About us

The Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes was founded by the University of Lübeck in 2020 to give the research fields of endocrinology and diabetes more independence and improved national and international visibility.

The overall goal of the institute is to interlink clinical, metabolic and endocrine studies in human participants with basic research in diverse in vivo and in vitro model systems. This not only increases the translational relevance of the study results, but also allows the underlying molecular mechanisms to be elucidated, which contributes to a better understanding of the processes and can thus actively open up new therapeutic options.

The department "Molecular Endocrinology" headed by Prof. Mittag investigates the effect of thyroid hormones on the cardiovascular system, the regulation of body temperature and the central nervous system. Here, the main focus is on a newly discovered population of hypothalamic neurons that regulate blood pressure and heart rate in a temperature-dependent manner and are primarily dependent on maternal thyroid hormones during their development in the embryo. The research group thus works in an interdisciplinary manner at the interface of endocrinology with physiology, cardiology, neurology and pediatrics.

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Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Jens Mittag