As part of the Fr1da study, “Early detection and early treatment of type 1 diabetes”, led by researchers at the Institute of Diabetes Research at the DZD partner Helmholtz Munich, families can have their children aged two to ten tested for an early…

Düsseldorf

Until now, research into type 2 diabetes has focused primarily on insulin: if the body’s cells become less responsive to the hormone produced in the pancreas, blood glucose levels rise over the long term. A recent study by the German…

Neuherberg

A team led by metabolism researcher Prof Timo D. Müller at Helmholtz Munich has developed a new approach for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes: a hybrid molecule uses the well-known GLP-1/GIP signalling pathway as a “door opener” and…

Regular exercise is a key component of a healthy lifestyle and is particularly important for preventing type 2 diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Nevertheless, many people find it difficult to incorporate sufficient exercise into their…

Tübingen

A healthy diet, weight loss, and increased physical activity can effectively prevent type 2 diabetes. However, not all individuals at elevated diabetes risk benefit equally from lifestyle interventions. People classified in Tübingen’s type…

Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler from the DZD partner Helmholtz Munich has been named the recipient of the 58th Claude Bernard Prize, the highest honor awarded by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). The prize recognizes her…

Scientists from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) will present the latest findings from their research at the Diabetes Congress of the German Diabetes Association (DDG) in Berlin from May 13 to 16, 2026. Interested parties can also visit…

The new DZD Health Data Science & AI certificate program (DZD HeaDS) will begin with a three-day kick-off workshop in Munich on April 27–29, 2026. The program trains 35 selected students and early-career researchers from across Europe in data-driven…

Physician and DZD researcher Prof. Antje Körner has been elected as a new member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig. On April 10, 2026, she was officially admitted to the Academy’s Mathematical and Natural Sciences Class…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and other partner institutions of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) have now identified a previously unknown function of the PICALM…

A population-based cohort study provides new data on the prevalence of early-stage type 1 diabetes in young adults, addressing a gap in epidemiological research. Using samples from the LISA and GINIplus cohorts and methodologies established in the…

How can scientific breakthroughs reach the people more quickly? This question was the focus of the Expert Hour of DZD partner Helmholtz Munich on March 25 in the German Bundestag. Under the title “From Research to Patients – Translation and AI in…

Neuherberg

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has announced the recipients of this year's National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Awards. Among this year’s awardees is DZD scientist Prof. Timo Müller, Director of the Institute for…

Neuherberg

EDENT1FI (“European action for the Diagnosis of Early Non-clinical Type 1 diabetes For disease Interception”), a research project led by Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler from Helmholtz Munich and Prof. Chantal Mathieu from the KU Leuven, has…

Two scientists from the DZD were featured as speakers at the F.A.Z. Conference on Health & Nutrition. In his keynote, Prof. Peter Schwarz highlighted why prevention is becoming increasingly important. Prof. Dr. Peter Achenbach discussed recent…

Düsseldorf

Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed based on blood values – but the actual changes take place in many organs, including the tissue of the pancreas, where insulin is produced. However, these changes are not visible to the human eye under a…

World Obesity Day on March 4 draws attention to the significance of severe overweight (obesity), its causes, possible complications, and treatments. The national diabetes information portal diabinfo.de devotes a detailed chapter to this topic in its…

The DZD partner Helmholtz Munich has been awarded a prestigious grant of up to 900 000 US Dollar from Breakthrough T1D, the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization. The funding will support the research into…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Whether we tend to eat carbohydrates or fats in the morning may help determine how our metabolism works. Prof. Olga Ramich from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin…

The journal 'Metabolism' honors DZD researcher Dr. Anja Schork with the Junior Faculty Award 2025. The physician and scientist receives the award for her significant contribution as first author of the publication “Differential risk assessment in…

Sugar can be enjoyable, but it can also make you ill. How much sugar is still healthy? And are sweeteners really a good alternative? Eckart von Hirschhausen addresses these questions in his new ARD documentary “Hirschhausen und der Zucker”…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

An international research group has examined how many people are affected by preclinical and clinical obesity and what health risks are associated with this. The team led by Prof. Matthias Schulze from the German Institute of Human…

From June 25 to 27, 2026, the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) will host the annual congress of the Central European Diabetes Association (CEDA). The focus will be on current, clinically relevant issues in modern diabetology – from cardio-diabetes and…

Explainable AI-based analysis of human pancreas sections identifies traits of type 2 diabetes.

Nature Communications 2026

The DZG Innovation Fund (DZGIF) is a joint research funding program of the German Centers for Health Research (DZG). The topic for the 2027/28 call for proposals is "Immune Dysregulation and Interorgan Mechanisms in Post-Infectious Conditions:…

Düsseldorf

Physical training is an important part of type 2 diabetes therapy and supports both blood glucose control and muscle energy metabolism. A new study by the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) shows that blood flow restriction training (BFRT)…

Unravelling the molecular mechanisms causal to type 2 diabetes across global populations and disease-relevant tissues.

Nature Metabolism 2026

In a new publication, researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and the University Medical Center Greifswald show how research data can be processed to be FAIR on a step-by-step basis, i.e. such that they can be found, accessed…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Prediabetes is an extremely heterogeneous metabolic disorder. Scientists from several partner institutes of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD)* have now used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify epigenetic markers…

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has published a detailed statement on combating the obesity epidemic in Germany. In its policy note in the “Leopoldina Focus” series, the Leopoldina recommends strategies for the prevention and…

Dr. Tim Mori, research associate at the Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), a DZD partner, has received the Dr. Eickelberg Foundation Award 2026. Together with a team of scientists, he works on statistical…

Neuherberg

Cachexia is a metabolic disorder that causes uncontrolled weight loss and muscle wasting in chronic diseases and cancer. A new study by Helmholtz Munich, in collaboration with the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences…

What will medicine look like in the future? This question will be the focus of the kick-off event for Science Year 2026 – Medicine of the Future on 20 January 2026. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) cordially invites all…

Düsseldorf

Metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our society. This is not only due to a lack of exercise, but is also caused by staying up late, shift work, and artificial indoor light. The inner biological clock, the body’s…

On the occasion of an official visit, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and Helmholtz Munich welcomed a high-ranking delegation from Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la santé et de…

Tübingen

For the first time, an international analysis has shown that when people with prediabetes bring their blood glucose back into the normal range through lifestyle changes, their risk of heart attack, heart failure, and premature death is cut…

In 2025, the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation is awarding nine Else Kröner Excellence Fellowships to outstanding physicians. Among them is Dr. Oana-Patricia Zaharia, DZD scientist at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) and Heinrich Heine University…

The members of the DZD Citizens' and Patients' Advisory Board (CAB) met for their ninth meeting on November 20, 2025, in Munich at the Type 1 Diabetes Study Center of the Institute for Diabetes Research (IDF) at Helmholtz Munich. This marked the…

Integrative Metabolomics of Targeted and Non-targeted Analyses in T2D Progression.

Diabetes Care 2025

A new tool developed by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research and the University of Bonn makes spatial proteomics and lipidomics easier to use – no coding required. C-COMPASS allows scientists to profile where proteins and…

New issue of SYNERGIE: Regenerative medicine

Cell and gene therapies are opening up new possibilities in medicine. They have the potential to treat diseases differently and restore health that was thought to be lost, like a phoenix rising from the…

Düsseldorf

The liver plays a central role in storing and supplying energy to the body. In type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, commonly referred to as fatty liver disease), mitochondria—the cell’s…

“Exploring nutrition. Strengthening health,” under this headline the DZD partner German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) looks back on the years 2023 and 2024 in its latest report and presents the highlights of its research and…

Lifestyle intervention is more effective in high 1-hour post-load glucose than in prediabetes for restoring β-cell function, reducing ectopic fat, and preventing type 2 diabetes.

Metabolism 2025

As part of Berlin Science Week, Dr. Rachel Lippert, leader of the Junior Research Group of Neurocircuit Development and Function at the DZD partner German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), participated in the panel discussion…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

The time of eating influences the lipid metabolism in our body. A study conducted at the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) shows: Eating earlier in the…

Neuherberg / Dresden

First results of the Primary Oral Insulin Trial (POInT) mark an important step towards the prevention of type 1 diabetes, pointing future efforts to personalized strategies. The group led by researchers from Helmholtz Munich and…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Contrary to common assumptions, a new study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, shows that intermittent fasting (time-restricted eating) with an unchanged…

Neuherberg

Pancreas development in pigs resembles humans much more closely than does the established mouse model. An international team headed by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) has now produced a comprehensive…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke

As age increases, the pancreas changes, which increases the risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, digestive disorders, and also cancer. Researchers at the DZD partner German Institute of Human Nutrition…

The treatment of type 1 diabetes is evolving. In a recent review article in 'The Lancet', Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler (Helmholtz Munich and DZD) and her colleagues Prof. Eda Cengiz and Prof. Thomas W. H. Kay provide an overview of groundbreaking…

With its new DZD-HeaDS (Health Data Science & AI) certificate program, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is launching an innovative qualification program for master students and doctoral candidates. The aim is to inspire early career…

Effective October 1, 2025, DZD Executive Board Member Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Hrabě de Angelis took on the role of Member and Spokesperson of the Executive Board (acting) at Helmholtz Munich. He succeeds Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Matthias…

Tübingen

Until now, weight reduction has been the primary therapeutic goal for people with prediabetes. An analysis of a large Tübingen study shows that patients who bring their blood sugar levels back within the normal range through a healthy…

Type 2 diabetes often goes unnoticed for a long time—with consequences. This is because permanently elevated blood sugar values in prediabetes or diabetes damage blood vessels and organs: Heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure are therefore among…

Cologne / Potsdam

A new study involving the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) provides strong evidence that sugary drinks affect not only metabolic but also mental health – especially in women. This effect is probably mediated by the…

Düsseldorf

Physician and diabetologist Dr. Martin Schön from the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) has been honored with the prestigious Rising Star Award at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). With this…

Düsseldorf

It is well known that a plant-based diet is healthy and can increase life expectancy. But does this also apply to people with type 2 diabetes? The answer is yes. Researchers at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), the Heinrich Heine…

Information on career paths in diabetes research, presentation of current research results, awards, and a joint booth with the Danish Diabetes and Endocrinology Academy (DDEA) – the German Center for Diabetes Research offers all this and much more at…

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) has published its new annual report for 2023/2024. The report shows how scientific findings are being translated into medical practice—with the aim of sustainably improving the prevention, early…

The DZD partner Helmholtz Munich's Institute for Diabetes Research has been awarded a grant of over 1 Mio. Dollar from Breakthrough T1D, a global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research and advocacy, to intensify the longstanding…

Two days full of interest, discussion, and commitment to diabetes prevention: The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) was represented at the open house of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR) over the weekend with its…

Düsseldorf

The degradation of nerve function in people with diabetes is comparable to normal, age-related nerve degradation, provided the blood glucose level is well controlled. Researchers at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) and the German Center…

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) will be participating in the Open House Day of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR). Under the motto “Prevention is better than cure,” the DZD will provide information on…

Potsdam-Rehbrücke/Tübingen

If the brain no longer responds properly to insulin (insulin resistance), this can lead to overweight, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) in Potsdam and Tübingen…

Düsseldorf

People with diabetes suffer from depression more frequently than average – with sometimes considerable consequences for their quality of life and the course of the disease. Researchers from the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), the Research…

A joint study by Helmholtz Munich, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), and Goethe University Frankfurt reveals how a novel drug may help prevent type 1 diabetes by restoring immune balance. The findings were published in Molecular…

Neuherberg

Many people with cancer experience dramatic loss of muscle and fat tissue. In many cases, even the heart muscle is affected, which further weakens the body. This wasting syndrome, known as cachexia, affects around half of all cancer…

Düsseldorf / Potsdam-Rehbrücke

The two DZD epidemiologists Prof. Dr. Christian Herder from the German Diabetes Center and Prof. Dr. Matthias Schulze from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) have been admitted to the…

Tübingen

The skeletal muscles of men and women process glucose and fats in different ways. A study conducted by the University Hospital of Tübingen, the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Munich and the German Center…

On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the national diabetes information portal invites you to the 5th edition of its online event series “diabinfo im Dialog”. This year, it is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes. The focus is on new…

This year, the DZD partner Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden put together a motivated team and proudly took part in the 2025 Dresden REWE Team Challenge—joining 30,000 runners on a 5-kilometer course through the heart of the city. As a research…

Copenhagen Declaration: a transformative vision for global diabetes.

Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2025

At this year’s Congress of Internal Medicine, Dr. Martin Schön, scientist at the DZD partner German Diabetes Center (DDZ), was awarded the Prevention Award of the German Society of Internal Medicine (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin e.V.,…

Professor Dr. Julia Szendrödi, Medical Director at Heidelberg University Hospital and researcher at the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), has been elected as the new President of the German Diabetes Association (DDG). She takes over the…

Prof. Dr. Annette Schürmann from the German Center for Diabetes Research and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) was honored this year with the Paul Langerhans Medal, the highest award of the German Diabetes Association…

Several researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) were honored for their excellent scientific achievements with prestigious awards at the Congress of the German Diabetes Association (in Berlin, May 28–31).

Berlin

Prof. Dr. Annette Schürmann from the German Center for Diabetes Research and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) was honored this year with the Paul Langerhans Medal, the highest award of the German Diabetes…