Maria Rohm

Dr. Maria Rohm serves as Head of the Research Division 'Tissue Crosstalk' at the Institute for Diabetes and Cancer, Helmholtz Munich, leading investigations into metabolic disease interconnections since 2020. Previously a Junior Group Leader (2017-2020), her career includes postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford (2014-2017) under a Novo Nordisk Fellowship and the German Cancer Research Center (2012-2014).

Her educational foundation comprises Biology studies at Heidelberg University and the University of Manchester, culminating in a Dr. rer. nat. from Heidelberg in 2012 where she examined adipose tissue lipolysis in obesity.

Rohm's research centers on tissue crosstalk mechanisms in diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer cachexia, emphasizing lipid/glucose metabolism and adipose tissue function. She pioneers the conceptual framework that obesity/diabetes and cachexia represent opposing metabolic extremes requiring integrated study, with particular focus on ceramide signaling, mitochondrial dysfunction, and energy homeostasis disruptions in disease pathogenesis. Her multi-omics approach reveals critical overlaps in disease pathways that could transform therapeutic development.

Publication analysis shows consistent focus on metabolic reprogramming across cancer cachexia and diabetes, with emerging emphasis on lipid mediators as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Key trends include translational exploration of AMPK-stabilizing peptides and ceramide modifications for treating tissue wasting.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Vincenz-Czerny Price for Oncology (2021)
• ERC Starting Grant (2020)
• Lipidology Prize (2019)
• Research Award by German Diabetes Society (2013)

Rohm directs significant grant-funded research, notably the ERC Starting Grant investigating metabolic crosstalk in cachexia. As Board of Directors and Educational Committee member of the Cancer Cachexia Society, she drives global research initiatives for this fatal condition affecting most cancer patients. Her advocacy highlights the urgent need for mechanistic understanding to develop effective treatments.

She leads the 'Tissue Crosstalk in Cancer Metabolism' research group at Helmholtz Munich, employing multi-omics and mouse models to dissect metabolic communication between organs. Her team collaborates extensively within European research networks, with emphasis on translating basic discoveries into clinical applications for metabolic diseases and cancer-associated wasting syndromes.