The German Diabetes Association (DDG) is honoring several researchers of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) with awards for their outstanding research work and their longstanding dedication. Furthermore, the DDG is supporting research projects from the DZD.

The Werner Creutzfeldt Prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, goes to the DZD scientist Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Heiko Lickert of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research (IDR) and the Helmholtz Diabetes Center (HDC) at Helmholtz Zentrum München. The DDG is thus honoring his scientific work on "Clarifying the mechanisms of beta cell regeneration using single cell analyses".

Oana Patricia Zaharia of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) has been selected to receive the DDG sponsorship award in recognition of her clinical-experimental work "Risk of diabetes-associated diseases in subgroups of patients with recent-onset diabetes: a 5-year follow-up study", which was published in 2019 in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The award is endowed with 10,000 euros.

For his great commitment to the DDG and his special services to diabetology, DZD scientist and pediatric endocrinologist and diabetologist Professor Dr. Reinhard Holl from the University of Ulm will be  honored with the DDG badge of honor in gold.

The Silvia King Award for young researchers in the field of clinical diabetology goes to Sofiya Gancheva, MD of the DDZ and Dr. rer. nat. Meriem Ouni of the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE). They will receive the award, endowed with 2,500 euros, for their joint publication "Dynamic changes of muscle insulin sensitivity after metabolic surgery".

The DDG also supports projects that are particularly worthy of funding. Research projects from the DZD were also successful here:

For his research project "Assessment of candidate gene polymorphisms for peripheral and cardiac autonomic neuropathy in a population-based cohort", Dr. h.c. Dan Ziegler, MD of the DDZ is to receive the Hans Christian Hagedorn Project Grant, which is endowed with 25,000 euros.

The Hellmut Mehnert Project Grant goes to Dr. rer. nat. Louise Fritsche of the Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases at Helmholtz Zentrum München to support her project "Investigation of the neurocognitive and physical development of children of gestational diabetic mothers aged 6 to 10 years.“

The awards will be presented at the Diabetes Autumn Conference 2020 in Hannover.