Roles
Professor & Director, Diabetes Research Institute
-
Biography
A native of Germany, Dr. von Herrath earned his medical degree in 1988 from Freiburg Medical School, where he also completed a Ph.D. equivalent thesis on biochemistry. His postdoctoral training included an intensive care residency at Diakonie Hospital, Freiburg; a fellowship in medicine/immunology at Freiburg Medical Center; and a fellowship in virology at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
Dr. von Herrath joined Scripps Research Institute in 1995 as a senior research associate, became assistant and associate professor in 1996, and joined La Jolla Institute in 2001, where he founded the center for type 1 diabetes to help patients with the disease.
“I got into type 1 diabetes research because I really thought it might be a problem that we can tackle in our lifetime,” he said.
In 2012 he joined Novo Nordisk, building up their Seattle R&D T1D center in order to advance promising therapies to the clinic. He is currently a member of the company’s global chief medical office team.
“The patient perspective is most important when developing novel preventions or cures for type 1 diabetes,” Dr. von Herrath said. “We want to better meet the patient’s needs, and bridging academic research and industry development can greatly accelerate our mission for a cure.”
As an early-stage researcher, Dr. von Herrath received a fellowship and a career development award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF). More recent honors include the Grotzky and Scholar Awards from the JDF and the George Köhler Award from the German Society of Immunology.“Dr. von Herrath’s innovative research and achievements have contributed immensely to our knowledge of diabetes.
His expertise and unparalleled experience are highly synergistic with our leadership in biologic replacement strategies,” shared Dr. Camillo Ricordi, Tenured Professor and Chief of the Division of Cellular Transplantation, Department of Surgery, becomes DRI Director Emeritus. “He is the ideal leader for growing the Institute’s comprehensive research portfolio towards the next quantum leaps in the search of a cure for this devastating disease.” -
Teaching Interests
During his career as a Principal Investigator, Dr. von Herrath has demonstrated a strong dedication to teaching activities. He has successfully trained over 100 individuals, including fellows from adult and pediatric endocrinology through a comprehensive training program. This program attracted fellows who spent multiple years working in his laboratory at La Jolla Institute.
In addition to his research role, he has held an adjunct professorship at UCSD for approximately 15 years. He has actively engaged in teaching medical and biology students at UCSD. His teaching contributions have extended beyond the university setting, as he has delivered an impressive number of lectures throughout his career, estimating over 500 presentations, often at various prestigious universities.
Moreover, Dr. von Herrath's dedication to fostering scientific talent is evident in his establishment of a postdoctoral training program for Novonordisk's T1D R&D unit in Seattle, in collaboration with the University of Washington and BRI Institute.
Importantly, he holds a strong commitment to providing career pathways for academic scientists at all stages of their development. This commitment remains central to his mission, which he will continue to uphold at the DRI/UM. -
Research Interests
Dr. von Herrath's research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie T1D, with particular interest in studying the role of the immune system in the development and progression of T1D. He is committed to clinical translation of interventions in autoimmune and metabolic diseases, the latter in particular being an exciting emerging field. Finding a prevention or cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been a guiding beacon in his work over the past 3 decades. He provides unique expertise with being at the interface of experimental research to interpret and refine early phase I/II clinical trials to optimize strategies for phase 3 trials and drug approval. During his tenure at Novo Nordisk, he built the diabetes translational unit leading scientific efforts towards translation from various animal models to human interventions, and was instrumental in making many important contributions including: enhancing optimization of immunotherapies and their relative ranking, assessment of combination therapies, development of biomarkers as primary or secondary outcomes, induction of antigen specific tolerance in autoimmunity, regulatory cells and clinical T cell assays. Important discoveries included developing a new DNA immunotherapy and conducting the study using the disease-modifying combinational therapy of anti-interleukin-21 antibody and liraglutide for the preservation of ß-cell function in adults with newly diagnosed T1D, the largest phase 2b study reaching its endpoints in adults with recently diagnosed T1D to date. “I look forward to advancing the Institute’s mission of accelerating a cure for type 1 diabetes,” said Dr. von Herrath, who will hold the Stacy Joy Goodman Chair. “Recent studies point to promising new directions in diabetes research at the scientific and clinical levels. It has never been a more exciting time!”