Alexander Westermann

Prof. Dr. Alexander Westermann (Chair of Microbiology, University of Würzburg) is a leading researcher in RNA biology of anaerobic gut commensals and host-microbe interactions. Since 2023, he has served as a W2-Professor at the University of Würzburg, previously holding a Junior Professorship and leading a junior research group at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (2018-2023). His work integrates cross-species RNA-seq technologies and hypoxic tissue models to study bacterial colonization.

His research focuses on Salmonella virulence regulation via small RNAs, metabolic interactions within Bacteroidetes, and microbiota-pathogen dynamics. Notably, he developed low-input RNA-seq protocols for single-cell analysis of gut bacteria. His team has trained multiple PhD students including Tais Franco de Carvalho, Nahyung Ko, and Ann-Sophie Rüttiger, while postdocs like Lena Amend and Thomas Guest have contributed to key discoveries.

Awarded the 2025 GSLS Supervisor of the Year (2nd place), Westermann's work has been published in Nature, Cell Reports, and Nature Microbiology. His scientific community engagement includes leadership in the Westermann Lab on Bluesky and collaborations with institutions like UC Davis and Imperial College London.