Cooperation
Munich: Leading Location for Diabetes Research in Germany
Diabetes research in Munich has a long tradition. An important milestone was the establishment of the Diabetes Research Group, a registered association, by Professor Otto Wieland and Professor Hellmut Mehnert in 1968. The Munich Schwabing Hospital and the polyclinic of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) have had a research focus in diabetology since the 1950s. Through this combination, Munich became one of the leading locations in the field of diabetes research in Germany.
Concentration of Expertise
By 1993 more than 20 physicians belonging to the Diabetes Research Group had continued their academic careers with a Habilitation (post-doctoral qualification to supervise research) in diabetology, among them the current head of the research group and director of the Institute of Diabetes Research of Helmholtz Zentrum München, Professor Anette-Gabriele Ziegler. She holds a key position in the Diabetes Research Department.
Other leading figures in diabetes research in Munich include Professor Martin Hrabe de Angelis, spokesperson of the Diabetes Research Department and director of the Institute of Experimental Genetics and the German Mouse Clinic, Professor Heiko Lickert, director of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, and Professor Matthias H. Tschöp, director of the Institute of Diabetes and Obesity. All of them also hold chairs at Technische Universität München (TUM). The career trajectory of Professor Tschöp, who recently became the first physician to be awarded an Alexander von Humboldt professorship, demonstrates the attractiveness of Munich as a research location: After studying medicine at LMU, he conducted research at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA, and then returned to Munich as one of the most renowned international experts for metabolic diseases. His aim, together with colleagues, is to advance the development of Munich as location for diabetes research.
Clinical Cooperation Groups Lead Research into Practice
The Department also has two clinical cooperation groups, which are of great value for the translation of research results: The clinical cooperation group “Nutrigenomics and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” was established together with TUM and is headed by Professor Hans Hauner, director of the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Center for Nutritional Medicine. The joint clinical cooperation group with the LMU “Prediction and Subclassification of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” is headed by Professor Jochen Seißler, director of the Diabetes Center of LMU. The Research Group Translational Diabetology is located at the institute of Professor Hrabe de Angelis. This research group is headed by Professor Hans Ulrich Häring, the medical director of Medical Clinic IV of the University of Tübingen, and it also makes an important contribution to the rapid further development of results. These experts enable the Diabetes Research Department at Helmholtz Zentrum München to assume a leading role in diabetes research. The connection with the existing high-tech infrastructure leads to faster translation of research results for the benefit of patients.