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Diabetes Researcher Professor Hans-Georg Joost Awarded the Von Mering Gold Medal

The Potsdam-based diabetes researcher Professor Hans-Georg Joost, founding member and board member of diabetesDE - German Diabetes Aid, ombudsperson of the Leibniz Association and former scientific director of the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) as well as DZD speaker, is this year’s recipient of the Von Mering Gold Medal of the German Diabetes Center Düsseldorf (DDZ). The pharmacologist and experimental diabetologist has also been a close scientific cooperation partner of the DDZ for many years.

“Hans-Georg Joost is an excellent pharmacologist, successful scientist and innovative ambassador of experimental diabetes research," said Professor Michael Roden, scientific director and board member of the DDZ, in his laudatory speech. During the repositioning phase, as a long-standing supporter of the DDZ, he played a decisive role in shaping the transition from a clinic to a research institute and strongly supported the new concept, Roden continued. Joost's research areas include the genetics of obesity and type 2 diabetes as well as the regulation of glucose transport in insulin-sensitive cells.

Professor Barbara B. Kahn, professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, gave a lecture in honor of Professor Joost on the topic “A Novel Class of Mammalian Lipids with Anti-diabetic and Anti-inflammatory
Effects”. In her lecture she illustrated the connections between diabetes and a new lipid group with antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. The leading diabetes researcher has been able to use her research in the field of diabetes to identify fundamental molecular mechanisms in obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. These studies form the basis for new treatment concepts for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The Von Mering Gold Medal has been awarded by the board of directors of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) since 2016. The prize is awarded to outstanding individuals who have dedicated decades of work for German diabetes research and the DDZ.

About Josef von Mering:
Joseph von Mering (1849-1908) was born in Cologne and was a physician. He is considered one of the most important diabetes researchers. His research in collaboration with Oscar Minkowski explained how the pancreas and metabolism are related. Von Mering and Minkowski contributed significantly to a better understanding of the endocrine function of the pancreas.