Dr. rer. nat. Hannah Sabeth Schwarzer-Sperber

Curriculum Vitae

At a Glance

Title	Dr. rer. nat.
Name	Hannah Sabeth Schwarzer-Sperber
Current Position	Group Leader / Principal Investigator
Institution	Institute for the Research on HIV & AIDS-associated Diseases, University Medicine Essen (UME), Essen, Germany
E-mail	hannah.schwarzer-sperber@uk-essen.de
ORCID	0000-0002-9638-6555
h-index	5 (Web of Science, Aug 2025)

Professional Experience

Jan 2024 – present Essen, Germany	Principal Investigator Institute for the Research on HIV and AIDS‑associated Diseases
Mar 2021 – Dec 2023 Essen, Germany	Postdoctoral Fellow Institute for the Research on HIV and AIDS‑associated Diseases
Jun 2017 – Mar 2021 San Francisco, CA	Doctoral Researcher Vitalant Research Institute (Pillai Lab); Freie Universität Berlin
Feb 2017 – May 2021 San Francisco, CA	Research Assistant Vitalant Research Institute (Pillai Lab)
Aug 2016 – Feb 2017 Berlin, Germany	Self‑employed Image Analyst Bionukleo UG
Sep 2014 – May 2016 Rehovot, Israel	Master’s Student Weizmann Institute of Science (Gerst Lab)
Nov 2013 – Sep 2014 Berlin, Germany	Research Student Humboldt University — Molecular Biophysics
Feb 2013 – Nov 2013 Berlin, Germany	Bachelor Student Humboldt University
Oct 2010 – Dec 2013 Berlin, Germany	Tutor Charité — PC Pool

Education & Degrees

Jun 2017 – Sep 2021 Berlin, Germany	Dr. rer. nat., Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin
Oct 2013 – Sep 2016 Berlin, Germany	Master of Molecular Life Sciences Humboldt University
Oct 2009 – Nov 2013 Berlin, Germany	Bachelor of Biology Humboldt University

Contributions to Science

My research integrates mechanistic studies of viral persistence, discovery of broad-spectrum antivirals, dissection of viral entry pathways, advanced imaging, and systems-level profiling to drive translational virology.

HIV Latency & Reactivation

Defining how cellular pathways—hypoxia, glucocorticoid signaling, and AKT/mTOR—regulate latent HIV reservoirs, and evaluating in vivo and ex vivo strategies for latency reversal.

The hypoxia‑regulated ectonucleotidase CD73 is a host determinant of HIV latency. Cell Reports (2023)
Sperber HS; Raymond KA; Bouzidi MS; Ma T; Valdebenito S; Eugenin EA; Roan NR; Deeks SG; Winning S; Fandrey J; Schwarzer R; Pillai SK.
Reactivation of latent HIV‑1 by the glucocorticoid receptor modulator AZD9567. Journal of Virology (2025)
Fayyaz S; Lotke R; Haußmann I; Petersen M; Müller E; Schwarzer‑Sperber HS; Schwarzer R; Sauter D.
μ‑Lat: A mouse model to evaluate human immunodeficiency virus eradication strategies. FASEB Journal (2020)
Sperber HS; Togarrati PP; Raymond KA; Bouzidi MS; Gilfanova R; Gutierrez AG; Muench MO; Pillai SK.

Antiviral Discovery & Virus Entry Inhibition

Development of repurposed and novel small molecules, and characterization of endogenous proteins, to block coronavirus entry and replication.

Identification of nsp16 inhibitors of SARS‑CoV‑2, SARS‑CoV‑1 and MERS‑CoV from FDA‑approved drugs. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2025)
Omer EA; Abdelfatah S; Shahhamzehei N; Guthart A; Sutter K; Schwarzer‑Sperber HS; Schwarzer R; Efferth T.
Diketopiperazine/piperidine alkaloid as a potential broad‑spectrum coronaviral entry inhibitor. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2025)
Shahhamzehei N; Abdelfatah S; Omer EA; Riedl M; Meesters C; Schwarzer‑Sperber HS; Sutter K; Bringmann G; Schwarzer R; Efferth T.
The bovine seminal plasma protein PDC‑109 possesses pan‑antiviral activity. Viruses (2022)
Sperber HS; Sutter K; Müller K; Müller P; Schwarzer R.

Viral Entry Mechanisms & Advanced Imaging

Utilizing high‑resolution microscopy and flow cytometry to dissect entry pathways of hantaviruses and visualize dynamic host–virus interactions.

Macropinocytosis and clathrin‑dependent endocytosis play pivotal roles for the infectious entry of Puumala virus. Journal of Virology (2020)
Bauherr S; Larsberg F; Petrich A; Sperber HS; Klose‑Grzelka V; Luckner M; Azab W; Schade M; Höfer CT; Lehmann MJ; Witkowski PT; Krüger DH; Herrmann A; Schwarzer R.
Advances in fluorescence microscopy for orthohantavirus research. Microscopy (2023)
Menke L; Sperber HS; Aji AK; Chiantia S; Schwarzer R; Sieben C.
Characterization of hantavirus N protein intracellular dynamics and localization. Viruses (2022)
Welke RW; Sperber HS; Bergmann R; Koikkarah A; Menke L; Sieben C; Krüger DH; Chiantia S; Herrmann A; Schwarzer R.

Systems Biology & Transcriptomic Profiling

Applying large‑scale transcriptomic and computational approaches to reveal molecular networks in human tissues and model organisms.

Transcriptomic profiling of human myocardium at sudden death to define vulnerable substrate for lethal arrhythmias. JACC Clinical Electrophysiology (2025)
Caudal A; Liu Y; Pang PD; Maison DP; Nakasuka K; Feng J; Schwarzer‑Sperber HS; Schwarzer R; Moffatt E; Henrich TJ; Padmanabhan A; Connolly AJ; Wu JC; Tseng ZH.
Multiplexed mRNA assembly into ribonucleoprotein particles plays an operon‑like role in yeast cell physiology. eLife (2021)
Nair RR; Zabezhinsky D; Gelin‑Licht R; Haas BJ; Dyhr MC; Sperber HS; Nusbaum C; Gerst JE.

Schwarzer Lab

Mechanisms of Viral Persistence