Since April 1, 2024, Dr. Maximilian Kleinert has held a Heisenberg professorship at the University Potsdam and headed the Department of Molecular Physiology of Exercise and Nutrition at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE). A grant of over 600,000 euros funded by the Heisenberg Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) allows Kleinert to research the molecular and genetic relationships between metabolism in skeletal muscle and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Of all human organs, skeletal muscle is the largest organ that stores and utilizes glucose. Accounting for an average of about 40 percent of body weight, skeletal muscle can store up to 500 grams of glucose in the form of glycogen. It thus plays a key role in glucose metabolism, as it maintains blood glucose homeostasis. When the skeletal muscles have diminished capacity to absorb glucose despite high insulin and glucose concentrations in the blood, insulin resistance is present and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases. In addition, skeletal muscle releases hormone-like substances called myokines—especially during physical activity—which can improve the health of other organs.

Skeletal Muscle in Focus
The fact that skeletal muscle is still an underestimated organ in terms of the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes also convinced the DFG. With his project proposal “Targeted Use of Skeletal Muscle to Improve Metabolic Health,” Dr. Maximilian Kleinert was accepted into the renowned Heisenberg program following a multi-stage application process. Over the next five years, the 41-year-old scientist will teach as a Heisenberg professor at the University of Potsdam and head the Department of Molecular Physiology of Exercise and Nutrition at DIfE. In the process, he will continue the already successful research that he began in 2021 as head of the junior research group “Muscle Physiology and Metabolism.”

Together with his currently eight-member team, Kleinert is investigating how physical activity improves the insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscle, how skeletal muscle interacts with other organs, and what effect medium-chain fatty acids in the diet have on skeletal muscle and metabolic health. His research includes the use of approaches involving CRISPR-mediated gene activation in skeletal muscle, which could contribute to the targeted treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes in future.

“I am highly motivated to enrich metabolism research in Germany with my projects. I would like to use my expertise to establish a nationally and internationally visible, recognized, and leading metabolism research unit that uses mouse models and clinical research to answer pressing questions related to energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity with a particular focus on skeletal muscle,” says Kleinert. Besides a broad spectrum of experimental, medical, and epidemiological research methods, DIfE also offers him excellent technical equipment and infrastructure as well as countless opportunities for cooperation.
 

Prof. Dr. Maximilian Kleinert. © DIfE
 

About Maximilian Kleinert
Scientist Maximilian Kleinert studied exercise physiology at the University of Texas at Austin (USA) from 2008 to 2010. During his subsequent doctoral studies at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, Kleinert focused on insulin sensitivity and regulation of mTORC2, an important protein complex in glucose metabolism, in skeletal muscles. In 2017, the now 41-year-old accepted a position at Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health, where he became group leader of the Drug Development Unit at the Institute of Diabetes and Obesity. There Kleinert explored new combinatorial pharmacotherapies to improve metabolic syndrome.

Since January 2021, the Berlin native has been researching at DIfE and heading the junior research group "Muscle Physiology and Metabolism,” which he will now continue to oversee as the Department of Molecular Physiology of Exercise and Nutrition within the scope of the Heisenberg program. Kleinert has also maintained his connection with the University of Copenhagen since his doctoral and post-doc studies and was an assistant professor at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports there from 2019 to 2023. In his academic career to date, Maximilian Kleinert has published more than 50 articles in leading magazines in his field, thus far resulting in over 4600 citations.

Background Information
The Heisenberg professorship of the German Research Foundation (DFG) is among the most highly endowed external funding instruments in German. The program, which is named after physicist Werner Heisenberg, promotes excellent young scientists who already meet all the prerequisites for a professorship. The DFG supports researchers with human and material resources for five years, thus granting them the opportunity to set up ambitious research projects at a location of their choice and further enhance their scientific reputation. Following a positive evaluation, the professorship is made more permanent after the five years and gives the researchers planning security.