LMU President Receives the Rolf Luft Award

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The Karolinska Institute in Sweden has announced that Professor Matthias H. Tschöp, President of LMU, will receive the 2026 Rolf Luft Award together with his research partner, Professor Richard Dennis DiMarchi of Indiana University (Bloomington, USA). The award is considered the world’s most prestigious honor in diabetology and endocrinology.

The jury is thereby recognizing the “outstanding, groundbreaking scientific contribution” made by DiMarchi and Tschöp in the field of diabetes and obesity, “in which basic scientific research has led to significant clinical implications.” Specifically, the foundation honors the “advances in peptide chemistry and the development of novel dual and triple agonists for the treatment of diabetes and obesity” achieved by the two researchers.

“It has been a great privilege to embark on this journey together with Richard DiMarchi. Our collaboration, which has now spanned several decades, demonstrates what is possible when interdisciplinary science is pursued with equal measures of scientific rigor and curiosity,” explains Professor Tschöp, adding: “I am very grateful that this is being recognized with this prestigious award. Seeing the impact our discoveries in gut hormone biology, advances in peptide chemistry, and the development of novel agonists have on patient care and public health fills me with great humility.”

Professors Richard DiMarchi and Matthias Tschöp have discovered “a new class of drugs with unprecedented efficacy in the treatment of diabetes and obesity,” the Karolinska Institute writes on its website, reporting that several variants of these so-called gut hormone polyagonists have already undergone clinical trials. A representative of this class of drugs containing the same active peptide ingredient, tirzepatide—which was developed with an industry partner—received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and in 2023 for the treatment of obesity.

The discovery and validation of these highly effective drugs for treating obesity by DiMarchi and Tschöp represent “a transformative breakthrough” and open “a path to reversing the global obesity pandemic,” the report explains. Furthermore, the work of DiMarchi and Tschöp has set new standards for drug development in complex diseases for which there is currently no effective treatment.

The award ceremony, the symposium, and the award lecture are scheduled for September 10, 2026.

Über den Rolf Luft Award:

The Rolf Luft Prize is awarded annually, initially by the Karolinska Institute and, since 2005, by the Rolf Luft Foundation for Diabetes Research. The prize recognises outstanding researchers working in the fields of endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes research. The prize is awarded for exceptional achievements in research and teaching and is in line with the Foundation’s aim of promoting future research and training in the fields of diabetes and endocrinology.

Karolinska Institutet: Professor Richard DiMarchi and Professor Matthias Tschöp receive the Rolf Luft Award 2026