Düsseldorf, 17.05.2021

Werner Creutzfeldt Prize Awarded to Professor Michael Roden

For his outstanding research on the development of type 2 diabetes and the role of energy metabolism in humans, the German Diabetes Association has awarded the Werner Creutzfeldt Prize 2021 to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Roden, scientific director and board member of the German Diabetes Center.

In recognition of his many years of excellent research on the importance of metabolism and hormones for the pathophysiology of diabetes, the German Diabetes Association (DDG) has awarded the Werner Creutzfeldt Prize to Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Roden, scientific director and board member of the DDZ and head of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology at Düsseldorf University Hospital. The DDG already honored Roden with the Paul Langerhans Medal in 2017.

The Werner Creutzfeldt Prize of the DDG is awarded to German-speaking physicians and scientists for outstanding research work in the field of pathophysiology and therapy of diabetes mellitus, especially with a focus on gastrointestinal hormones. The prize, initiated by the company Lilly Deutschland GmbH in honor and memory of Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Werner Creutzfeldt, was awarded for the first time in 2007 and is endowed with 10,000 euros.

In the context of gut hormones, Roden's research group investigated the role of different diets on glucagon-like peptides (GLP) and recently described the importance of a diet enriched with L. reuteri for the secretion of GLP-1 and GLP-2. "This award is a recognition of the ongoing research of my research groups, and my thanks go especially to our talented young researchers," said Roden. "Gut hormones will continue to play an important role for our research in the future, for example with regard to their significance for the new subtypes or subgroups of diabetes, their risk for complications and their response to specific therapies with the aim of precision medicine of diabetes."

Roden completed his habilitation at the University of Vienna with a thesis on the "Modulation of Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity", was a Max Kade Fellow at Yale University, USA, and from 2004 the head of the 1st Medical Department of the Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Vienna, Hanusch Hospital, and the Karl Landsteiner Institute for Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases. In 2008, he moved to Düsseldorf as a W3 professor at Heinrich Heine University and took on the role of spokesperson for the DDZ board. Since 2009, he has also been a board member and spokesperson of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD). He also contributes his experience in the fields of diabetes and endocrinology to many national and international committees. In 2016, for example, he was appointed by President Joachim Gauck as a member of the Science Council and Chairman of the Medical Committee, which advises the Federal Government. He also holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Athens and Belgrade.

His areas of research include the study of energy metabolism in healthy people and in particular people with diabetes and obesity (overweight). In recent years, his work has focused on the function of mitochondria in muscle and liver, contributing with his research group to the development of new methods of real-time metabolic analysis. The studies show that mitochondrial function can decisively influence the development and course of diabetes and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).

The German Diabetes Center (DDZ) serves as the German reference center for diabetes. Its objective is to contribute to the improvement of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. At the same time, the research center aims at improving the epidemiological data situation in Germany. The DDZ coordinates the multicenter German Diabetes Study and is a point of contact for all players in the health sector. In addition, it prepares scientific information on diabetes mellitus and makes it available to the public. The DDZ is part of the Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, WGL) and is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.). www.ddz.de/en


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Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Michael Roden. Quelle: DDZ