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Porträt Maria Keller
Helmholtz Munich | ©Friederike Butter
+49 341 97 22931E-MailGebäude/Raum: Leipzig

Dr. Maria Keller

Team leader and scientist at the Helmholtz-Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG)

"Working on the potential connection between dietary polyphenols, epigenetic changes, and metabolic health, in the context of weight management."

Dr. Maria Keller

Team leader and scientist at the Helmholtz-Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG)

Working on the potential connection between dietary polyphenols, epigenetic changes, and metabolic health, in the context of weight management.

Academic Career

Maria Keller began her academic journey with a Bachelor of science in Ecotrophology at the University of Kiel, followed by a Master of science in Nutritional Science at the University of Vienna, Austria. During her PhD at the University of Leipzig, Maria's research led to fundamental contribution to the field of genetics and epigenetics. Beside several publication on genetics of obesity and eating disorder, Maria was among the first showing fat depot and obesity state specific DNAm pattern in humans. After her PhD, she got a Postdoctoral Fellowship which she spent at the Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC) in Malmö, Sweden, where she established an in vitro model for GeneXLifestyle interactions using CRISPR Cas9 editing. During this time, Maria set the basis for moving away from static epigenetic analysis and after she returned to Germany, she investigated weight-loss associated DNAm changes in large scale randomized controlled trial’s. Since 2020 she is a team leader at the Helmholtz-Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research and supervised DNAm work for publications in journals such as Gut, Nature Communication and Diabetes Care. In addition, she recently showed that especially inflammation related metabolic remodelling in adipose tissue after weight-loss could be successfully mirrored by DNAm features and that DNAm editing is a tool to reprogram adipogenesis.

 

 

Research Areas and Expertise

Maria's research focuses on understanding the epigenetic mechanisms underlying metabolic diseases, particularly obesity and type 2 diabetes. Her work investigates how environmental factors and interventions, such as bariatric surgery, influence DNA methylation and gene expression in metabolically active tissues like adipose tissue. By exploring these molecular changes, she aims to uncover potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for improving metabolic health.

Important Career Steps

Since 2020

Team leader / Scientist

at the Helmholtz-Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG), Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

Head of the institute: Prof. Matthias Blüher

2018 - 2020

Principal investigator/ Junior Scientist

at the at the Integrated Research and Treatment Center-AdiposityDiseases (IFB), University of Leipzig

 Head of the institute: Prof. Michael Stumvoll

2016 – 2017

Postdoctoral Fellow

at Lund University Diabetes Centre, Malmö, Sweden

Head of the group: Prof. Paul W. Franks

2015 - 2016

Postdoctoral Fellow

at the Medical Department III – Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, University of Leipzig

Honors and Awards

  • 2024 - Research Prize of the German Obesity Society (DAG)

  • 2022 - PreDoc-Mentor Award: mentor-mentee tandem project award, Leipzig University

  • 2021 - Research Award Lipidology (D-A-CH Society for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Circulatory Diseases e.V.: Epigenetic Changes in Adipose Tissue of Patients with Lipodystrophy

  • 2016 - Postdoctoral fellowship award of the German Research Foundation (DFG): GeneXLifestyle interactions in cardiometabolic disease

Gold Star Awards Luxury Background
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Selected Publications

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