Helmholtz Diabetes Center Institute for Pancreatic Islet Research

The research at the IPI focuses on the pancreatic islets, in which the insulin-producing beta cells, which are damaged or even destroyed in type-1 and type-2 diabetes, are located. The study of the underlying mechanisms and their better understanding helps scientists to develop new therapeutic approaches.

Since January 2016, the IPI has been part of Helmholtz Munich as a satellite institute and forms the core of the previously founded Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.).

Currently, the IPI comprises 16 research groups dealing with various aspects of diabetes. The scientists are working on deciphering the mechanisms that lead to the destruction and/or functional impairment of beta cells and are also trying to develop new approaches to replace damaged or destroyed beta cells.

Therefore, our mission is to protect and restore the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas to prevent and cure diabetes mellitus.

Over the past years, an international team of scientists from a wide variety of disciplines has been recruited to perform their research in Dresden, making IPI to one of the leading diabetes research locations in Germany. The interdisciplinary cooperation and the close connection of experts from different disciplines such as genetics, immunology, cell and developmental biology with the clinical departments of internal medicine and visceral, thoracic and vascular surgery or stem cell experts guarantee a translational orientation of the research. The excellent research infrastructure in Dresden provides moreover the basis for future scientific excellence.