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DZD Board Member Prof. Roden Appointed to the German Council of Science and the Humanities

Prof. Dr. Michael Roden, scientific director and executive board member of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) and head of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology at Düsseldorf University Hospital as well as board member of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), has been appointed by German President Joachim Gauck to the German Council of Science and the Humanities. Roden, who is originally from Vienna and who is a physician, diabetologist, endocrinologist and specialist in the field of energy metabolism, will advise the German federal and state governments during the next three years on questions relating to science and research.

Professor Roden’s main research interest is the study of the human energy metabolism with a focus on diabetes, obesity and endocrine hypertensive disorders. “An appointment to this important advisory body for research policy in Germany is a special distinction,” Professor Roden said. He is scientific director and executive board member of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), the Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at the University of Düsseldorf.
Michael Roden studied medicine at the University of Vienna. After recognition as a specialist in internal medicine, he qualified as a university lecturer (Habilitation) with the thesis: "Modulation of Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity". Prior to moving to Düsseldorf, Roden was head of the 1st Medical Department of the Hanusch Hospital, a teaching hospital of the Medical University of Vienna, and director of the Karl Landsteiner Institute for Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases. Roden has received numerous scientific awards, including the Oskar Minkowski Prize of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the most important European award for diabetes research.
The Council of Science and the Humanities is one of the leading advisory bodies for research policy in Germany. It advises the German federal and state (Länder) governments in all matters relating to the content and the structural development of science, research and higher education. Furthermore, one of its tasks is to ensure the competitiveness of research in Germany at the national, European and international levels. The scientists appointed to the German Council of Science and the Humanities are expected to combine scientific excellence with expertise and experience in research policy. More information can be found at www.wissenschaftsrat.de