Research Insights and Clinical Perspectives at HI-MAG
For the first day of the Leopoldina Collegium, the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity, and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) in Leipzig opened its doors and offered participants a direct insight into current obesity research. Through expert presentations and guided tours, HI-MAG showcased its bench-to-bedside research approach. In addition to basic laboratory research, HI-MAG conducts numerous clinical trials at its clinical trial unit to better understand metabolic diseases, develop new treatment approaches, and identify preventive measures.
The Leopoldina Collegium 2026 opened with welcoming remarks and a round of introductions by Prof. Dr. Antje Körner, head of the “Childhood Obesity and Metabolic Research” group at HI-MAG and Professor of Metabolic Research at Leipzig University, and Sonja Kastilan, head of the Science Communication Department at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Prof. Dr. Antje Körner then briefed the interested journalists on current research on treatment and prevention of childhood obesity. Among other things, she presented the LIFE Child clinical trial program, which investigates healthy child development and explores questions regarding the origins and prevention of non-communicable diseases. She emphasized that prevention is a key component in the fight against obesity and stressed that the window of opportunity for preventive measures begins early in childhood. She was joined by PD Dr. Dr. John Heiker, group leader of “MORe – Molecular Obesity Research” at HI-MAG, who provided insights into translational research on adipose tissue.
During a subsequent tour through the clinical trial units of HI-MAG and LIFE Child, the journalists gained firsthand insight into how clinical questions are addressed. In addition to visiting HI-MAG's state-of-the-art metabolic chambers, the journalists were introduced to various methods for measuring body composition and learned how examinations of study participants are conducted at the LIFE Child clinical trial unit. In addition to speaking with specialists such as Sarah Frenzel, coordinator of the HI-MAG clinical trials unit, and Nico Grafe, head of the LIFE Child clinical trials unit, the journalists also had the opportunity to speak with a patient from the Obesity Outpatient Clinic at University of Leipzig Medical Center. She shared her own treatment experiences.
The informative portion of the first day concluded with a moderated discussion on the topic “Understanding Obesity as a Chronic, Recurrent Disease,” with Prof. Dr. Körner, PD Dr. Dr. Heiker, and the patient from the obesity outpatient clinic as well as Prof. Dr. Lars Selig, Head of the Nutritional Medicine/Nutrition Outpatient Clinic at University of Leipzig Medical Center and Professor of Medical Education, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg/Campus Gera. He answered questions about the treatment of patients with obesity at the University of Leipzig Medical Center. All panelists agreed that, in addition to society’s recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, it is particularly important for patients to research new treatment options to accommodate the individual course of the disease.
Prevention and Treatment Strategies in Focus
The second day of the Leopoldina Collegium took place at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale). Here, the topic of prevention was explored through presentations on experiences with the sugar tax by Prof. Dr. Michael Laxy, Professor of Public Health and Prevention at the TUM School of Medicine and Health at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), as well as on the question of how to motivate people to change their lifestyles, by Prof. Dr. Iris Pigeot, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS in Bremen.
During the concluding panel discussion, the complexity of obesity as a chronic disease was further explored with expert insights from Prof. Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, Medical Director of the Department of Diabetology, Endocrinology, and Nephrology at the University Hospital of Tübingen and Director of the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) at Helmholtz Munich, Prof. Dr. Susanna Hofmann, Professor of Lipid Metabolism and Metabolic Diseases at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (LMU) and Head of the Independent Research Group “Women and Diabetes” at Helmholtz Munich, and Prof. Dr. Oliver Mann, Deputy Director of the Department of General, Visceral, and Thoracic Surgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.
The Leopoldina Collegium has been held 35 times since 2012 and focuses on current sociopolitical issues. The program’s goal is to bring together media representatives and researchers and to facilitate discussion on current research topics.
