Prof. Michael Stumvoll receives the Werner Creutzfeldt Award of the German Diabetes Association
For his research on the development of diabetes mellitus and obesity Prof. Michael Stumvoll received the Werner Creutzfeldt Research Award of the German Diabetes Association (June 2014).
The jury especially emphasized his studies on the diabetes drug Metformin, on the measurement of insulin sensitivity and beta cell function, as well as his recent work on adipose tissue hormones and the role of the brain in obesity.
Prof. Stumvoll has particularly researched the connection of a decreasing insulin effect (insulin resistance) and the failure of beta cell compensation in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The beta cells of the pancreas release the hormone insulin. He has examined inter alia a testing procedure comparable to an oral glucose tolerance test to measure insulin sensitivity and beta cell function. Insulin resistance as a precursor of diabetes mellitus is a common accompanying disease in obesity. Adipokines (adipose tissue hormones) and their effect on the metabolism play a crucial role in decreasing insulin sensitivity. Stumvolls scientific work therefore has focused in recent years on various adipokines such as adiponectin, leptin and together with groups of obesity scientists at the medical center of Leipzig also on vaspin, chemerin, and the adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (AFABP).
„The award is a great honor”, underlined Stumvoll after the award ceremony at the DDG annual congress in Berlin. “Obesity and diabetes is an ill-omened pairing. Morbid overweight often leads to diabetes. Without an effective prevention and treatment of adiposity we can do little against the increasing numbers of diabetics.”
The 50-year-old scientist is director of the Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases. He and his research team are working at the IFB and at the collaborative research center “mechanisms of obesity” of the University Leipzig. Furthermore, he is the director of the Department of Endocrinology and Nephrology at the University Hospital Leipzig and dean of the faculty of medicine. Prof. Stumvoll was born in Bavaria and has worked since 2004 at the University Hospital Leipzig.
The Werner-Creutzfeld-Award goes annually to a researching physicians or a natural scientist for outstanding research in the area of pathophysiology and therapy of diabetes mellitus, especially if the focus is gastrointestinal hormones. The Award is endowed with 10.000 Euro by the Lilly Deutschland.
Doris Gabel
keywords: diabetes, associated diseases, IFB-research