Three new research groups and projects funded by the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Heisenberg Programme are now active at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU): The group “BATMAL – Bat Malaria Parasites (Haemosporida) – Investigation of Diverse Host-Parasite Systems” led by biologist Dr Juliane Schaer is based at the Institute of Biology; the project “Anti-Colonial Empire. Russia in Global History since the 19th Century”, led by historian Dr Tobias Rupprecht at the Institute of History, and the group led by physicist Dr Stijn van Tongeren, “Integrable Deformations in Holography”, at the Institute of Physics.
BATMAL – Bat Malaria Parasites (Haemosporida) – Investigation of diverse host-parasite systems
The interaction between host and parasite – more specifically, between bats and malaria-related parasites – is the focus of Juliane Schaer’s research. The biologist, who holds a PhD, is investigating the specific characteristics of these parasites, their diversity and evolutionary history, as well as the dynamics of infection and their effects on mammalian hosts. From June, the research group leader in the Department of Molecular Parasitology at the Institute of Biology will receive the Heisenberg grant, which is awarded for a maximum of five years.
This will enable her to collect long-term data, network with other scientists and study wildlife populations in northern Uganda, among other places. “In certain flying fox populations there, 80 to 90 per cent of the animals are infected with malaria.” Her aim is to find out why the infections in bats – unlike in other mammals such as humans – tend to be relatively harmless. “The animals, which can live for up to 20 years, show no obvious symptoms of illness such as fever. We are investigating whether the infection nevertheless has long-term effects on organs such as the liver and lungs,” explains Juliane Schaer.
It is highly unlikely to become infected oneself, as only a handful of the approximately 550 insect-borne and host-specific malaria parasite species infect humans. Bat parasites, however, offer “a unique model for investigating fundamental questions about the evolution and biology of malaria parasites,” says Juliane Schaer.
Anti-colonial Empire. Russia in global history since the 19th century
At the heart of Tobias Rupprecht’s research project lies an alliance that continues to this day: in the 19th century, the late Russian Tsarist Empire sought to win over anti-colonial actors. Conversely, political movements, elites and rulers outside Europe used their ties to St Petersburg to pursue their own domestic and foreign policy objectives. “In doing so, the project deliberately moves away from a perspective that views non-European actors primarily as passive objects of imperial policy, and highlights their agency,” says Tobias Rupprecht.
Drawing on selected case studies of the then-independent states of Siam (now Thailand), Ethiopia, Persia and Afghanistan, the historian, who holds a PhD, aims to analyse – in collaboration with researchers from these countries – how pro-Russian groups sought to cooperate with Russia and what motivated them to do so. Source material is also expected to shed light on political movements and groups in western China, Korea and the Ottoman Empire that placed their trust in Russia.
Tobias Rupprecht examines the tensions between Russia’s role as an expanding empire and as a partner to anti-colonial forces, as well as the contributions of academia, religion and civil society networks to the establishment of these relationships. The project contributes to the global history of the Russian Empire whilst simultaneously opening up new perspectives on contemporary geopolitical constellations: anti-Western alliances with Russia trace their origins to historical traditions dating back to the 19th century.
Integrable deformations in holography
In his research, Stijn van Tongeren focuses on highly complex quantum field theories in theoretical physics, which are used to describe the behaviour and interactions of elementary particles. “However, as the desired exact calculations can usually only be performed approximately, we investigate idealised, highly symmetric quantum field theories that are so simple that we can determine exact solutions,” says the physicist, who holds a PhD.
What makes his project – which has been funded by the Heisenberg Fellowship since September 2025 – unique is that it systematically moves away from these simplified initial theories: “We deform them in a controlled manner so that we retain the ability to perform exact calculations whilst simultaneously describing a broader spectrum of possible theories.” To implement this technically, the existing mathematical methods must be adapted in a suitable manner. The results, in turn, are intended to help improve our understanding of complex models of the real world.
In the project, holography refers to the linking of different theories of particle physics across various dimensions: “This is comparable to holography in the real world, where the information of a three-dimensional image can be captured in a two-dimensional object – though this is merely an analogy,” says van Tongeren. “My research is basic research with no immediate industrial applications. It is intended to help deepen our understanding of the mathematical structure of our universe.”
The Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
The aim of the Heisenberg Programme is to enable outstanding researchers who meet all the requirements for appointment to a long-term professorship to prepare for a senior academic position and to pursue advanced research topics during this period.