Karin Jacobs

Karin Jacobs is a Professor of Experimental Physics at Saarland University and a leading biophysicist affiliated with the Center for Biophysics. Her research focuses on physical principles of parasite-host interactions, adhesion mechanics, and biofilm formation using atomic force microscopy (AFM), force spectroscopy, and microfluidic systems. She serves as Vice President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2021 and contributes to national science policy through roles in the German Council of Science and Humanities and DFG's Excellence Strategy.

• Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz (2015)
• Göttingen Academy of Sciences (2022)
• DFG Collaborative Research Center SFB 1027

Her work spans functional surface engineering, quantification of biophysical forces, and modeling of non-equilibrium biological processes. Current projects include physics of Giardia adhesion, Trypanosoma motility, and malaria parasite chirality analysis under the DFG Priority Program 2332 (PoP). She coordinates interdisciplinary collaborations with microbiology and theoretical physics teams.

Recent publications examine Candida albicans adhesion to medical materials, Staphylococcus aureus surface interactions, and parasite mechanics in viscoelastic environments. Her lab develops 'virtual parasite' models and investigates physical determinants in Entamoeba tissue invasion.

• DFG Priority Program SPP 2332 "Physics of Parasitism" (Project 1)
• Member of CRC 1027 "Physical modelling of non-equilibrium processes in biological systems"