Dr. Maria Rohm
Group Leader at Institute for Diabetes and Cancer, Research Group Tissue Crosstalk in Cancer Metabolism"My research addresses the role of tissue crosstalk in the metabolic diseases diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer cachexia. The conjunction of these metabolic diseases is particularly important as their signalling pathways and pathomechanisms overlap"
"My research addresses the role of tissue crosstalk in the metabolic diseases diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer cachexia. The conjunction of these metabolic diseases is particularly important as their signalling pathways and pathomechanisms overlap"
Academic Career and Research Areas
Maria studied Biology in Heidelberg, Germany, and Manchester, UK. Having finished her PhD investigating adipose tissue lipolysis in obesity, she then studied adipose tissue function in cancer cachexia at the German Cancer Research Center. Being awarded a Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2014, she worked at the University of Oxford on the molecular basis of metabolic changes occurring in metabolic diseases, using a multi-omics approach. In 2017, Maria then joined the Institute for Diabetes and Cancer at the Helmholtz Center Munich as a junior group leader, and is now head of the research division "Tissue Crosstalk". Her work on understanding tissue communication and metabolic reprogramming in cachexia has won several prestigious grants most recently the ERC Starting Grant. Being in the Board of Directors and Educational Committee of the Cancer Cachexia Society, Maria is actively engaged in widening research and knowledge about cachexia. As cachexia is a fatal disease with currently no efficient treatment options, which affects a large percentage of patients with cancer, a better understanding of the pathomechanisms will directly aid patients. Maria’s aim for the future is to strengthen the idea that obesity/diabetes and cachexia are two sides of the same coin, and studying these metabolic diseases in the context of each other will lead to conceptual advances in both fields.
Fields of Work and Expertise
Lipid Metabolism Cachexia Adipose Tissue Glucose Metabolism Diabetes
Professional Background
Head of Research Division at Helmholtz Munich
Junior Group Leader at Helmholtz Munich
Postdoc in Oxford, UK
Postdoc at German Cancer Research Center
Dr. rer. nat. in Biology, University of Heidelberg
Honors and Awards
2021 - Vincenz-Czerny Price for Oncology
2020 - ERC Starting Grant
2019 - Lipidology Prize
2013 - Research Award by German Diabetes Society
Highlight Publications
More on PubMedJ Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle
High levels of modified ceramides are a defining feature of murine and human cancer cachexia.
Nature Communications
Diabetes causes marked inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism in pancreatic β-cells.
EMBO Reports
Nature Medicine
Networks and Affiliations
