On July 1, 2024, PD Dr. Olga Ramich was appointed professor jointly by the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE). This is a professorship which is supported over five years by the coveted Heisenberg Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Ramich will then head the new “Molecular Metabolism and Precision Nutrition” department at the DIfE and research how the timing of food intake affects metabolism. Based on the knowledge gained from this research, new approaches to the treatment and prevention of nutrition-dependent metabolic diseases are to be developed.

The biological clock
The body's circadian clock is a unique mechanism that adapts our behavior and bodily functions to the diurnal cycle.

In humans, this system consists of a master clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and a peripheral clock in almost every cell of the body. The regulation of the internal clock at the molecular level was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2017 and consists of what are called clock genes and clock proteins that generate 24-hour rhythms of biochemical and physiological processes. Recent studies show that the circadian clock plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism.

In recent years, insights into the complex interaction between nutrition, the circadian clock and metabolic health have led to the development of a new scientific discipline known as “chrononutrition.” Despite the increasing interest in the topic, the effects of meal times on the metabolism and the mechanisms behind them are still largely unknown.

Olga Ramich is convinced that chrononutrition-based meal timing strategies are a promising, non-pharmacological approach to the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. With her project proposal “WHEN and WHAT to eat: Chrononutrition for a Healthy Metabolism,” she was able to convince the DFG and secure the prestigious Heisenberg Program in a multi-stage application process. Over the next five years, the researcher will teach as part of a joint professorship at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and head the “Molecular Metabolism and Precision Nutrition” department at the DIfE. She is thus continuing the successful research she began in 2018 as head of the “Molecular Nutritional Medicine” research group.

Within the Heisenberg program, Ramich will investigate how the timing of food intake affects the metabolism. She focuses in particular on the temporal distribution of the intake of the three macronutrients carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This year, she and her team began the “PROTeIn-rich MEals to control glucose” (PROTIME) study. In this 14- to 16-week nutritional intervention study, the department is investigating which timing of protein intake is best for metabolism, 24-hour blood glucose levels and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The human studies will be supplemented by in vitro experiments, molecular analyses of the biosamples and the evaluation of existing data sets regarding the correlation between genetics and environmental factors and their effects on the variation of meal timing as well as its relationship with metabolic parameters.

Passionate researcher
“Since 2009, I have been working on the exciting and as yet under-researched topic of the importance of our internal clock for metabolic health. I would like to thank the DFG for supporting my research goals. I am convinced that I will be able to gain further important insights that can be used in the treatment and prevention of nutrition-dependent metabolic diseases in the future,” says Ramich. The excellent research infrastructure and interdisciplinary cooperation at the DIfE provide a perfect basis for reaching this goal.

“I am delighted about the second Heisenberg Professorship for the DIfE this year. With her enormous wealth of experience in the field of human studies and her active national and international cooperation network, we have gained in Prof. Olga Ramich a young, highly motivated and ambitious scientist who optimally adds to our research at DIfE,” summarizes Prof. Tilman Grune, Scientific Director at the DIfE.

About
Olga Ramich Olga Ramich was enthusiastic about the interface between medicine and biology from an early age. She studied biology at the Russian universities in Tambov and Pushchino from 1997 to 2004 and trained as a nurse. In 2006, Ramich came to the DIfE as a doctoral student and joined the “Clinical Nutrition” department. In her doctoral thesis, Ramich investigated the role of the insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) in the development of diabetes. She completed her doctorate at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in 2010. During her postdoctoral period at the DIfE, Ramich researched the molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms of metabolic regulation by nutrition. In addition, she began to investigate the importance of the circadian clock in metabolic homeostasis, nutritional response and the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, which has become a focus of her current research. Ramich was one of the first researchers to show that calorie intake, food composition and the timing of food intake can alter circadian rhythms in humans. In 2018, she habilitated in Experimental Nutritional Science at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and has since headed the Molecular Nutritional Medicine research group at the DIfE.

In her scientific career to date, Olga Ramich has published more than 65 papers in leading journals in her field.

She has already received prestigious scientific awards for her research in the field of chrononutrition, including the Morgagni Prize from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in 2020 and the Adam Heller Prize from the German Diabetes Association (DDG) in 2021.

Background information
Department Molecular Metabolism and Precision Nutrition

PROTeIn-rich MEals to control glucose“ (PROTIME)-Studie (in German)

Chrononutrition: Essen im Einklang mit der inneren Uhr: Informativer Beitrag im aktuellen Forschungsbericht des DIfE (page 16-21) (in German)

The Heisenberg Professorship of the German Research Foundation (DFG) is one of the most highly endowed instruments for third-party funding in Germany. Named after the physicist Werner Heisenberg, the program supports excellent young researchers who already meet all the requirements for a professorship. The researchers are supported by the DFG for five years with personnel and material resources, giving them the opportunity to establish ambitious research projects at a location of their choice and thus further enhance their scientific reputation. If the evaluation is positive, the professorship will be made permanent after the five years, ensuring planning reliability for the researchers.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Olga Ramich
Head Molecular Metabolism and Precision Nutrition at DIfE
Phone: +49 (0)33 200 88 - 2749
E-Mail: olga.ramich(at)dife.de

Press Contact
Public relations DIfE
Phone: +49 (0)33 200 88 - 2335
E-Mail: presse(at)dife.de

The German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) is a member of the Leibniz Association. It investigates the causes of diet-related diseases in order to develop new strategies for prevention and therapy and to provide dietary recommendations. Its research focus includes the causes and consequences of the metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and lipid metabolism disorder, as well as the role of diet in healthy aging and the biological basis of food choices and eating habits. In addition, DIfE is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), which was founded in 2009 and has since been funded by the BMBF. The DIfE is a member of the Leibniz Association. It investigates the causes of diet-related diseases in order to develop new strategies for prevention and therapy and to provide dietary recommendations. Its research focus includes the causes and consequences of the metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and lipid metabolism disorder, as well as the role of diet in healthy aging and the biological basis of food choices and eating habits. In addition, DIfE is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), which was founded in 2009 and has since been funded by the BMBF.  www.dife.de/en

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is a national association that brings together experts in the field of diabetes research and combines basic research, translational research, epidemiology and clinical applications. The aim is to develop novel strategies for personalized prevention and treatment of diabetes. Members are Helmholtz Munich – German Research Center for Environmental Health, the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of Helmholtz Munich at the University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden and the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Munich at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tuebingen together with associated partners at the Universities in Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck and Munich. www.dzd-ev.de/en