Scientific Advances in Saxony: HI-MAG is Part of the SPIN2030 Campaign

The SPIN2030 campaign, initiated by the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism, aims to enhance and further strengthen the diversity, excellence and attractiveness of Saxony as a science location by supporting universities, research institutions as well as university medicine, and university hospitals with up to 4 billion euros by 2030. At the SPIN2030 kick-off event held in Leipzig on February 3^rd, 2023, HI-MAG introduce itself to many interested citizens.

As part of the SPIN2030 roadshow, Sebastian Gemkow, the Science Minister of Saxony, is visiting different scientific locations in stages and organizing them according to key topics. On October 26^th, 2023, he visited Leipzig to gain a more detailed insight into the biotechnological and biomedical research landscape, with a focus on obesity, cancer, and infection research. The first location he visited was the HI-MAG.

HI-MAG in Leipzig, an institute of Helmholtz Munich at the University of Leipzig and University of Leipzig Medical Center, investigates the causes of pathological weight gain and seeks to create novel therapeutic interventions for obesity and its related comorbidities, such as metabolic and vascular diseases. The institute's specialty is its integration of pre-clinical research in the laborytory and clinical research at its outpatient clinic, which enables rapid implementation of the most recent research findings into clinical practice.

Minister Gemkow was given an insight into current clinical issues under investigation at HI-MAG as part of ongoing clinical studies and had the opportunity to try out some of the tests himself, which are otherwise only offered to test subjects in the HI-MAG outpatient study center in the Red House. In the HI-MAG laboratories, the minister could take a look behind the scenes and learn more about the state-of-the-art methods employed by the researchers of the institute to investigate the development of morbid obesity and the role that the brain and adipose tissue play in obesity-related diseases.

Prof Matthias Blüher, Director of HI-MAG and Head of the Obesity Outpatient Clinic at University of Leipzig Medical Center, emphasized: "Leipzig is an ideal location for our research institute. With its close connection to the University of Leipzig Medical Center, which is a world-leading center for research into metabolic diseases in humans, and the close cooperation between clinical researchers and scientists in fundamental research in Leipzig and Munich, I am certain that significant breakthroughs in the treatment of obesity and its secondary diseases can be expected in the coming years. Our primary goal is to bring the latest research findings to the benefit of people with metabolic diseases as quickly as possible."