New board of directors in the German Diabetes Society

28.05.2015 12:57

Professor Dr. med. Baptist Gallwitz is now the new President of the German Diabetes Society (DDG). The deputy director of the Medical Clinic IV at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen succeeds private lecturer Dr. med. Erhard Siegel from Heidelberg, who will continue to be active on the board as past president. Gallwitz will take over the presidency until 2017. Vice president for this period is Professor Dr. med. Dirk Müller-Wieland from the Asklepios Clinic St. Georg, Hamburg, current press spokesman for the DDG. In the future, Gallwitz wants to bring the DDG's expertise more intensively into the decision-making processes of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in order to strengthen the therapeutic safety of patients.

Vice President for this time is Professor Dr. med. Dirk Müller-Wieland from the Asklepios Clinic St. Georg, Hamburg, current press spokesman for the DDG. In the future, Gallwitz wants to bring the DDG's expertise more intensively into the decision-making processes of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in order to strengthen the therapeutic safety of patients.

The new DDG President Baptist Gallwitz was born in Karlsruhe in 1957 and studied medicine in Essen, Berlin and Munich. After his habilitation on the subject of “Glucagon-like peptide-1: An incretin with potential for the treatment of diabetes mellitus type II”, he worked as a senior physician at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel and at the Ruhr University in Bochum. There he dedicated himself, among other things, to researching the role of incretin hormones in type 2 diabetes and their effect on the pancreas, visceral fat tissue and energy balance. Since 2006 he has been deputy director of the Medical Clinic IV at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen .

During his DDG presidency, Gallwitz wants to work, among other things, for a stronger positioning of the DDG and the other medical societies in AMNOG decisions. “The aim of the law to reorganize the pharmaceutical market to create fair drug competition should in no way be at the expense of the therapeutic safety of our patients,” warns Gallwitz. The internist regrets that this has been the case too often in the past. During his term in office, he wants to bring the DDG's expertise more intensively into these decision-making processes. “Without the experience of the treating doctors, no scientifically and therapeutically sensible decision can be made as to which medications are reimbursed and which are not,” emphasizes Gallwitz. In addition, it is important to the DDG President to promote young scientists and science - especially health services research - and to ensure the rapid transfer of scientific findings into patient care.

For the outgoing conference president, Professor Dr. med. Norbert Stefan from the University Hospital of Tübingen replaces Professor Dr. med. Stephan Matthaei from Quakenbrück joined the board. He will host the Diabetes Congress 2017. Also newly elected to the board as treasurer was Professor Dr. med. Andreas Neu, the private lecturer Dr. med. Ralph Ziegler succeeds and represents the interests of pediatric diabetology within the board.