Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LGL) - EUPHEM

Contact person

Andreas Sing
Tel. + 49 9131 6808 5814
Fax. + 49 9131 6808 5365

Description of the institute

The LGL (Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority) is a subordinate authority of the Bavarian Ministries of Public Health and Care (StMGP), of Environment and Consumer Protection (StMUV) and of Labor, Social Affairs, Family and Integration (StMAS). It is the central expert body of the German Federal State of Bavaria for Public Health, Food Safety, Consumer Protection, Animal Health, Occupational Health, Product Safety and Environmental Health.

Currently more than 1,200 people work in eight different State Institutes (Public Health [GE]; Veterinary Public Health [TG I and TG II]; Food Safety Analysis & Safety of Cosmetics [LH]; Task Force Food Safety [SE]; Chemical Food Analysis [R]; Occupational Health, Product Safety and Environmental Health [AP]; Bavarian Cancer Registry [KR]), the Academy of Public Health & Food Safety (which among other tasks organizes a major part of the MPH study program of the University of Munich) and two central departments (Scientific Strategy, Public Relations, Administration). This interdisciplinary One Health approach bundling all aspects of Human Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Food Safety is unique in Germany. The LGL has cooperation treaties with the University of Munich (LMU), the Technical University of Munich (TU) and the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) mainly in the field of Human and Veterinary Medicine as well as Food Technology. The LGL is recognized as a research organization by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The Bavarian State Institute of Health (GE) consists of eight scientific departments (Hygiene [GE1]; Public Health Microbiology [GE2]; Pharmacy [GE3]; Public Health Reporting, Epidemiology & Social Medicine [GE4]; Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Task Force IHR [GE5], Health Care Provision Analysis, Health Economy & Health Systems Analysis [GE6]; Public Health Prevention [GE7]; Preventive Medicine & Balneology [GE8]) and two operational units. 74 academic staff members, 52 additional staff members with various qualifications and 60 laboratory technicians work within GE.
The Department of Public Health Microbiology (GE2) harbours the Public Health laboratory for the State of Bavaria (13.1 mill. inhabitants; largest German Bundesland with the second largest population) serving the 76 local health authorities and the 37 prisons in Bavaria with about 250.000 microbiological analyses per year. The laboratory is responsible both for outbreak investigations and surveillance (with two functioning representative private practice sentinel networks, i.e. the Bavarian Influenza Sentinel [BIS] and the Lyme Disease Incidence Sentinel [LYDI] with far more than 200 participating private practitioners).

The German National Reference Laboratory on Lyme-Borreliosis and the National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria of the National Robert Koch-Reference Laboratories network are part of GE2.

Currently, 19 academic and 31 technical staff members work in the Public Health Microbiology laboratories (GE2.1 and GE2.2). The academic staff consists of six MDs (five of them Certified Specialists in Medical Microbiology, one of them also PhD in social sciences and associate professor at the Medical Faculty of the LMU Munich), five VetDs and five biologists (mostly PhDs with strong molecular biology background incl. two former EUPHEM fellows).

The laboratories are equipped with state-of-the art technology including MALDI-TOF, several RT-PCR machines, a traditional sequencing facility and a Next Generation Sequencer.

GE2 houses also the NGS Core Unit of the LGL. A BSL3 laboratory is used mainly for tuberculosis microbiology and diagnosis of potential bioterroristic agents for which the laboratory is part of the RKI BSL3 laboratory network (NaLaDiBa and STAKOB).

GE2 intensively cooperates with the Sub-Department of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology (GE5.1) which functions as the Bavarian Surveillance Center for Notifiable Infectious Diseases (BSCNID) and reports data obtained from the 76 local health authorities to the RKI. Currently, it consists of seven academic members (MDs, MPHs and PhDs in social or biological sciences with additional MPH degrees), both an FETP and EPIET fellow and two information specialists. GE5.1 has experience in hosting several EPIET and FETP fellows and is assigned as an EPIET training site.

The main public health programmes are:

• Lyme Borreliosis and Vector-borne Infections
• Tuberculosis
• Gastrointestinal and foodborne infections
• Zoonoses
• Respiratory infections incl. Influenza
• Diphtheria
• Sexually transmitted diseases (esp. HIV)

The main public health core-functions are:

• Epidemiological and laboratory-based surveillance of infections
• Investigation and control of communicable diseases
• Public health microbiological research
• Teaching and training in public health microbiology

Training opportunities

The EUPHEM fellow will have opportunities to participate in all the main activities carried out by the Department and other Departments (e.g. Hygiene) or State Institutes (e.g. Veterinary Public Health or Food Microbiology) in addition to national or international collaborations where appropriate. Based on the fellow's previous experience and interest, appropriate assignments, projects and training activities are arranged to fulfil the EUPHEM core competencies. There will be close liaison with the FETP (or EPIET) and other medical and scientific trainees within GE or LGL. Potential initial projects might deal with molecular typing methods (MLST, spoligotyping, Next Generation Sequencing, etc.) mainly with Borrelia spp., Corynebacterium spp., mycobacteria (including M. caprae), EHEC, enteroviruses and influenza viruses.

GE2 routinely performs outbreaks and is involved in surveillance tasks and research projects with the Departments of Hygiene (GE1), Veterinary Public Health Microbiology (TG I&II) and Food Microbiology (LH). Recent projects included zoonotic agents (e.g. Mycobacterium caprae, Hepatitis E Virus, Corynebacterium ulcerans, MRSA, Francisella tularensis), microbial antibiotic resistance in humans, livestock animals and food or vector-borne infections.

Training supervision  

Main supervisor: Prof. Andreas Sing, MD PhD / Co-supervisor: Nikolaus Ackermann, MD
Field epidemiologists: Katharina Schönberger PhD MPH; Merle Böhmer PhD MPH

Language requirements

German or English

Training history  

Number of EUPHEM fellows trained at institute: One
Number of EPIET and PAE fellows trained at institute: seven (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2018)
Number of EPIET and PAE fellows currently under training: One (PAE Cohort 2020)

If you would like an insider’s view, please feel free to contact alumni and current fellows:

• Durdica Marosevic, EUPHEM Cohort 2015
• Tom Woudenberg, EPIET Cohort 2018