DZD - German Center for Diabetes Research

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Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony at DIfE for New Research Building

On June 11, 2019 Dr. Birgit Schröder-Smeibidl and Professor Tilman Grune, together with Carsten Feller, head of the Department of Science and Research of the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture, Professor Matthias Kleiner, president of the Leibniz Association, and numerous other guests from science and politics laid the foundation stone for the new laboratory and office building of the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE), a DZD partner. The new building will contain approx. 2,600 square meters of lab and office space for about 100 employees. The federal and state governments are financing the new construction project with a total of 20 million euros.

Foundation stone laying ceremony for the new research building at DIfE. Source: Carolin Schrandt/DIfE

After a planning phase of more than two years, construction of the research building named after Nobel laureate Gerty Cori began on May 13, 2019. "We are pleased and proud to have successfully mastered the challenge of laying the foundation stone in less than two years, and we thank everyone involved for their great dedication and excellent cooperation, especially also the external companies responsible for the planning," said Dr. Ing. Birgit Schröder-Smeibidl, administrative director of DIfE.
The new building will house the Human Study Center, the biomaterial bank, laboratories and offices. "The Gerty Cori Building will enable a wide variety of uses with structurally diverse requirements. Similar to a Tetris game, it was necessary to develop a spatially differentiated building with a clear, compact volume," said Katja Döpke, civil engineer in charge of the project from the Berlin architectural office Heinle, Wischer und Partners, describing the planning process. The architects' aim is to create a clear reference to the existing institute buildings and to bring the new building into harmony with the adjacent residential buildings. For example, the surface of the façade is made of the yellow-gray clinker brick common in Brandenburg.
The completion of the Gerty Cori Building is scheduled for the end of 2021.  It is expected that in early 2022 the employees will move into the new premises to carry out their experimental research.


Background Information
German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE)
The DIfE is a member of the Leibniz Association. It investigates the causes of nutrition-associated diseases in order to develop new strategies for prevention, treatment and nutritional recommendations. Its research interests include the causes and consequences of the metabolic syndrome, a combination of obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), insulin resistance and lipid metabolism disorder, the role of nutrition for healthy aging and the biological bases of food choices and dietary behavior. DIfE is also a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2009.

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