Heiko Lickert - Biography#
Heiko Lickert is the Director of the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research at the Helmholtz Center Munich and W3 Professor and Chair of Beta Cell Biology in the Medical Faculty of the Technical University Munich. He obtained his PhD from the Albert-Ludwig University and Max-Planck Institute in Freiburg and his Postdoctoral studies were carried out at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. He is an expert on organ development and tissue homeostasis with emphasis on endocrine lineage formation in the gut and pancreas, insulin-producing ß-cell development, regeneration and replacement, as well as metabolic signaling and stem cell-based drug screening. He is the recipient of several prestigious prizes like the Werner-Creutzfeldt-Preis from the Deutsche Diabetes Gesellschaft (DDG - 2020), the PRO-SCIENTIA-Förderpreis from the Eckhart-Buddecke-Stiftung (2020), the Paula and Richard von Hertwig Award for Interdisciplinary Cooperation from Helmholtz Munich (2018 and 2011), the Otto-Hahn Medal from the Max-Planck Society (2003) and the Hans-Spemann Award from the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg (2002).
His work is funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting and Advanced grant), Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (m4 Award), European Commission (consortium ISLET), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF - eISLET consortium), German Research Foundation (DFG), JDRF and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD).
He is involved in several institutional responsabilities:
- Incoming designated President of the German Stem Cell Network (from autumn 2022)
- Honorary Fellow and member of the Institute of Advanced Study of the TUM (since 2022)
- Board of Directors of the International Society of Differentiation (since 2018)
- Member of the Think Tank for the Helmholtz Center Munich (since 2018)
- Advisory Board and Graduate School Steering Committee – TUM, Medical Faculty (since 2017)
- Member of the Research Coordination Board and of the Advisory Board of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) (since 2016)
- Member of the Steering Committee of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center (HDC) (since 2016)
