Helmholtz Diabetes Center Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity, and Vascular Research

Last Friday, June 20, 2025, the “Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften” (Long Night of the Sciences) took place again in Leipzig. In cooperation with the Leipzig study site of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), HI-MAG once again opened its doors…

Professor Antje Körner has been awarded the Leipzig Science Award 2025. The prize, endowed with €10,000, recognizes her research in the field of childhood obesity and metabolic diseases. The award ceremony took place during a formal event at Leipzig…

Helmholtz Munich is a partner in four Clusters of Excellence selected for funding under the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The projects, each granted a seven-year term, were announced by the German Research…

A new study has identified KLK7, a protein found in immune cells, as a key driver of obesity-related inflammation and metabolic disorders. Led by PD Dr. John Heiker and Dr. Aleix Ribas-Latre from the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and…

For the report “Auf Diät forever?”, the Y-Kollektiv visited the HI-MAG outpatient clinic at the University of Leipzig Medical Center and took a look at our Metabolic Chambers, which are used to measure energy expenditure in calories. (Documentary in…

A new platform, Adiposetissue.org, is set to enhance obesity and metabolism research by centralizing and simplifying access to adipose tissue data. Developed by researchers from Helmholtz Munich, Karolinska Institutet and Steno Diabetes Center…

A new study from Zurich and Leipzig investigates why some overweight people remain healthy while others develop metabolic diseases. The researchers created an atlas of adipose tissue and gene activity in healthy and diseased overweight individuals.…

Plastic materials are found everywhere, which leads to constant exposure to chemicals used in plastics, such as plasticizers. These chemicals, which make plastic more flexible, may be linked to obesity because they can disrupt the body’s metabolism.

HI-MAG doctoral researcher Alessio Pollastri, who works at the research group of Prof. Dr. Matthias Blüher titled “Clinical Obesity Research”, won the Research Prize at the 18th Leipzig Research Festival in the category of Diseases of Civilization:…

HI-MAG Team Leader Dr. Maria Keller completed her habilitation with the title “Lifestyle-mediated epigenetic modifications and their impact on metabolic health” at the Medical Faculty of Leipzig University and obtained the venia legendi in the field…

A new report of the Commission on Clinical Obesity, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and endorsed by over 75 medical organizations, has introduced a transformative framework that addresses the limitations of traditional BMI-based…

From December 16th to 18th, 2024, HI-MAG held its first "Energy Expenditure Symposium," bringing together experts and researchers to discuss advancements in metabolic research.

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,…

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…

Dr Lucas Massier has joined HI-MAG as a group leader on 1 September 2024 and will establish a young investigators group in the field of obesity research, entitled 'Adipose Tissue Microarchitecture and Metabolism'.

From September 2nd to 4th, 2024, the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1052 "Obesity Mechanisms" held its third international symposium at Leipzig University’s Felix-Klein lecture hall. Matthias Blüher, spokesperson of CRC 1052 and director of…

A team of researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) of Helmholtz Munich in Leipzig and the University of Leipzig has uncovered a significant connection between the concentration of salivary…

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.…

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…

German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) will become a new partner of the German Centers for Health Research (DZG) from June 1, 2024. The nationally organized and networked research center will receive 30 million... (Article in German)

Adel Ben-Kraiem, a postdoctoral researcher in the Jais Lab at HI-MAG, has been selected for the Early Career Training Programme (ECTP) of the FENS Forum 2024, a highly competitive initiative that recognizes and supports exceptional early-career…

Dr. Robert Stein has been awarded one of this year's General Project Grants from the German Diabetes Association (DDG) in the amount of €15,000 for his project, entitled "Identification of Subtypes of Children and Adolescents at Risk of 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. 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…

On March 8th and 9th, 2024, the SPIN2030 Science Festival took place at the Technische Sammlungen Dresden. The HI-MAG had its own stand on both days to make its research accessible to the general public.

Matthias Blüher was interviewed by SWR television about the use, mode of action and side effects of so-called "weight loss injections" in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Click here for the article on the SWR homepage (in German):

HI-MAG PostDocs Julia Schuller and Adel Ben-Kraiem, who both work at the research group of Dr. Alexander Jais titled “Diet-Induced Metabolic Alterations”, won the Research Prize at the 17th Leipzig Research Festival for Life Sciences in the category…

2023 has changed the way we treat obesity. A new class of drugs, mimicking a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is reshaping medicine and improving many people’s lives globally. GLP-1 drugs do not only induce significant weight loss,…

At this year’s Conference of the Lipedema Society (LipödemGesellschaft e. V.) HI-MAG PostDoc Pamela Nono Nankam received the society’s Science Award. The Annual Conference was held from October 27th and 28th, 2023 in the city hall of Flörsheim/Main.

The Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) of Helmholtz Munich, located in Leipzig, is part of the SPIN2030 initiative.

Ultrasound examinations are a less invasive, comparatively quick and simple and therefore frequently used diagnostic procedure. However, the accuracy of conventional ultrasound probes is limited in patients with obesity.

At the 10th Helmholtz Diabetes Conference, Martha Hanschkow received the "Helmholtz Best EMBO J Flash-Talk Award". This year's Helmholtz Diabetes Conference, organized and hosted by Prof. Stephan Herzig, focused in particular on young scientists.

Clarifying a debated issue in clinical practice 

Thousands of patients are injected with contrast media every day, particularly in the fields of radiology and internal medicine. It has long been debated whether, and if so to what extent, there is a…

Prof. Dr. Antje Körner started as head of the Metabolism Division at the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) on July 1, 2023.

Why “Eating Your Greens” Represents a Major Aspect of Lifestyle Driven Obesity Treatment

Last Friday, June 23rd, 2023, the “Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften” (Long Night of the Sciences) in Leipzig took place live on site(s) for the first time in 5 years and HI-MAG participated this year. At our premises at Philipp-Rosenthal-Str. 27, we…

Investigating Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Diseases

The Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (Helmholtz-Institut für Metabolismus-, Adipositas- und Gefäßforschung, HI-MAG), an institute from Helmholtz Munich at the…

On Friday, February 3, 2023, the HI-MAG was able to present itself and its work at the SPIN2030 in the Congress Hall of the Leipzig Zoo with its own booth in cooperation with the University of Leipzig.

A research team from Helmholtz Munich and the Leipzig University’s Faculty of Medicine has discovered a new mechanism that is associated with severe obesity in children. This genetic rearrangement leads to an unusual expression of a gene that can…

The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, a division of the Allen Institute, announced today the names of the 16 new Allen Distinguished Investigators for 2022. Bilal Sheikh from the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG)…

How is a muscle protein related to energy production in brown adipose tissue (BAT)? And could this be a possible starting point in the fight against obesity? A team of researchers led by John Heiker from the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity…

Through the course of the last several decades, the rate of obesity has progressively increased and is now one of the leading causes of death worldwide – according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 650 million adults are classified as obese. The…

On World Diabetes Day on November 14th, Kathrin Landgraf and Robert Stein, both working in Antje Körner's Lab at the University of Leipzig Medical Center and guest researchers at HI-MAG, were interviewed about their research on obesity and diabetes…

Diabetes research: At this year's congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Helmholtz Munich scientists received several awards for pioneering ideas and ways to fight the disease.

To unravel the effects of the newly approved cholesterol lowering drug Bempedoic Acid on the epigenome, Dr. Bilal Sheikh has been awarded a DFG project grant.