Research Against Cancer and Diabetes: Matthias Hebrok Receives Bavarian Distinguished Professorship
The biologist and medical researcher Matthias Hebrok was awarded the Bavarian Distinguished Professorship. Since 2022 Prof. Hebrok is Director at the Institute for Diabetes and Organoid Technology (IDOT)) at Helmholtz Munich. The Bavarian Ministry of Science is now supporting his scientific work as Professor for Applied Stem Cell and Organoid Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with the Distinguished Professorship. The Distinguished Professorship Program is part of the “High-Tech Agenda Bavaria”.
“I am very pleased about the appointment to the Distinguished Professorship, and I would like to thank the Bavarian State Ministry for the outstanding support and research opportunities this offers," says Hebrok. “Our science is here to help humans. We are working on pancreatic organoids, which are in simplified terms artificially produced mini versions of the pancreas in cell culture. There are two main goals for us: On the one hand, we want to reproduce and improve insulin-producing beta cells to enable cell replacement therapies for patients with diabetes. On the other hand, we want to understand pancreatic cancer more precisely in order to develop early diagnostics and therapies“, he summarizes his main areas of research.
About Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Matthias Hebrok
Scientific luminary, developer of a patent, founder of a company: Hebrok is an internationally highly renowned scientist with focus on pancreatic diseases, especially diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Groundbreaking in this field are above all his successes in the generation of organoids, which are artificially produced organ-like structures.
Hebrok studied cell biology at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg and finished his PhD at the Max-Planck-Institute for Immunobiology in Freiburg, as well as his postdoctoral scholarship at Harvard. Specifically for translating his research findings into clinically applicable knowledge he receives great credit. The award-winning scientist has produced several patents, is a company founder, and has served on the advisory board of several biotech companies.
Hebrok was appointed by the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) as Professor for Applied Stem Cell and Organoid Systems at the School of Medicine at TUM on September 1st, 2022. Also, since September 2022 Hebrok is Director at the new Institute for Diabetes and Organoid Technology (IDOT) at Helmholtz Munich and since October 2022 Director at the newly implemented interdisciplinary Center for Organoid Systems (COS) at the TUM. From 2023, both institutes will serve as hubs for the interdisciplinary research of TUM, Helmholtz Munich and the Hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar.
More Information
Interview with Matthias Hebrok about the new Institute for Diabetes and Organoid Technology (IDOT)
About the scientist
Prof. Dr. Matthias Hebrok, Director of the Institute for Diabetes and Organoid Technology (IDOT) at Helmholtz Munich and Professor and Chair for Applied Stem Cell and Organoid Systems at the Technical University Munich (TUM)
Contact: matthias.hebrok@helmholtz-munich.de
