Ute Ziegler

Dr. Ute Ziegler is a Researcher at the Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases (INNT) within the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Germany's federal research institute for animal health and zoonoses. She holds a habilitation in veterinary medicine (Dr. med. vet. habil.) and is a Chamber-Recognised Veterinarian Specialist in Virology.

Her research centers on virology with emphases on zoonotic disease transmission dynamics and emerging viral threats. Key focus areas include wildlife-livestock-human interface virology, mosquito-borne pathogens (particularly West Nile Virus), and ecological drivers of viral spillover events. She investigates viral ecology in synanthropic species like rats, house mice, and wild birds to understand outbreak mechanisms in changing environments.

Dr. Ziegler leads or contributes to critical national research initiatives including the West Nile Virus National Reference Laboratory (NRL), the CuliFo3 project on German mosquito-borne diseases, and the WiLiMAN-ID ecology consortium. Her operational work through the WBA-Zoo and CoRoPa projects enables early pathogen detection and outbreak management frameworks for emerging zoonoses, directly supporting Germany's National Research Platform for Zoonoses.