The Heinrich Pette Institute - Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology (HPI) was founded in 1948 by Heinrich Pette, a German neurologist

Neurologist

A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...

. It began as a research facility to create polio vaccine. It is now a private foundation and involved with basic research in virology and the immune responses of organisms. The institute is a non-profit public beneficiary organisation and an independent member of the Leibniz Association and is located at the University of Hamburg

University of Hamburg

The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...

.

Research

The aim of the research at the Heinrich Pette Institute is to develop new approaches for improved diagnostic techniques and therapies for viral diseases and virus-associated tumor diseases. Scholars of the HPI explore a wide range of viruses, such as hepatitis

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...

 viruses (HPV, HCV), herpes viruses (HSV1, HSV2, EBV, KSHV), leukemia

Leukemia

Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

 viruses (HTLV -1, MLV), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

) and DNA tumor virususes (adenoviruses, SV 40). The trend for practical application of the results in diagnosis and treatment is reflected in many collaborations with clinical institutions and the industry.

The HPI is divided into four research departments and three independent research groups. The research spectrum is broadened by two independent groups of young newcomers, which are devoted to current issues of virology. The topics of the current working groups are:

• Molecular virology

Virology

Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...

• General virology
• Cell biology

Cell biology

Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

 and virology
• Tumor virology
• Electron microscopy
• Somatic stem cell genetics
• Molecular pathology

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

• Cellular virus defense

History

The foundation in 1948 as the "Foundation For The Research Of Spinal Polio" was made possible by two people: the generous patron Philipp Reemtsma Fürchtegott, and the neurologist Heinrich Pette. The latter defined the scientific concept and development of the institute until his death in 1964. After his death the Institute was renamed in 'Heinrich Pette Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology'. Since 1993 a cooperation agreement between the HPI and the University of Hamburg underlines the close relation to the university. The Institute's buildings were 1967, 1995 and most recently 2006 renewed and extended.

Networks

The Heinrich Pette Institute has collaborations on multiple levels with other research institutions. The HPI is a member of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community.

The Pette is located on the campus of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, and is due to the cooperation agreement linked closely to the University of Hamburg. The heads of departments are C4 or W3 professors, appointed in a procedure in close coordination with the specialized fields of medicine, chemistry and biology at the University of Hamburg.

The HPI alongside the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine; is a medical institution based in Hamburg, Germany which is dedicated to research, treatment, training and therapy of tropical and infectious diseases....

 and the Research Center Borstel (RCB) is founding member of the Leibniz Center for Infectious Disease Research (LZIF). Together, the three institutions harbour around 1,000 employees. The Leibniz Center for Infectious Disease Research aims at inventive and innovative basic research in the region of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

The promotion of infection biology research in the entire northern region of Germany is goal of the Nordverbund Infektionsbiologie (NORDIB).

The research center for pediatric hematology and oncology 'Forschungsinstitut Kinderkrebs-Zentrum Hamburg' has a part of the HPI's buildings. Based on the Public-Private Partnership the Society operates for the promotion of the replacement and expansion II of the Heinrich-Pette-Institute and is an independent research institute for pediatric hematology and oncology.

In cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics is a biology research institute located in Dresden, Germany. It was founded in 1998 and was fully operational in 2000...

 in Dresden scientists succeeded to prove, that it is possible using a customized enzyme ( Tre recombinase

Tre recombinase

Tre recombinase is an experimental enzyme that in lab tests has successfully removed DNA inserted by HIV from infected cells. The enzyme was derived from Cre recombinase through selective mutation for the purposes of identifying HIV markers, which are not bounded by loxP sites and therefore...

 ) to cut out the DNA of the HIV from the genome

Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

 of individual cells to remove it. This demonstration is an important step in the development of a treatment method for complete healing of AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

(hence the extensive removal or containment of HIV infection).