Helmholtz Munich | ©Petra Nehmeyer
Academic Career and Research Areas
Li Deng conducts research in the area of phage biology, virome and microbiome. She uses single-cell technologies, multi-omics, culture-independent techniques, and machine learning to understand the underlying mechanisms of phage-bacterial interactions and their impact on the human host. Her group develops phage-based novel therapeutics and prevention interventions for target eliminating pathogenic bacteria and ameliorating disease severity by restoring healthy microbiota in multiple diseases or conditions.
Professional Background
Since 05/2023
Director, Central Institute of Disease Prevention, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Since 03/2022
Chair Professor (W3) of Microbial Disease Prevention, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Since 03/2017
HMGU Young Investigator Group Leader, Institute of Virology, Helmholtz Centre Munich, Germany
09/2016 - 02/2022
Emmy Noether Group Leader and TUM Junior Fellow, Helmholtz Centre Munich and Technical University of Munich, Germany
07/2015 - 09/2016
Maternity and Parental leave
04/2012 - 06/2013
Maternity and Parental leave
12/2011 - 08/2015
Senior postdoc at the Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany
10/2008 - 10/2011
Postdoc at the Department of Ecology and Evolutional Biology, University of Arizona, USA
10/2004 - 10/2008
Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Bristol, U.K.
Thesis: Evidence for cyanophage active against bloom-forming freshwater cyanobacteria
10/2003 - 10/2004
M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences, University of Nottingham, U.K.
08/1998 - 01/2003