Personal Details
Prof. Dr. Heiko Lickert
Institute Director and Group Leader Insulin/IGF signalling in metabolism and growth & Islet Biology
Phone: + 49 89-3187-3760
E-mail
Building/Room: Campus Neuherberg, building 3620, room 306c
Scientific Career and Research Area
Heiko Lickert obtained his PhD in Biology from the University of Freiburg and his PhD and Postdoctoral studies were carried out in the laboratory of Prof. Rolf Kemler at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg and in the laboratory of Prof. Janet Rossant at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Currently he is a W3 Professor and Chair of Beta Cell Biology in the Medical Faculty of the Technical University Munich, the Director of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research and Principal Investigator in the Institute of Stem Cell Research at the Helmholtz Center Munich. He is also in the Steering Committee of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center, the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus and in the Research Coordination Board of the German Center for Diabetes Research. His work has been funded by the European Research Council and an Emmy-Noether fellowship from the German Research Foundation.
Stem and Progenitor Cells in Pancreas Development, Regeneration and Drug Screening
The lack or dysfunction of insulin-producing β-cells is the cause of type I or type II diabetes, respectively. The primary objective of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research (IDR) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München is to develop regenerative therapeutic approaches to treat diabetes mellitus - complementary and alternative to the classical immunological and metabolic therapy strategies.
In vitro generation of β-cells from pluripotent stem cells for cell-replacement therapy or triggering endogenous mechanisms of β-cell repair have great potential in the field of regenerative medicine. Both approaches rely on a thorough understanding of β-cell development and homeostasis in pre-clinical models.
Therefore, the aim is to improve current strategies for functional β-cell production in vitro which are used for drug screening assays, with the ultimate goal to provide alternative sources of β-cells for therapy. Additionally, we analyze and characterize the embryonic and adult pancreatic progenitor cells to understand endocrine lineage formation, specifically the development of the insulin producing β-cell and their functions in metabolic signaling, homeostasis and regeneration.
Curriculum vitae
| Oct. 1992 – Dec. 1997 | Studies of Biology at Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology (Diploma overall mark: 1.1) |
| Jan. 1998 – Dec. 1998 | Max-Planck Institute for Immunobiology Freiburg Department of Molecular Embryology, Prof. Rolf Kemler Diploma Thesis: “Influence of E-Cadherin Phosphorylation on Cell-Cell Adhesion” (mark: 1.0) |
| Jan. 1999 – Dec. 2001 | Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg Max-Planck Institute for Immunobiology Freiburg Department of Molecular Embryology, Prof. Rolf Kemler PhD Thesis: “Wnt/β-Catenin Signalling in the Endoderm” Overall mark: summa cum laude |
| Jan. 2002 – July 2002 | Max-Planck Institute for Immunobiology Freiburg Department of Molecular Embryology, Prof. Rolf Kemler Max-Planck Post-Doctoral Fellowship |
| Aug. 2002 – Dec. 2004 | Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada Department of Fetal Health and Development, Prof. Janet Rossant Post-Doctoral Studies, Early Embryogenesis and Endoderm Development |
| Jan. 2005 – June 2009 | HelmholtzZentrum münchen Institute for Stem Cell Research Junior Group Leader, Endoderm Development and Regeneration |
| Juli 2009 –Aug 2011 | HelmholtzZentrum münchen Institute for Stem Cell Research Principal Investigator, Endoderm Development and Regeneration |
| 2015 - 2015 | Visiting Professorship, Raine Medical Research Foundation, University of Western Australia |
| August 2011 – now | HelmholtzZentrum münchen Director Institute of Diabetes and Regenerationsforschung |
Scientific Awards
| 2002 | Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg Hans-Spemann Award 2002 Recognition for academic excellence at the doctoral level. Awarded to a single individual by the Dr. Gerhard-Fritz foundation |
| 2003 | Max-Planck Society Otto-Hahn Medal 2003 Recognition for outstanding scientific achievement during PhD studies. Awarded to a few PhDs across all disciplines of the Max-Planck Society. |
| 2005 | German Research Foundation (DFG) Emmy-Noether Junior Group 2005-2009 5-year funding for outstanding young scientists returning to Germany. |
| 2010 | European Research Council (ERC) ERC Starting Grant 2010-2015 5-year funding for pioneering frontier research. |
| 2011 | Paula and Richard von Hertwig Award for Interdisciplinary Cooperation |
| 2018 | "Verein der Freunde und Förderer" of the Helmholtz Zentrum München (VdFF) and the AtemWeg Foundation. VdFF Prize award for Interdisciplinary Collaboration 2016 - 2017. €10.000 awarded and shared by all authors of the publication. |
Publications
Publications of Heiko Lickert at PubMed
