Dr. Nadiia Pozhydaieva-Weber: Award-winning researcher against resistant bacteria!

Dr. Nadiia Pozhydaieva-Weber: Award-winning researcher against resistant bacteria!

On March 13, 2025, Dr. Nadiia Pozhydaieva-Weber was awarded the prestigious Marburg Prize for Bio- and Nanotechnology (MarBiNa). She conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and is dedicated to developing new treatment methods against bacterial infections, especially those that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. University of Marburg reports that Her focus is on researching bacteriophages - viruses that specifically infect bacteria and are harmless to humans.

Dr. Pozhydaieva-Weber has created thousands of cultures to study the behavior of these phages. Their goal is to develop so-called “designer phages” that specifically target specific bacterial strains. This could represent a revolutionary form of therapy in the fight against multi-resistant germs, which are increasingly becoming a challenge for modern medicine. According to the website of the Max Planck Institute Her research work is of great importance because bacteriophages can multiply much faster on bacterial cells than antibiotics.

Research and innovation

The method of Dr. Pozhydaieva-Weber's genetic manipulation of bacteriophages has already been patented and represents a significant advance in biotech research. Her team uses a "multi-omics" approach that allows detailed analysis of interactions between phages and bacteria. This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of a priority funded program for phage research.

An outstanding feature of their research is the overcoming of a previous obstacle: the difficulties in accessing the DNA material of phages. Dr. Pozhydaieva-Weber has developed a method that makes it possible to effectively access phage DNA using an enzyme found in human cells. This makes the application of molecular methods such as CRISPR-Cas much easier Fraunhofer Society explains.

Career and prospects

The researcher, who was born in eastern Ukraine, came to Germany at the age of 16 and quickly established herself in the scientific community. Dr. Pozhydaieva-Weber completed her biochemistry studies in Düsseldorf and completed her doctorate in Marburg in 2020, appreciating the city and the Max Planck Institute as an excellent place for her research. From summer 2024, she will continue to research the topic of multi-resistant germs as a postdoctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, but plans to return to Germany.

Bacteriophages, which have increasingly come into the spotlight in recent years due to scientific radicalism, are known to be the most common organisms on earth. Each type of phage has its specific type of bacteria that it targets. The ability of phages to specifically attach to their hosts makes them promising candidates for innovative therapies. Their unique properties offer promising approaches for the development of therapies that could replace antibiotics.

The award from the Initiative for Bio- and Nanotechnology (IBiNa) not only recognizes Dr. Pozhydaieva-Weber personally, but also her significant contributions in the field of research on antibiotic resistance and phage therapy. The MarBiNa Prize, which has been awarded annually to young scientists since 2014, highlights innovative research and the importance of the city of Marburg in this dynamic research field.