From May 2-4, 2016, members of ILRS Jena and the RTG 1870 "Bacterial Respiratory Infections" from the University of Greifswald met at the Leucorea in Lutherstadt Wittenberg for their first Joint Meeting. The doctoral researchers discussed their projects in talks and during the poster sessions. Invited scientists and members of the international scientific advisory boards of the two graduate schools gave stimulating presentations about their research fields. There was also time for networking and getting to know each other as well as learning about the rich cultural history of Lutherstadt Wittenberg.