Laura Berneking

Laura Berneking is a Research Fellow at the University of Hamburg's Faculty of Medicine, affiliated with the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene. Her work focuses on bacterial and viral pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and immune modulation in infectious diseases. She contributes to clinical diagnostics and translational research, particularly in bloodstream infections, device-related infections, and complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Her research interests include Yersinia species' virulence strategies, the role of bacterial effectors in host immune suppression, and the molecular basis of antibiotic resistance. She has pioneered studies on Vibrio infections linked to environmental factors and evaluated novel diagnostic assays for rapid pathogen detection. Her work bridges basic science and clinical applications, emphasizing translational outcomes in infection control and patient care.

Key projects include analyzing Staphylococcus condimenti genomic characterization, cefiderocol resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and HHV-6 integration post-stem cell transplantation. She collaborates with international teams on antibiotic development (e.g., rifamycin derivatives) and has published extensively in high-impact journals like PLoS Pathogens, European Journal of Cell Biology, and International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Laura Berneking holds memberships in the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie and the Berufsverband der Ärzte für Mikrobiologie und Infektionsepidemiologie. She is based at the UKE Campus Forschung II in Hamburg, contributing to both laboratory research and clinical diagnostic workflows.