Head of Division ”Molecular Diabetology”
Prof. Cora Weigert
Exercise activates a fascinating network of thousands of molecules in our body. Understanding this not only provides fascinating insights into biochemical processes, but is also the basis for "exercise as medicine".
Academic Pathway & Research Area
As a pharmacist, Cora first began her career looking after the needs and wants of patients in a public pharmacy, before her fascination with human biochemistry brought her back to the research laboratory, first at the Biochemical Institute in Erlangen (PhD), then at the University Hospital in Tübingen (Habilitation). She now leads the Division "Molecular Diabetology" at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry at the UK Tübingen and at the IDM in Tübingen, and was a visiting scientist at the IEG in Munich for many years.
Cora first contributed to the understanding of the fine regulation of insulin signal transduction by identifying and characterizing serine/threonine phosphorylation sites of the multi-adaptor protein IRS.
The discovery that human muscle cells produce large amounts of the cytokine interleukin-6 during exercise then sparked her research interest in understanding the communication of active muscle with other organs and investigating molecular adaptations to athletic activity.
Long-term and still active collaborations with the Centre for Physical Activity Research in Copenhagen and the DICP in Dalian, an institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and research stays in Copenhagen and Dalian followed. Based on this work is the concept of myometabokines, i.e. metabolites induced by exercise that may contribute to diabetes prevention, for example, through long-term effects.
Fields of Work and Expertise
exercise metabolism insulin signaling mitochondrial respiration myometabokine metabolomics
diabetes prevention
Professional Background
Head of Basic Research at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry
Professorship for Molecular Diabetology
Head of Division "Metabolic Diabetology"
Honors and Awards
- Visiting Professorship at the Danish Diabetes Academy 2016
- Ferdinand Bertram Award 2006
Publications
Sandforth, A. ; Arreola, E.V. ; Hanson, R.L. ; Wewer Albrechtsen, N.J. ; Holst, J.J. ; Ahrends, R. ; Coman, C. ; Gerst, F. ; Lorza-Gil, E. ; Cheng, Y. ; Sandforth, L. ; Katzenstein, S. ; Ganslmeier, M. ; Seissler, J. ; Hauner, H. ; Perakakis, N. ; Wagner, R. ; Machann, J. ; Schick, F. ; Peter, A. ; Lehmann, R. ; Weigert, C. ; Maurer, J. ; Preissl, H. ; Heni, M. ; Szendrödi, J. ; Kopf, S. ; Solimena, M. ; Schwarz, P. ; Blüher, M. ; Häring, H.-U. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; Schürmann, A. ; Kabisch, S. ; Mai, K. ; Pfeiffer, A.F.H. ; Bornstein, S. ; Stumvoll, M. ; Roden, M. ; Stefan, N. ; Fritsche, A. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Jumpertz von Schwartzenberg, R.
Prevention of type 2 diabetes through prediabetes remission without weight loss.Dreher, S.I. ; Goj, T. ; von Toerne, C. ; Hoene, M. ; Irmler, M. ; Ouni, M. ; Jähnert, M. ; Beckers, J. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; Peter, A. ; Moller, A. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Schürmann, A. ; Hauck, S.M. ; Weigert, C.
Sex differences in resting skeletal muscle and the acute and long-term response to endurance exercise in individuals with overweight and obesity.Ratter-Rieck, J.M. ; Zepina, A. ; Niersmann, C. ; Röhrig, K. ; Riols, F. ; Haid, M. ; Lintelmann, J. ; Hauck, S.M. ; Roden, M. ; Weigert, C. ; Herder, C.
Omentin increases glucose uptake, but not insulin sensitivity in human myotubes dependent on extracellular lactotransferrin.Dreher, S.I. ; Grubba, P. ; von Toerne, C. ; Moruzzi, A. ; Maurer, J. ; Goj, T. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Peter, A. ; Loskill, P. ; Hauck, S.M. ; Weigert, C.
IGF1 promotes human myotube differentiation toward a mature metabolic and contractile phenotype.Liu, X. ; Weigert, C.
State-of-the-art metabolomics and lipidomics in life sciences: Methods and applications.Feger, M. ; Meier, L. ; Strotmann, J. ; Hoene, M. ; Vogt, J. ; Wisser, A. ; Hirschle, S. ; Kheim, M.J. ; Hocher, B. ; Weigert, C. ; Föller, M.
Endothelin receptor B-deficient mice are protected from high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome.Kovác, L. ; Goj, T. ; Ouni, M. ; Irmler, M. ; Jähnert, M. ; Beckers, J. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; Peter, A. ; Moller, A. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Weigert, C. ; Schürmann, A.
Skeletal muscle gene expression signatures of obese high- and low- responders to endurance exercise training.Maurer, J. ; Zhao, X. ; Irmler, M. ; Gudiksen, A. ; Pilmark, N.S. ; Li, Q. ; Goj, T. ; Beckers, J. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Peter, A. ; Lehmann, R. ; Pilegaard, H. ; Karstoft, K. ; Xu, G. ; Weigert, C.
Redox state and altered pyruvate metabolism contribute to a dose-dependent metformin-induced lactate production of human myotubes.Sandforth, A. ; Jumpertz von Schwartzenberg, R. ; Arreola, E.V. ; Hanson, R.L. ; Sancar, G. ; Katzenstein, S. ; Lange, K. ; Preissl, H. ; Dreher, S. ; Weigert, C. ; Wagner, R. ; Kantartzis, K. ; Machann, J. ; Schick, F. ; Lehmann, R. ; Peter, A. ; Katsouli, N. ; Ntziachristos, V. ; Dannecker, C. ; Fritsche, L. ; Perakakis, N. ; Heni, M. ; Nawroth, P.P. ; Kopf, S. ; Pfeiffer, A.F.H. ; Kabisch, S. ; Stumvoll, M. ; Schwarz, P.E.H. ; Hauner, H ; Lechner, A. ; Seissler, J. ; Yurchenko, I. ; Icks, A. ; Solimena, M. ; Häring, H.-U. ; Szendroedi, J. ; Schürmann, A. ; Hrabě de Angelis, M. ; Blüher, M. ; Roden, M. ; Bornstein, S. ; Stefan, N. ; Fritsche, A. ; Birkenfeld, A.L.
Mechanisms of weight loss-induced remission in people with prediabetes: A post-hoc analysis of the randomised, controlled, multicentre Prediabetes Lifestyle Intervention Study (PLIS).Zheng, S. ; Zhou, L. ; Hoene, M. ; Peter, A. ; Birkenfeld, A.L. ; Weigert, C. ; Liu, X. ; Zhao, X. ; Xu, G. ; Lehmann, R.
A new biomarker profiling strategy for gut microbiome research: Valid association of metabolites to metabolism of microbiota detected by non-targeted metabolomics in human urine.
