German Diabetes Research Institute

The German Diabetes Research Institute with all its members is dedicated to research into diabetes mellitus. The institute consists of 3 scientific departments, which operate in close cooperation.

The Departments

German Diabetes Clinic
The German diabetes clinic headed by Professor Dr. Werner Scherbaum is responsible for the treatment of patients and clinical research. To this end, we have the most modern methods and equipment at our disposal. Each year, we care for over 3,500 diabetics from North Rhine-Westphalia and also patients from the whole of Germany and many countries all over the world. There are namely diabetes specialists, endocrinologists, rheumatologists, gentroendocrinologists consultinat ophthalniologists and nephrologists, diabetes-nurses, scientists, interns and technical employees working in the German Diabetes Clinic. Besides a general-purpose outpatients´ department with various specialist consultant times, there are also two wards with a total of 58 beds for caring for inpatients. One of our main goals is to improve early recognition and prevention of diabetes mellitus and complications and to apply the most modern methods for clinical diagnosits and therapy.

Department of Clinical Biochemistry
The department of clinical biochemistry is led by Professor Dr. med Dirk Müller-Wieland. Scientists, interns and technical employees are occupied at this department. In addition to a large clinical laboratory in which a great number of clinical blood tests are performed, new lab techniques are developed and tested in this department. The department is highly involved in research on the effects of insulin and the development of later diabetes-related complications.

Department of Biometrics and epidemiology
The department of biometrics and epidemiology is headed by Professor Dr. Guido Giani. Biometrics specialists, epidemiologists and documentation assistants are active in this department. The essential research work lies in recording the frequency of diabetes and its related illnesses as well as analyzing the treatment situation for diabetics in Germany.

Administration department
Managing the administration department lies in the hands of Mr. Heinz Jacoby. Personnel matters as well as the procurement of materials for research and patient care are dealt with by his team of assistants. In addition to that, the goods and materials acquired for the three research departments are managed here. Craftsmanship work for the different disciplines is also organized through this department.

Funding

The German Diabetes Research Institute - German Diabetes Center is a member of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community (WGL). It receives funds from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The carrier is the German Diabetes Research Society e.V. The German Diabetes Research Society e.V. it is a non-profit association led by an executive board working in voluntarily and honorary capacity. The association is advised by a board of trustees and a scientific council. The head organization and the Institute are connected to the Düsseldorf Heinrich Heine University through a cooperation contract that allowes the mutual use of all ressourses.

History of the DDFI

In November, 1964, the Society for the Promotion of Research on Diabetes e.V. was set up on initiative of Professor Dr. med. Karl Oberdisse together with the former Lord Mayor, Senator h.c. Peter Müller. Three departments were set up, the German Diabetes Clinic (originally the “Clinical Department”), the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and later the Department of Biometrics and epidemiology. In 1973, the current institute building at Auf´m Hennekamp 65 was completed. The consulting hours and the inpatient wards started operation in 1974. Since then, the institute has been assessed by the Wissenschaftsrat (the scientific council of Germany) at regular intervals and inspected every 2 years by an internationally operating scientific advisory board. The institute was put on the “Blue List” in 1977 as the only institute in Germany dealing with diabetes mellitus. Like all former Blue List institutes, the DDFI now belongs to the Wilhelm Gottfried Leibniz Science Community (WGL). In 1988 a new research building was completed with the generous funding by the "Volkswagen Stiftung". In 1999, the DFI was renamed as the German Diabetes Research Institute (DDFI).

German Diabetes Research Institute
Auf´m Hennekamp 65
40225 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49 (0)211 / 33 82 - 0
Fax: +49 (0)211 / 33 82 - 603

Press releases

Further Information: www.uni-duesseldorf.de