Dr. Matthias Merker is a postdoc researcher in the molecular and experimental mycobacteriology group at the German tuberculosis reference center in Borstel. He will support the coordination of the sub-study Pathogen and overseeing of all activities related to tuberculosis strain isolation, identification, sequencing, genotyping and related trainings.
Within the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) Dr. Merker is responsible for the characterization of tuberculosis strains coming from the Eastern European study site in Bucharest. He is author of 16 peer reviewed papers in international scientific journals and his research is focused on the evolution and worldwide expansion of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis strains and the translation of next generation sequencing guided drug resistance prediction into a routine diagnostic application for tuberculosis patients.
Email: mmerker@fz-borstel.de