Jörg Andrä

Professor Jörg Andrä is a distinguished academic at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), where he serves as Professor of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and Head of the Department of Biotechnology within the Faculty of Life Sciences. He also leads the Laboratory for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and is a member of the Department Council for Biotechnology. His research is closely connected with the Research and Transfer Center ALSTER (Applied Life Science Technologies and Environmental Research) and the research group PharmCycle.

Dr. Andrä's research focuses on peptides of the innate immune system as lead structures for developing antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor drugs, with particular emphasis on biodegradable peptide-based antibiotics (PharmCycle project) and bacterial and eukaryotic cell membrane models. His work spans biochemistry, molecular biology, and pharmaceutical development, with significant contributions to understanding antimicrobial peptides and their mechanisms of action against pathogens and cancer cells.

His research program includes major projects such as bioSurf (biotechnological production of antimicrobial peptides for biocidal surface coatings) and PharmCycle (a comprehensive approach to reducing antibiotic contamination in aquatic environments through sustainable antibiotic development). His publications reveal a strong focus on peptide-membrane interactions, endotoxin neutralization, and the development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

• Peptide-based treatment of sepsis (2011)
• Mechanisms of endotoxin neutralization by synthetic cationic compounds (2006)
• Nutrition in the critically ill (2011)
• Structural analysis of NK-lysin-derived peptides (2024)

Professor Andrä actively supervises doctoral students, with recent completions including Dominik Wilms (2012-2016) who investigated surface structures for selective activity of antimicrobial peptides against cancer cells, and Stephanie Gross (2011-2015) who evaluated antimicrobial peptides as anti-cancer agents. His research has resulted in numerous scientific publications and patents related to antimicrobial peptides, demonstrating his significant contributions to the field of biochemistry and pharmaceutical development.