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 Exterior shot of a large building under construction

The shell of the new building is complete: HIOH celebrates the topping-out ceremony

A major construction milestone has been achieved. On 28 August 2026, we will celebrate the topping-out ceremony in Greifswald together with guests from science, politics and partner institutions.

A Major Step Forward for the Future Home of Outstanding One Health Research in Greifswald

The topping-out ceremony marks another significant milestone in the construction of the new Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) building on the University of Greifswald campus at Berthold-Beitz-Platz. With the structural framework now complete, the institute's future home is rapidly taking shape.

The state-of-the-art laboratory and office building will provide ideal conditions for interdisciplinary One Health research. In the future, an international team of scientists will work together here to better understand the connections between human, animal, and environmental health and to develop innovative approaches for addressing global health challenges such as zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Together with everyone involved in the construction project, our project partners, and representatives from science and politics, we would like to celebrate this important milestone and express our sincere appreciation for the excellent collaboration.

Founded in Greifswald in 2021, the HIOH is a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and works in close collaboration with the University of Greifswald, University Medicine Greifswald, and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute.

At a Glance

When: Friday, 28 August 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Where: Felix-Hausdorff-Straße, 17489 Greifswald

Attendance by personal invitation only

Directions and Parking

The opening addresses will take place in the lecture hall of the University Library (Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 10), in the immediate vicinity of the construction site. Please find an interactive map of the venue here.

A limited number of parking spaces will be available for our guests on campus. Please follow the signs on site.

The program will be updated regularly on this page in the run-up to the event.
Last updated: 12 August 2026

Program

09:45 a.m. – Arrival of the guests in the library

10:15 a.m. – Opening

Welcome address by Prof. Fabian Leendertz, Founding Director of the HIOH, followed by greetings from:

Bettina Martin, Minister of Science of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Prof. Veronika von Messling, Director General, Federal Ministry of Research
Prof. Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the HZI
Prof. Karlhans Endlich, Scientific Director of the University Medicine Greifswald

11:00 a.m. – Topping-out proclamation and hammering of the final nail
12:00 p.m. – Traditional topping-out meal

Ruth Suchsland

Press contact

Dr Ruth Suchsland