Li Deng

Prof. Li Deng is a Full Professor at the TUM School of Life Sciences and holds the Chair of Bacterial Disease Prevention at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She is also the joint director of the Central Institute for Infection Prevention (ZIP). Her research focuses on phage biology, virome, and microbiome, employing single-cell technologies, multi-omics, and machine learning to study phage-bacteria interactions and develop phage-based therapies.

Education:

• BEng in Environmental Engineering, Tsinghua University, China
• MSc in Environmental Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK
• PhD in Microbiology, University of Bristol, UK

Her work bridges fundamental research and clinical applications, aiming to combat infectious diseases by restoring healthy microbiota. Key contributions include advancing understanding of gut microbiome dynamics and virome roles in human health.

Awards:

• ERC Starting Grant (2018)
• Helmholtz Young Investigator Group (2016–present)
• Emmy-Noether Junior Research Group (2016–present)

Advising and Grants: Prof. Deng leads research groups funded by the DFG, Helmholtz Association, and EU. Her projects include developing phage-based tools and investigating virome roles in disease prevention.

Labs/Teams: Directs the ZIP institute, focusing on translational research in infection prevention and microbiome engineering.