crystals in malaria parasites enables whole-cell STED microscopy. J Cell Sci. 2023 Jan 1;136(1):jcs260399. doi: 10.1242/jcs.260399. Epub 2023 Jan 9. PMID: 36511329.
Yee M, Walther T, Frischknecht F, Douglas RG. Divergent Plasmodium actin residues are essential for filament localisation, mosquito salivary gland invasion and malaria transmission. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Aug 23;18(8):e1010779. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010779. PMID: 35998188; PMCID: PMC9439217.
Wai CH, Jin J, Cyrklaff M, Genoud C, Funaya C, Sattler J, Maceski A, Meier S, Heiland S, Lanzer M, Frischknecht F, Kuhle J, Bendszus M, Hoffmann A. Neurofilament light chain plasma levels are associated with area of brain damage in experimental cerebral malaria. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 24;12(1):10726. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14291-x. PMID: 35750882; PMCID: PMC9232608.
Patra P, Beyer K, Jaiswal A, Battista A, Rohr K, Frischknecht F, Schwarz US. Collective migration reveals mechanical flexibility of malaria parasites. Nature Physics 2022 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41567-022-01583-2
Ripp J, Smyrnakou X, Neuhoff MT, Hentzschel F, Frischknecht F. Phosphorylation of myosin A regulates gliding motility and is essential for Plasmodium transmission. EMBO Rep. 2022 May 4:e54857. doi: 10.15252/embr.202254857. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35506479.
Kehrer J, Formaglio P, Muthinja JM, Weber S, Baltissen D, Lance C, Ripp J, Grech J, Meissner M, Funaya C, Amino R, Frischknecht F. Plasmodium sporozoite disintegration during skin passage limits malaria parasite transmission. EMBO Rep. 2022 Apr 11:e54719. doi: 10.15252/embr.202254719. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35403820.
Klaus S, Binder P, Kim J, Machado M, Funaya C, Schaaf V, Klaschka D, Kudulyte A, Cyrklaff M, Laketa V, Höfer T, Guizetti J, Becker NB, Frischknecht F, Schwarz US, Ganter M. Asynchronous nuclear cycles in multinucleated Plasmodium falciparum facilitate rapid proliferation. Sci Adv. 2022 Apr;8(13):eabj5362. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abj5362. Epub 2022 Mar 30. PMID: 35353560; PMCID: PMC8967237.
Jin J, Ba MA, Wai CH, Mohanty S, Sahu PK, Pattnaik R, Pirpamer L, Fischer M, Heiland S, Lanzer M, Frischknecht F, Mueller AK, Pfeil J, Majhi M, Cyrklaff M, Wassmer SC, Bendszus M, Hoffmann A. Transcellular blood-brain barrier disruption in malaria-induced reversible brain edema .Life Sci Alliance. 2022 Mar 8;5(6):e202201402. doi: 10.26508/lsa.202201402. PMID: 35260473; PMCID: PMC8905774.
Kimmel J, Kehrer J, Frischknecht F, Spielmann T.Proximity-dependent biotinylation approaches to study apicomplexan biology. Mol Microbiol. 2022 Mar;117(3):553-568. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14815. Epub 2021 Oct 22. PMID: 34587292.
Miles S, Magnone J, García-Luna J, Ancarola ME, Cucher M, Dematteis S, Frischknecht F, Cyrklaff M, Mourglia-Ettlin G. Ultrastructural characterisation of the tegument in protoscoleces of Echinococcus ortleppi. Int J Parasitol. 2021 Nov;51(12):989-997. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.05.004. Epub 2021 Jun 30. PMID: 34216624.
Beyer K, Kracht S, Kehrer J, Singer M, Klug D, Frischknecht F. Limited Plasmodium sporozoite gliding motility in the absence of TRAP family adhesins. Malar J. 2021 Oct 30;20(1):430. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03960-3. PMID: 34717635; PMCID: PMC8557484.
Kimmel J, Kehrer J, Frischknecht F, Spielmann T. Proximity-dependent biotinylation approaches to study apicomplexan biology. Mol Microbiol. 2021 Sep 29. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14815. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34587292.
Ganter M, Frischknecht F.Illuminating Plasmodium invasion by lattice-light-sheet microscopy. Trends Parasitol. 2021 Sep;37(9):777-779. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2021.07.008. Epub 2021 Jul 28. PMID: 34332896.
Farr EB, Sattler JM, Frischknecht F. SPOT: a web-tool enabling swift profiling of transcriptomes .Bioinformatics. 2021 Jul 21:btab541. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/btab541. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34289024; PMCID:PMC8406885.
Miles S, Magnone J, García-Luna J, Ancarola ME, Cucher M, Dematteis S, Frischknecht F, Cyrklaff M, Mourglia-Ettlin G. Ultrastructural characterisation of the tegument in protoscoleces of Echinococcus ortleppi. Int J Parasitol. 2021 Nov;51(12):989-997. doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.05.004. Epub 2021 Jun 30. PMID:34216624.
Soni K, Kempf G, Manalastas-Cantos K, Hendricks A, Flemming D, Guizetti J, Simon B, Frischknecht F, Svergun D
=> Selected papers / projects of the lab shortly explained
Cell Bio Virtual Conference 2020
Talk by Jessica Kehrer from the Frischknecht lab at the Cell Bio Virtual Conference (ASCB / EMBO Meeting) in December 2020.
![[Translate to English:] Coupling of Retrograde Flow to Force Production During Malaria Parasite Migration (ACS Nano 2016)](/fileadmin/_processed_/7/4/csm_Tweezers_2016_1f9062a8ee.webp "Tweezers 2016")
=> Cover gallery by F. Frischknecht
=> Science and Society
F. Frischknecht, Infectious entertainment,Biotechnology Journal, 4, 944-946, 2009.
F. Frischknecht, Small countries are unexpected winners in ERC grant tables,Nature, 454, 690, 2008.
F. Frischknecht, The history of biological warfare, EMBO Reports, 4, 47-52, 2003.
Favourites
Projects / Networks
Malaria
Walt Disney's classic "The winged scourge": (1) (2)
BBC documentary on malaria (part 1 of 6)
Dr Seuss On Malaria: "This is Ann"
Music and malaria: (1) (2 / Stieber Twins-Malaria)
E-learning
Correlative microscopy
Activities
Alumni
Postdocs
Marek Cyrklaff, 2008 - 2025
Matthias Wagner, 2023 - 2024
Nathália Ferreira Lima, 2022 - 2024 (Infectotest project)
Juliane Kutzner, 2020 - 2021
Carolina Matos, 2018 - 2021
Ross Douglas, 2013 - 2019, now: Group leader, Justus-Liebig University Giessen
Saskia Egarter , 2014 - 2017, now: Scientific writer
Gunnar Mair, 2012 - 2016, now: PI at University of Iowa, Ames
Noa Dahan, 2014 - 2015, now: Postdoc at Weitzmann Institute Rehovot
Martin Streichfuss, 2013 - 2014, now: Robert Bosch, Reutlingen
Leandro Lemgruber, 2010 - 2012, then: Rockefeller University, now: Head of EM unit, Glasgow University
Claudia Kuss, 2010 - 2012: now: Clinical study analyst, Berlin
Kai Uhrig, 2009, now: Consultant at McKinsey
Sylvia Münter, 2005 - 2009, then: Carl Zeiss Munich, now: Microscope Facility, Heidelberg University Hospital
PhD students
Monami Chowdhury, 2021 - 2025
Annika Binder, 2021 - 2025
Simran Panda, 2021 - 2023
Johanna Ripp, 2016 - 2020
Benjamin Spreng, 2014 - 2018, now with Johnson and Johnson, Switzerland
Katharina Quadt, 2013 - 2018, then: Application specialist, Zendia, Heidelberg, now: Labor Limbach, Heidelberg
Julianne Mendi Muthinja, 2013 - 2017
Konrad Beyer, 2013 - 2016, now: Consultant with Catenion, Berlin
Hirdesh Kumar, 2012 - 2016, now: Postdoc with Tolja Niraj at NIH, USA
Dennis Klug, 2012 - 2017, now: Postdoc with Stephanie Blandin in Strasbourg
Kartik Bane, 2011 - 2016, then Postdoc at Yale, now: Scientific editor, Mumbai
Janina Hellmann (Master, PhD student and Postdoc) 2007 - 2012, now: Teacher at Gymnasium Bruchsal
Simone Lepper, 2007 -2011, then: Arithmeum Museum for Mathematics, Bonn, now: Nikon, Heidelberg
Mikhail Kudryashev, 2005 -2009, then: Group leader at MPI Frankfurt, now: Group leader at MDC Berlin
Stephan Hegge, 2005 -2010 and (Postdoc) 2010 - 2011, now: Associate with consulting company Catenion, Berlin
Technicians
Carrie Anderson, 2021 - 2024 (Infectotest project)
Katarina Abramovic, 2010 -2011
Iris Arnold, 2009 -2010
Aurore Guiet, 2008
Diana Scheppan, 2005 -2009
Andrea Hecker, 2005
Medical doctoral students
Lars Sippmann, 2024 - 2025
Yann Gomez, 2024 - 2025
David Lubotsky, 2022 - 2024
Smilla Steinbrück, 2023 - 2024 (see also her report on her time in the U.S.)
Luisa Zechel, 2022 - 2023
Aiman Abdelrahim, 2021 - 2022 (see also his report on his time in Sudan)
Joshua Leutiger, 2021 - 2022 (see also his report on his time in Tanzania)
Martin Jäcklin, 2021 - 2022
Cindy Zheng, 2021 - 2022
Bastian Löhning, 2020 - 2021
Friedrich Braumann, 2020 - 2021 (see also his report on his time in Rwanda)
Lukas Keiber, 2020 - 2021
Leon Mühlsteffen, 2020 - 2021
Simon Kracht, 2019 - 2020
Maurizio Wack, 2017 - 2018
Henriette Prinz, 2016 - 2017
Julia Aktories, 2015 - 2016
Katja Haßler, (joint student with Jake Baum) 2015 - 2016
Ulrike Amelung, 2011
Björn Alex, 2008 - 2010
Natalia Lüsebrink 2008 - 2009
MSc students
Fenja Nuglisch, 2024 - 2025
Marzia Matejcek, 2024 - 2025
Maren Gehringer, 2023 - 2025
Katharina Röver, 2023 - 2024
Yvonne Sokolowski, 2022 - 2024
Pratika Agarwal, 2022 - 2023
Shafaq Riaz, 2022
Nathan Ribot, 2021 - 2022
Kevin Walz, 2020 - 2021
Juyeop Kim, 2020 - 2021
Felix Mikus, 2020 - 2021
Philip Ehmann, 2020
Dominic Schwarz, 2019 - 2020
Manuela Aguirre Botero, 2019
Michelle Yee, 2019
Annika Binder, 2019
Xanthoula Smyrnakou, 2019
Martina Nieß, 2019
Emma Pietsch, 2018 - 2019
Nadine Renner, 2018
Claudia Di Biagio, 2017
Hannah Fleckenstein, 2016
Rebekka Weber, 2016
Johanna Kratzer, 2015 -2016
Madlen Konert, 2013 -2014
Jennifer Marschall, 2012 -2013
Conny Bernecker, 2010 -2011
Mirko Singer, 2009
Oliver Mazodze (research student) 2008 -2009
Janina Hellmann, 2007-2008
Luis Barniol, 2007 - 2008
Marion Hliscs (research student), 2006 - 2007
BSc students
Walter Hitschfeld, 2025
Michelle Müller, 2025
Lili Weiß, 2024 - 2025
Louisa Schön, 2023 - 2024
Madleen Piegsa, 2023
David Jewanski, 2023
Nina Droste, 2023
Sina Kühnel, 2023
Lukas Radtke, 2022
Roberta Malamud, 2022
Sina Heineken, 2021
Yvonne Sokolowski, 2021
Meret Hopf, 2021
Christan Simon, 2021
Marilena Wittmaack, 2020
Konstantin Fischer, 2020
Marzia Matejcek, 2020
Elias Farr, 2020
Tobias Walther, 2018
Lisa Nechyporenko, 2018
Nadine Klingberg, 2018
Marie Neuhoff, 2018
Paul Rothhaar, 2018
Dominik Ricken, 2017
Patrick Kübler, 2017
Jaqueline Hammer, 2017
Christian Sommerauer, 2016
Benjamin Lang, 2016
Leanne Strauss, 2016
Sarah Goellner, 2015
Paul Ott, 2014
Michael Staniek, 2014
Polina Mantaj, 2013
Samantha Ebersol, 2013
Elisabeth Singer, 2013
Tony Völtzke, 2013
Dietmar Mehlhorn, 2013
Lucas Schütz, 2011
Andreas Balz, 2010
Jenny Pestl, 2008
Jan-Peter Röderer, 2008
RISE visitors
The following students enriched our lab for 3 months during summer visits paid by the US-German or Canadian-Baden-Würrtemberg exchange programmes.
Ashley Smith, 2007
Christiana Baloescu, 2008
Carmen Bayly, 2010
Alice Nasto, 2010
Loren Chan, 2011
Olivia Ramsey, 2012
Steven Mee, 2013
Kristina Kelly, 2014
Frea Mehta, 2015
Serina Khater, 2016
Sydney Sparanese, 2017
For alumni of Heidelberg University see
For EMBL Alumni Association see:
www.embl.de/aboutus/alumni/index.html
to the left: Brochure (put together by Maj Britt Hansen, Freddy Frischknecht and Mehrnoosh Rayner) on poster exhibition as part of the staff-alumni reunion in 2010.
News - Frischknecht Group
Publication in Nature Physics
(24 November 2025)
New findings by scientists in our department (Frischknecht lab) together with colleagues from the local Institute for Theoretical Physics and Johns Hopkins University in the USA: Malaria parasites move on right-handed helices, which is made possible by a previously unexplained asymmetry in the parasite's body structure. These findings could in turn be helpful in testing new drugs and vaccines.
If you would like more information about the research, it is available in the journal Nature Physics:
L. Lettermann, M. Singer, S. Steinbrück, F. Ziebert, S. Kanatani, P. Sinnis, F. Frischknecht, U. S. Schwarz: Chirality of malaria parasites determines their motion patterns. Nature Physics (November 24, 2025), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03096-0
Alternatively, we recommend the press release from Heidelberg University Hospital.
Interview with F. Frischknecht
(19 September 2024)
On the occasion of the annual report 2023 of Heidelberg University hospital Prof. Till Bärnighausen (Heidelberg Institute for Global Health) and our group leader Prof. Friedrich Frischknecht were interviewed on the fascinating topic of 'Mosquitoes and Men'. A very interesting insight, especially as the infection route of malaria is also explained. The complete annual report 2023 is available here
How to get in touch:
