World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Frank Kirchhoff

Frank Kirchhoff

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Microbiology
Germany
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Microbiology

D-Index
116
Citations
54793
World Ranking
179
National Ranking
10

Molecular Biology

D-Index
106
Citations
46356
World Ranking
425
National Ranking
37

Medicine

D-Index
116
Citations
55176
World Ranking
4322
National Ranking
235

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Microbiology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Microbiology in Germany Leader Award
  • 2016 - Member of Academia Europaea
  • 2009 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Microbiology and Immunology

Overview

Frank Kirchhoff is affiliated with the University of Ulm in Germany. Their research focuses primarily on medicine and immunology and microbiology, with specific emphasis on infectious diseases, immunology, virology, epidemiology, and molecular biology.

The scientist has contributed extensively to topics including SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 research, HIV research and treatment, interferon and immune responses, COVID-19 clinical research studies, immune cell function and interaction, cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research, and HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment.

Frequent coauthors collaborating with Frank Kirchhoff include Konstantin M. J. Sparrer, Jan Münch, Fabian Zech, Rayhane Nchioua, and Daniel Sauter.

Their work has been published repeatedly in several key venues, notably:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Journal of Virology
  • Nature Communications
  • mBio
  • Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Among recent significant papers are:

  • Structural basis for translational shutdown and immune evasion by the Nsp1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 (2020, Science)
  • SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in cells of the human endocrine and exocrine pancreas (2021, Nature Metabolism)
  • Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in human breastmilk (2020, The Lancet)
  • Systematic functional analysis of SARS-CoV-2 proteins uncovers viral innate immune antagonists and remaining vulnerabilities (2021, Cell Reports)
  • Omicron: What Makes the Latest SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern So Concerning? (2022, Journal of Virology)

Frank Kirchhoff has received distinctions including membership in the Academia Europaea awarded in 2016, and membership in the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in 2009 within the microbiology and immunology section.

Best Publications

  • Resting microglial cells are highly dynamic surveillants of brain parenchyma in vivo

    A. Nimmerjahn;F. Kirchhoff;F. Helmchen

  • Protective effects of a live attenuated SIV vaccine with a deletion in the nef gene.

    Muthiah D. Daniel;Frank Kirchhoff;Susan C. Czajak;Prabhat K. Sehgal

  • Absence of intact nef sequences in a long-term survivor with nonprogressive HIV-1 infection

    Frank Kirchhoff;Thomas C. Greenough;Doreen B. Brettler;John L. Sullivan

  • Microglia: new roles for the synaptic stripper

    Helmut Kettenmann;Frank Kirchhoff;Alexei Verkhratsky;Alexei Verkhratsky

  • Exosomes are released by cultured cortical neurones.

    Julien Fauré;Gaëlle Lachenal;Magali Court;Johannes Hirrlinger

  • Neurotransmitter-Triggered Transfer of Exosomes Mediates Oligodendrocyte–Neuron Communication

    Carsten Frühbeis;Dominik Fröhlich;Wen Ping Kuo;Jesa Amphornrat

  • Neuronal or Glial Progeny: Regional Differences in Radial Glia Fate

    Paolo Malatesta;Michael A. Hack;Eva Hartfuss;Helmut Kettenmann

  • Sulforhodamine 101 as a specific marker of astroglia in the neocortex in vivo

    Axel Nimmerjahn;Frank Kirchhoff;Jason N D Kerr;Fritjof Helmchen

  • Structural basis for translational shutdown and immune evasion by the Nsp1 protein of SARS-CoV-2.

    Matthias Thoms;Robert Buschauer;Michael Ameismeier;Lennart Koepke

  • Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS

    Yun-Bi Lu;Kristian Franze;Gerald Seifert;Christian Steinhäuser

  • Semen-Derived Amyloid Fibrils Drastically Enhance HIV Infection

    Jan Münch;Elke Rücker;Ludger Ständker;Knut Adermann

  • GFAP promoter-controlled EGFP-expressing transgenic mice: A tool to visualize astrocytes and astrogliosis in living brain tissue

    Christiane Nolte;Marina Matyash;Tatjyana Pivneva;Carola G. Schipke

  • Oligodendroglial NMDA receptors regulate glucose import and axonal energy metabolism.

    Aiman S. Saab;Iva D. Tzvetavona;Andrea Trevisiol;Selva Baltan

  • Locus ceruleus controls Alzheimer's disease pathology by modulating microglial functions through norepinephrine

    Michael T. Heneka;Fabian Nadrigny;Tommy Regen;Ana Martinez-Hernandez

  • Progeny of Olig2-expressing progenitors in the gray and white matter of the adult mouse cerebral cortex.

    Leda Dimou;Christiane Simon;Frank Kirchhoff;Hirohide Takebayashi

  • A role for glia in the progression of Rett's syndrome.

    Daniel T. Lioy;Saurabh K. Garg;Saurabh K. Garg;Caitlin E. Monaghan;Caitlin E. Monaghan;Jacob Raber;Jacob Raber

  • SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in cells of the human endocrine and exocrine pancreas.

    Janis A Müller;Rüdiger Groß;Carina Conzelmann;Jana Krüger

  • Segregated expression of AMPA-type glutamate receptors and glutamate transporters defines distinct astrocyte populations in the mouse hippocampus.

    Katja Matthias;Frank Kirchhoff;Gerald Seifert;Kerstin Hüttmann

  • Nef-mediated suppression of T cell activation was lost in a lentiviral lineage that gave rise to HIV-1.

    Michael Schindler;Jan Münch;Olaf Kutsch;Hui Li

  • Tetherin-Driven Adaptation of Vpu and Nef Function and the Evolution of Pandemic and Nonpandemic HIV-1 Strains

    Daniel Sauter;Michael Schindler;Anke Specht;Wilmina N. Landford

Frequent Co-Authors

Jan Münch
Jan Münch University of Ulm
Beatrice H. Hahn
Beatrice H. Hahn University of Pennsylvania
Helmut Kettenmann
Helmut Kettenmann Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology
Wolf-Georg Forssmann
Wolf-Georg Forssmann Hannover Medical School
Guido Silvestri
Guido Silvestri Emory University
Stefan Pöhlmann
Stefan Pöhlmann German Primate Center
Johannes Hirrlinger
Johannes Hirrlinger Leipzig University
Jacek Skowronski
Jacek Skowronski Case Western Reserve University
Frederic Bibollet-Ruche
Frederic Bibollet-Ruche University of Pennsylvania
Andrés Finzi
Andrés Finzi University of Montreal

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