The Institute of Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB) was founded as an interdisciplinary research institution of the Würzburg Medical Faculty in 1993. It is a central part of the local Research Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF) and is tightly connected to the Faculty of Biology of the University of Würzburg. Prof. Jörg Vogel has been the director of IMIB and Chair of Molecular Infection Biology since 2009, taking over from founding director Jörg Hacker. In 2017, Prof. Dr. Cynthia Sharma was appointed Chair of Molecular Infection Biology II.

Members of the Institute investigate fundamental biological processes and molecular mechanisms of infections. Research at the IMIB involves the study of bacteria and phages, parasites, and fungi, as well as their eukaryotic hosts and the interaction with the microbiome. Research activities range from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell biology and immunology to fundamental aspects of gene regulation and RNA biology, CRISPR-Cas, and the development of novel 3D infection models. Furthermore, the Institute has been serving as the host of the junior groups of Würzburg’s renowned ZINF Young Investigator program.