EASD Early Career Academy Committee Members
Role: Principal investigator / Chair of EASD Academy
Institute: German Diabetes Center, Research Group Energy Metabolism, Düsseldorf, Germany
Research & Interests: Dr Schrauwen focuses on human translational research in the field of type 2 diabetes mellitus, with a special emphasis on insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and human energy metabolism. His research is characterized as highly translational. In his multidisciplinary team, Dr Schrauwen combines molecular techniques and state-of-the-art imaging technology with human clinical intervention trials.
Dr Schrauwen was one of the first to show that mitochondrial function is compromised not only in patients with overt type 2 diabetes but also in subjects with pre-diabetes. Subsequently, Dr Schrauwen investigated whether mitochondrial function could be considered a target for the prevention or treatment of diabetes. Dr Schrauwen was also the first to show that the polyphenolic compound resveratrol is able to increase mitochondrial function and improve metabolic health in obese humans but not in type 2 diabetes patients. Dr Schrauwen further examined if and how interfering with mitochondrial function affects intramyocellular lipid accumulation and insulin sensitivity. In more recent years, Dr Schrauwen has been pioneering in the field of circadian rhythmicity in human energy metabolism and diabetes. He was the first to demonstrate that mitochondrial function and lipid content in skeletal muscle displays clear 24h rhythmicity in humans and that circadian misalignment leads to muscle insulin resistance in humans. He demonstrated that 24h rhythmicity of energy metabolism and mitochondrial function and muscle metabolites are severely blunted in pre-diabetes volunteers. Dr Schrauwen has also led human clinical trials investigating the effect of diabetes drugs on human energy metabolism.
The second research line of Dr Schrauwen focuses on understanding the impact of cold exposure on human energy metabolism. This initially focused on the role of brown adipose tissue (BAT), and he was one of the first to show that BAT can be detected in most humans upon acute cold exposure. Furthermore, he showed that the bile-acid CDCA activates BAT and elevates energy expenditure in humans, whereas creatine is unable to affect BAT in humans. In 2015, Dr Schrauwen demonstrated that 10 days of cold acclimation had very marked effects on skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes patients in a BAT-independent manner, and next demonstrated that this involves cold-exposure activated GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle via a yet unknown molecular pathway. Most recent, he demonstrated that the beta-adrenergic pathway may be involved.
Role: Junior Lecturer and Principal Investigator
Institute: Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Research & Interests: Dr Eva Bru Tari is a translational researcher specializing in diabetes and the role of pancreatic alpha-cells, also known as glucagon-producing cells, in the disease. She obtained her PhD in 2020 from the University Miguel Hernández, Spain, where she investigated the adaptive responses of alpha-cells in Type 1 Diabetes. Following her doctoral studies, she joined the laboratory of Prof. Pedro Herrera at the University of Geneva, where her research focuses on the function, plasticity and pathological alterations of human alpha-cells, with the long-term vision of developing targeted interventions to restore glycemic control in diabetes.
As a principal investigator, she leads research efforts to uncover the mechanisms underlying alpha-cell dysfunction in diabetes, while simultaneously exploring innovative strategies to reprogram these cells into insulin producers. By integrating human primary cell cultures with cutting-edge omics technologies, her studies provide a comprehensive understanding of alpha-cell behaviour at both molecular and functional levels. Her translational approach has earned her prestigious recognition, including the Fondation pour la Recherche sur le Diabetè Award in 2023 and the EFSD/Lilly Young Investigator Award from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes in 2024.
Role: Clinical Researcher / Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Institute: San Raffaele Roma Open University, Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of Life, Rome, Italy
Research & Interests: Dr Alfredo Caturano is a clinical researcher with a particular interest in diabetes and related complications, especially in the areas of cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In 2016, he graduated from the Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” Naples, Italy, where he later specialized in Internal Medicine in 2021. His specialization thesis, which explored the impact of glycemic control on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes with and without multifactorial treatment, earned recognition from the Italian Society of Diabetology, receiving an award for its excellence.
In 2023, Dr Caturano was selected for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Early Career Academy Mentorship Programme. Under the guidance of Prof. Jan Gojda at Charles University, Prague, he received advanced training in metabolic research techniques, including the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Dr Caturano earned his PhD in Clinical and Experimental Sciences in January 2025 at the Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli.” His thesis highlighted the positive impact of empagliflozin and metformin combination therapy versus metformin monotherapy on MASLD progression in patients with type 2 diabetes. Currently, Dr Caturano serves as an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at San Raffaele Roma Open University, Rome, Italy. He also holds a leadership role as Regional Counselor for the Campania-Basilicata region within the Italian Society of Diabetology, where he actively fosters research and advancements in diabetes care.
Dr Caturano has presented his research at national and international conferences. His long-term goal is to advance personalized medicine approaches to improve outcomes in patients living with diabetes.
Role: Associate Professor of Endocrinology
Institute: Medical University Sofia, Department of Endocrinology, Sofia, Bulgaria
Research & Interests: Roumyana Dimova is a Medical Doctor (Medical University Sofia, 2008, Golden Hippocrates Medal for the full excellent graduate). After graduation, she was appointed as a medical doctor at The University Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment in Endocrinology (USBALE) "Acad. Ivan Penchev" EAD. From October 2016 until October 2017 she was appointed as an Assistant Professor, later as Chief Assistant Professor, and from 2023 she is Associate Professor at the Department of Endocrinology, Medical University Sofia. She received her PhD degree in 2016 at the Medical University Sofia, Sofia, on the thesis: "Autonomic diabetic neuropathy – contemporary diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities". In 2017 she obtained specialty in Endocrinology from the Medical University Sofia.
Her focus areas are prediabetes, diabetes prevention, assessment of the link between prediabetes and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, pathogenesis of diabetes chronic complications, in particular understanding mechanisms, preventing and treating cardiac autonomic neuropathy, its manifestation in early stages of glucose intolerance, and related cardio-metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease risk, obesity as a major global health concern, behavioural intervention in changing lifestyle in order to prevent diabetes development and attenuate its progression and complications in obese adults, the implementation of CGMs in prediabetes.
She was awarded the "Best young scientist in clinical medicine” prize of Medical University, Sofia, in 2017, "Best young scientist in diabetes research for 2017” prize of Bulgarian Society of Endocrinology (BSE) and Servier, “Donnell D. Etzwiler Scholar for 2017” scholarship of International Diabetes Center (IDC), in Minneapolis, USA, “Future Leaders Mentorship award for 2018”, from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD), and Laureate of the prize “Akad. T. Tashev” for young investigator, prize of Bulgarian Association for Study of Obesity and Related Diseases (BASORD) in 2020.
Role: Scientist, Post-Doctoral-Researcher
Institute: Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Molecular Diabetology, Department for Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Research & Interests: Dr Simon Dreher started his career in diabetes research in 2021. Originally coming from tissue engineering, he previously specialized in the molecular role of growth and transcription factors in the generation of cartilage from primary human bone marrow stem cells. He joined the Molecular Diabetology Lab of Prof Weigert at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry (led by Prof Peter) in Tübingen, Germany, which is part of the Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) (led by Prof Birkenfeld), a Helmholtz Diabetes Center Institute, as a PostDoc.
Simon Dreher’s main focus is combining his expertise in tissue engineering with his research interests in diabetes prevention to engineer more potent and functional human in vitro models. His lab utilizes growth factor supplementation during static in vitro differentiation of primary human myotubes to generate functional 3D-like structured myotubes that recapitulate the functionality of myofibers in vivo vastly superior to common myotube differentiation protocols. They use collagen-based scaffolds to engineer linearly-aligned myobundles that show controlled macroscopic contraction after electrical pulse stimulation and work towards transferring this knowledge to a perfuseable microfluidic system to generate a human exercise-on-chip model to study inter-organ-crosstalk.
Overall, the molecular diabetology lab focuses on understanding the molecular functions underlying the beneficial effects of exercise to prevent type 2 diabetes by conducting exercise intervention studies. Analyzing samples form these training interventions Simon Dreher recently published on the molecular function of the TGF-ß/miR143/145 axis in low response to exercise (DOI: 10.3390/cells10123443) and exercise/training adaptation of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in matched human donors (DOI: 10.1038/s41366-023-01271-y).
Role: MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor in Experimental Internal Medicine, Principal investigator and Specializing Doctor in Internal Medicine
Institute: Obesity Research Unit, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Research & Interests: Dr Heinonen is an Adjunct Professor in Experimental Internal Medicine, an MD, PhD, Resident in Internal Medicine, and a physician in international pharmacologic trials for obesity medications at the Obesity Research Unit, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland. Her work has shed light on mitochondrial metabolism in adipose tissue in obesity-related conditions and led to insights into the role of bariatric surgery in restoring metabolic function. This research has earned her the European Association for the Study on Obesity (EASO) Young Investigator Award in Basic Sciences in 2016, the EASO-Novo Nordisk Foundation Award for Clinical Research in 2023 and the Rising Star Award of the European Association for the Study on Diabetes (EASD) in 2024.
Dr Heinonen's current research focuses on unraveling the beneficial mechanisms of bariatric surgery, particularly its impact on metabolites, gut hormones and bile acids, to boost adipose and peripheral tissue mitochondrial energy metabolism. Her work combines wet lab techniques in tissues and human primary cell cultures with large-scale omics data, and aims to pave the way for new, targeted obesity treatments and sustainable weight loss strategies.
Role: Clinician scientist and Resident doctor in Endocrinology and Diabetology
Institute: German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, University Clinic Düsseldorf, Germany
Research & Interests: Dr Yanislava Karusheva undertook her medical training at Charite Berlin, Germany, and the Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. Currently, she is a resident doctor at the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology at the University Clinic Düsseldorf and a clinician scientist at the Institute for Clinical Diabetology of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) in Düsseldorf, Germany.
From April 2021 until June 2022 she worked as a clinical academic fellow at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science and the Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK. Her interests include clinical nutrition and metabolism, insulin resistance, obesity treatment and deep metabolic phenotyping. In 2018, Dr Karusheva completed the EASD Robert Turner Course in Oxford. In 2021, she received the Hans Adolf Krebs Award of the German Nutrition Society for her work on branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and their role in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes, the DDG Sponsorship Award of the German Diabetes Association and the Walter Benjamin Scholarship of the German Research Foundation for her fellowship in Cambridge.
Her most recent research focuses on the different roles of GDF15 and rare diseases. Her research further focuses on rare metabolic phenotypes and lipodystrophy.
Role: Adjunct Professor / Postdoctoral Researcher
Institute: Turku PET Centre, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Research & Interests: Dr Acosta Manzano is a postdoctoral researcher and adjunct professor at the University of Turku, Finland, with expertise in adipose biology, brown adipose tissue (BAT), obesity, exercise physiology, and immunology. His research focuses on unravelling the regulatory mechanisms of human BAT, identifying factors that influence its metabolic activity, and exploring innovative strategies to leverage its therapeutic potential, particularly in combating obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases, like type 2 diabetes.
As Principal Investigator, Dr Acosta Manzano leads cutting-edge studies on the interaction between the immune system and human BAT, aiming to uncover novel therapeutic targets to regulate BAT metabolism. He is also pioneering the development of advanced in vitro models that better reflect human biology, enabling more precise drug screening and metabolic research focused on BAT.
In addition to his primary research, Dr Acosta Manzano actively collaborates on several national and international projects involving individuals with obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases. These initiatives seek to uncover how different interventions can reshape human BAT for improved health outcomes.
Role: Postdoctoral Researcher and Principal Investigator
Institute: Department of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, Austria
Research & Interests: Dr Acosta is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Graz, Austria. His primary interests lie in understanding the role of lifestyle, especially exercise, in managing glycaemic control and reducing maternal complications and neonatal adiposity in pregnancies affected by diabetes. In addition, Dr Acosta is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms driving the effects of exercise on placental-foetal metabolism and underlying the pathophysiology of diabetes in pregnancy. His ultimate goal is to find effective strategies that break the maternal-foetal intergenerational diabesity cycle and enhance the health and quality of life for both this generation and future ones.
His current research as Principal Investigator is focused on identifying the most effective exercise timing to improve postprandial glucose excursions in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), the mechanisms underlying T1DM heterogeneity between pre-conception and pregnancy, and the plasma proteins altered by exercise that most influence glucose excursions.
In addition, he collaborates with several national and international projects in pregnant women with a healthy status, and with overweight and obesity, aimed at optimising maternal-foetal health and preventing gestational diabetes.
Role: Basic researcher / Group leader
Institute: Mondor Biomedical Research Institute, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Paris, France
Research & Interests: Ilke Sen obtained her PhD from the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing at University of Groningen, The Netherlands, where she focused on the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling pathway and the modulation of the downstream transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO for its longevity-promoting functions. She then received the Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Fellowship and joined the laboratory of Prof Anna Krook and Prof Juleen Zierath at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, where she studied the role of non-coding RNAs in the regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and in the context of exercise.
For her contributions, she was recognized by EASD and received the prestigious EFSD Rising Star Award and the EFSD Young Investigator Award. Recently, Dr Sen was appointed as a junior professor and became a group leader at Mondor Biomedical Research Institute, Paris, France. Her research focuses on the discovery of interventions for the reversal and/or treatment of sarcopenia in elderly and people with T2D where sarcopenia is exacerbated.
Role: Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Institute: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy
Research & Interests: Dr Tricò is a clinical scientist with longstanding interest in diabetes and nutrition. His primary research focus has been to evaluate the effects of macronutrients on beta-cell function and to dissect their pathogenetic role in the progression of type 2 diabetes and its complications. His skills to date include advanced knowledge on multiple dynamic metabolic techniques, stable isotope data analysis and interpretation, and mathematical modelling of beta-cell function parameters.
Dr Tricò joined the Future Leaders Mentorship programme from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) in 2018 and was awarded an EFSD Rising Star Fellowship in 2019. He also received research awards and grants from the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), American Society for Nutrition (ASN), Endocrine Society, American Heart Association (AHA), and Italian Society of Diabetology (SID).
Role: physician, clinical researcher, academic teacher
Institute: Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetology, Raszeja Hospital, University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Research & Interests: I am an MD clinician and a post-doc researcher in the field of diabetes based in Poznan, Poland.
My research interests encompass lipids, insulin resistance and fatty liver in type 1 diabetes. In my PhD thesis, I demonstrated the phenomenon of optimal HDL levels associated with the least complications in type 1 diabetes. I further explored the topic of dysfunctional HDL particles in the observational cohort of people with type 1 diabetes: Insulin and Lipoproteins in Type 1 Diabetes Study (InLipoDiab1). I am currently the principal investigator of study funded by a research grant from Diabetes Poland focusing on HDL particles in T1D.
Clinically, I am dually trained in internal medicine and diabetology. My practice comprises ward duties and diabetic outpatient clinics. I am a clinical teacher and particularly enjoy teaching medical students a simulation training.