German virologist
Hendrik Streeck (born 7 August 1977 in Göttingen) is a German researcher of human immunodeficiency virus, epidemiologist and clinical trialist. He is professor of virology and the director of the Institute of Virology and HIV Research at the University Bonn.
Early life and education.
Streeck studied medicine at the Charite University, Berlin. 
After his graduation he started to work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Medical School and obtained his PhD from the University of Bonn, and part-time at the Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Career.
In 2009 Streeck was promoted to Instructor in Medicine and in 2011 to Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. In September 2012 he was recruited to the United States Military HIV Research Program, Bethesda, where he became the Chief of the Cellular Immunology Section as well as assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and adjunct faculty of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. In 2015 he became the chair for Medical Biology at the University Duisburg-Essen and founded the Institute for HIV Research in the same year, though he still maintains the status of "visiting scientist" with the US Military HIV Research Program.
In 2018, Streeck was appointed to the advisory board of the German AIDS Foundation (Deutsche AIDS Stiftung). In April 2020, he was appointed by Minister-President Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia to a 12-member expert group to advise on economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
HIV research.
Under Streek's direction the Institute for HIV Research works on several prevention methods against HIV including the development and feasibility of HIV vaccines as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis. A particular focus for HIV vaccine development is to understand how T follicular helper (Tfh) cells can drive protective antibody responses during the germinal center reaction. Further research areas of the institute include understanding why some co-morbidities, such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases, are more prone to develop in chronic HIV infection and whether strategies can be developed to suppress HIV viral loads in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Some of these studies are being performed in Maputo, Mozambique, where he leads a PhD sandwich program with the Instituto Nacionale de Saude to train and retain young physician scientists.
Sexually transmitted infections research.
Streeck actively investigates the epidemiology, novel prevention and treatment options of other sexually transmitted infections. Currently, he conducts the largest systematic study for sexually transmitted infections in Germany, which seeks to understand who is becoming infected with which sexually transmitted infection.
In January 2019 the study was expanded to other European countries including France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Hungary under the name STIPnet study. In parallel, a European network to prevent human immunodeficiency virus and sexually transmitted infections will be established. He has been nominated as the co-chair of International AIDS conference IAS 2021 in Berlin.
Coronavirus research.
In early April 2020, Streeck and his team reported with reference to their COVID-19 Case-Cluster-Study that they had "carried out an intensive search of the home of a family infected with the coronavirus but found no trace of it on surfaces."
Streeck is accused by parts of the German media landscape of having presumably contributed to the poor course of the pandemic in Germany from October 2020 onwards through several misleading and false claims and conclusions that quickly gained traction in the German public.
Other activities.
In 2023, Streeck announced his intention to run as candidate for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the 2025 national elections.
Personal life.
Streeck lives with his husband Paul Zubeil in Bonn. Zubeil has been employed as a sub-department head for European and international affairs at the Federal Ministry of Health in Bonn since February 2021.
References.
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