Our Year 2024

In 2021, a research team led by Prof. Heiko Lickert from Helmholtz Munich discovered the insulin-inhibitory receptor "Inceptor" and its role as a suppressor of the insulin signaling pathway. Now, the researchers have unlocked another, even more…

Almost nine million people are living with type 1 diabetes worldwide. Although this disease can be a life-threatening, it often goes unnoticed and is diagnosed too late. Yet type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed early, long before symptoms appear, by a…

On October 22, science and culture converged in an exciting collaboration between Helmholtz Munich and the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk. At the inaugural event of the three-part Bergson Academy series, experts from Helmholtz Munich, along with a patient,…

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, a partnership between the Steve Morgan Foundation, Diabetes UK, and Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, has announced funding for a cutting-edge research project led by researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the…

Dr Maria Keller, project leader at the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) of Helmholtz Munich in Leipzig, has been awarded this year's research prize of the German Obesity Society (DAG) for her work in the field…

Every year on October 3rd, the German broadcaster WDR organizes the event "Doors Open with The Mouse." This year, 770 companies and research institutions across Germany participated, welcoming children and parents under the theme "Working Together."…

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has awarded nearly five million euros to fund a four-year research project on metabolic health, led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with significant involvement from Helmholtz Munich. Researchers from…

Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Director of the Helmholtz Munich Institute for Diabetes Research, was awarded the 2024 Rachmiel Levine Medal by City of Hope - a prominent biomedical research and treatment institution in the United States, especially…

The 11th Helmholtz Diabetes Conference, held from September 23 to 25, 2024, in Munich, gathered leading international experts to discuss advancements in diabetes and metabolic research. Hosted by Stephan Herzig, Maria Rohm, and Mauricio Berriel Diaz…

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich have received an award from Breakthrough T1D, a leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, to fund a new diabetes research project. The project will leverage advanced artificial…

Experts from the Helmholtz Munich-led Fr1daPlex initiative, the Bavarian Professional Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ), and PaedNetz Bayern e.V. have published a new position paper providing a detailed evaluation of an islet autoantibody screening…

Dr. Bilal Sheikh, group leader of the Young Investigator’s group “Vascular Epigenetics” at the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research, has been selected as a Henriette-Herz Scout by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.…

This summer and fall, Helmholtz Munich will participate in three major community events in Munich: the FORSCHA, the OBEN OHNE Festival, and the Maus Türöffner-Tag. These engagements highlight Helmholtz Munich’s commitment to fostering public interest…

On June 12, 2024, the National Strategy for Gene and Cell Therapies was unveiled at the Futurium in Berlin.

At the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) in Leipzig, two metabolic chambers for humans have been constructed with the objective of determining the influence of obesity and other metabolic diseases on energy…

A recent study conducted by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research provides new insights into how fathers' diets and overweight can affect their children's health even before conception. The findings of the study can help…

At the third Helmholtz Munich Expert Hour at the German Bundestag on June 4, 2024, the cutting-edge research center provided information on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies to improve medicine in the areas of…

This year, the highest award of the German Diabetes Association (DDG) – the Paul Langerhans Medal – is awarded to Prof. Dr. med. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler. The Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research at Helmholtz Munich and scientist at the…

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that leads to disrupted glucose metabolism. It requires lifelong insulin therapy. The Global Platform for the Prevention of Autoimmune Diabetes (GPPAD) collaborates within a European network to develop new…

Prof. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler about her contribution to novel therapies for type 1 diabetes.

During the 2nd Helmholtz Munich Expert Hour on April 10, 2024, representatives from politics and science gathered once again to discuss pressing health issues and stay informed about the latest developments in research. The topic "When will diabetes…

Prof. Stephan Herzig explains why intermittent fasting with conscious breaks of eating helps to bring the metabolism into harmony with the body's internal rhythm and thus improve health and prevent diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,…

Recent research underscores the critical role of adipocytes in storing fat, vital for organismal survival. Dysfunctional adipocytes can lead to metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, highlighting the importance of…

Prof. Antje Körner, Head of the Metabolism Division at the Helmholtz Institute of Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) at Helmholtz Munich and Professor of Metabolic Research at Leipzig University’s Faculty of Medicine, has been named as…

INFRAFRONTIER, a leading player in biomedical research infrastructure, headquartered at Helmholtz Munich, was officially declared as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) by the European Commission. This milestone represents a…

Research targeting the insulin-inhibitory receptor, called inceptor, unveils promising avenues for beta cell protection, offering hope for causal diabetes therapy. A novel study in mice with diet-induced obesity demonstrates that the knock-out of…

Sex-Specific Research

On November 25, 2024, Helmholtz Munich hosted an inspiring evening at the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk in Munich. The event, titled "Fit for the Future – How can AI revolutionize Health and Medicine?", brought together experts including Dr. Carsten Marr…

The jury for the Eugen Münch Award for Innovative Healthcare has announced the winners for 2024. In the category "Science and Practical Application," Dr. Carsten Marr from Helmholtz Munich was honored for his groundbreaking research on AI-driven…

In a novel international study, researchers have created the Human Neural Organoid Cell Atlas (HNOCA). This atlas integrates 1.7 million single-cell transcriptomic profiles, offering a powerful tool for studying brain development, disease mechanisms,…

Helmholtz Munich launches the Helmholtz Munich Imputation Server, providing an imputation service for researchers based in the European Union (EU) and beyond. Imputation is the statistical inference of unobserved genotypes and plays a pivotal role in…

Prof. Zeynep Akata is selected as one of the leading "Top 40 Under 40". Read her compelling interview!

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the new collaborative project CausalNet with nearly two million euros. The goal: to develop a new generation of machine learning over the next three years that can understand…

The Helmholtz Association has announced the winners of its second Helmholtz Foundation Model Initiative call, with Helmholtz Munich playing a key role in two of the three selected projects. These innovative projects – VirtualCell and PROFOUND – are…

Interview with Prof. Matthias Tschöp about health research and prevention with cutting-edge tools.

A team of computational biologists from Helmholtz Munich has been honored with the "Frontiers of Science" award at the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) in Beijing. Researchers Fabian Theis, Alexander Wolf, and Philipp Angerer received…

Led by Helmholtz Munich, scientists have developed an accessible software solution specifically designed for the analysis of complex medical health data. The open-source software called “ehrapy” enables researchers to structure and systematically…

Five prestigious Starting Grants from the European Research Council have been granted to researchers with Helmholtz Munich as the host institution. The funding will enable scientists at Helmholtz Munich to advance innovative projects across various…

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich have received an award from Breakthrough T1D, a leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, to fund a new diabetes research project. The project will leverage advanced artificial…

Prof. Dr. Dr. Fabian Theis, Head of the Computational Health Center at Helmholtz Munich and Chair of the Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems at the Technical University of Munich, has been awarded a two-year grant of $400,000 for the project…

The German Society of Human Genetics (GfH) has awarded Dr. Holger Prokisch of Helmholtz Munich the GfH Medal of Honor for his exceptional contributions to human genetic research. This prestigious award is given annually to researchers who have…

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) together with international collaborators have conducted the largest genetic investigation of the restless legs syndrome to date. Their findings, published in Nature…

At the third Helmholtz Munich Expert Hour at the German Bundestag on June 4, 2024, the cutting-edge research center provided information on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies to improve medicine in the areas of…

Multi-omics factor analysis furnishes new insights

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers various opportunities in medical research, but the use of patient data frequently raises privacy concerns. In a recent position paper, Dr. Carsten Marr, a scientist at Helmholtz Munich, and other authors address…

The German Radiological Society has awarded the Alfred Breit Prize this year to Prof. Julia Schnabel, Director at the Institute of Machine Learning in Biomedical Imaging at Helmholtz Munich and Professor at the Technical University of Munich. The…

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina honors Helmholtz Munich AI scientist Niki Kilbertus for his teaching and research achievements in the field of ethical machine learning with the Leopoldina Prize for Young Scientists 2024.

The ISIDORe project is the largest and most diverse research and service-providing consortium in Europe dedicated to studying infectious diseases. As part of this project, a team around Dr Lara Urban, Principal Investigator at Helmholtz AI and the…

Prof. Zeynep Akata has been heading the newly founded Institute for Explainable Machine Learning since January 2024. Her research focuses on developing explainable machine learning models for vision and language tasks. From building an institute from…

Prof. Eleftheria Zeggini about equity, diversity and inclusion in science

The genetic information in our cells harbors secrets about the risks, progression, and complications of many diseases. With hundreds of millions of patients worldwide, identifying and understanding genetic risk for type 2 diabetes is of particular…

Dr. Kurt Schmoller from the Institute of Functional Epigenetics at Helmholtz Munich has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. This significant recognition supports outstanding mid-career researchers in…

Cell death is indispensable to life, as it ensures the removal of damaged or unnecessary cells. Among the many ways a cell can die, ferroptosis is a unique and regulated form of cell death. This process plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of…

Prof. Marcus Conrad, Director of the Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death at Helmholtz Munich, was awarded the ECDO Honorary Award 2024 for his pioneering research on ferroptosis. He has been a Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)…

Prof. Marcus Conrad, Director at the Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death at Helmholtz Munich, has been awarded the Galenus-von-Pergamon Award in the category of Basic Research. The honor recognizes his pioneering contributions to the field of…

The second "Helmholtz Summer School on Chromatin Biology: A Hands-on Expedition", organized by the Helmholtz Munich Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells (IES) and the Institute of Functional Epigenetics (IFE) in collaboration with the life science…

Five prestigious Starting Grants from the European Research Council have been granted to researchers with Helmholtz Munich as the host institution. The funding will enable scientists at Helmholtz Munich to advance innovative projects across various…

Prof. Michael Sattler on exploring the impact of understanding molecular disease mechanisms and advancing personalized therapies.

On June 12, 2024, the National Strategy for Gene and Cell Therapies was unveiled at the Futurium in Berlin.

Over the next four years, Helmholtz Munich participates in a European research consortium, aiming to develop an innovative technology that could boost the regeneration of neurons in diseases that currently have limited therapeutic options. The…

In an ongoing phase 1 clinical trial targeting malignant glioblastoma, the initial patient has received a dosage of a novel drug candidate, derived from an antibody originating at Helmholtz Munich. This innovative compound, coupled with a…

The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. Scientists from Helmholtz Munich…

Several research groups at Helmholtz Munich are working on innovative vaccines. Two of them are about to clear a crucial hurdle before approval - fighting the Epstein-Barr virus and Hepatitis B. But how do researchers develop a vaccine?

Epigenetic changes play important roles in cancer, metabolic and aging-related diseases, but also during loss of resilience as they cause the genetic material to be incorrectly interpreted in affected cells. A major study by scientists at Helmholtz…

TherVacB, a novel therapeutic vaccine to combat chronic hepatitis B, entered the first clinical trial. The vaccine was designed and developed under the leadership of Helmholtz Munich. This phase 1a clinical trial is conducted at the Division of…

The Life Science Factory has opened its new site on the Helmholtz campus in Munich. Beginning in 2025, around 1,800 square meters of state-of-the-art laboratories and a flexible co-working space will be available for life science start-ups and…

A study led by Lara Urban, Principal Investigator at Helmholtz AI and the Pioneer Campus at Helmholtz Munich and TUM Junior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has revealed a novel method for detecting hidden antibiotic resistance,…

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) have shown how glial cells are reprogrammed into neurons via epigenetic modifications.

A recent review published in Current Opinion in Cell Biology, authored by Jonathan Schneider and Dr. Marion Jasnin from the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus at Helmholtz Munich, illuminates the capabilities of cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) in unraveling…

Helmholtz Munich researcher Celia Martinez-Jimenez, principal investigator at the Pioneer Campus in the research group “Molecular Ageing”, and her team have unraveled the enigmatic world of hepatocyte polyploidy—a genomic phenomenon that proved to…

At the helm of a new era in vascular research, Prof. Matthias Meier and his team at the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus (HPC) at Helmholtz Munich, introduce a cutting-edge microfluidic vessel-on-chip technology. This innovation leverages human stem cells to…

The ISIDORe project is the largest and most diverse research and service-providing consortium in Europe dedicated to studying infectious diseases. As part of this project, a team around Dr Lara Urban, Principal Investigator at Helmholtz AI and the…

Pioneer Campus researcher Janna Nawroth has secured 497.300 euros from the Volkswagen Foundation for a two-year project that focuses on investigating the role of motile cilia in the brain.