Wiebke Arlt - Director | Head of the Steroids and Metabolism Research Group

About me

Experience:

2023 -

Present

Professor of Transdisciplinary Medicine, Imperial College London

2023 -

Present

Director, MRC London Institute of Medical Science (LMS)

2015 -

2022

Director, Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR) (University of Birmingham)

2014 -

2022

William Withering Chair of Medicine (University of Birmingham)

2006 -

2014

Professor of Medicine (University of Birmingham)

2004 -

2009

MRC Senior Clinical Fellowship (University of Birmingham)

2001 -

2004

DFG Heisenberg Senior Fellowship (University of Würzburg, Germany & University of Birmingham, UK)

2001 -

Present

Doctor of Science (DSc) (University of Würzburg, Germany)

1999 -

2001

DFG Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of California at San Francisco, CA, USA)

1994 -

1998

Clinical Specialist Training in General Internal Medicine and Endocrinology & Diabetes (University Hospital Würzburg, Germany)

1990 -

1994

Clinical Specialist Training in Neurology, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

1993 -

Doctor of Medicine (academic MD degree, Dr. med.) (University of Cologne, Germany)

1990 -

Medical State Examination (MBChB equivalent)

1984 -

1990

Medical School (University of Cologne, Germany)

Research focus:

We work on the role of steroids on human health and disease, with a focus on tissue-specific steroid activation and inactivation. A major area of our research is dissecting the link between androgen excess and metabolic disorder in women and men. We take a transdisciplinary approach to our research using human-based in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches as well as using steroid mass spectrometry and computational approaches to elucidate the effects.

Joined LMS:

2023

About me:

I joined LMS as it excitingly operates at the interface of world-leading discovery science and early experimental medicine. LMS offers unique opportunities for high calibre fundamental discovery scientists and innovative clinician scientists to work in one team. I am also excited by our transdisciplinary training and integrated clinician scientist training.

My awards and achievements:

2024 Keith L. Parker Memorial Award and Lecture, XIXth International Adrenal Cortex Meeting
2022 J. Lester Gabrilove Lectureship, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
2021 Keith Harrison Memorial Lecture, Endocrine Society of Australia
2019 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award, The Endocrine Society USA
2017 Berthold Medal, German Society for Endocrinology (DGE)
2016 European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Endocrinology Trust Medal
2015 Society for Endocrinology UK Clinical Endocrinology Trust Lecture
2014 European Society of Endocrine Surgeons Basic Science Lecture
2013 Kroc Lecturer & Mayo Clinic Foundation Visiting Professor
2011 Valkhof Visiting Professor, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2010 Graham Bull Prize in Clinical Science, Royal College of Physicians
2010 Ernst Oppenheimer Award, The Endocrine Society USA
2010 Society for Endocrinology UK Medal Lecture
2010 Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci)
2009 European Journal of Endocrinology Prize (EJE Award), European Society of Endocrinology
2007 Ikkos Memorial Lecture, Hellenian Society for Endocrinology, Greece
2007 Niall O’Meara Memorial Lecture, Irish Endocrine Society, Dublin, Ireland
2006 Boston University Visiting Professor in Endocrinology, Boston, MA, USA
2004 Schoeller-Junkmann Prize, German Society of Endocrinology (DGE)
2004 Erasmus Lecture, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2000 Christian Lauritzen Award, German Menopause Society
1998 Heinz Breuer Memorial Lecture, University of Bonn, Germany

Impact of my work:

Our translational context is Ageing, Cardiometabolic Disease and Multimorbidity. We are specifically looking at the impact of life course and sex differences on human metabolic disease. We would like to achieve progress for conditions that more often or severely affect women, including polycystic ovary syndrome, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

My Research

Steroids and metabolism

The Arlt Lab, which focusses on the role of steroid metabolism and action in human disease, moved to the LMS in 2023. Our work explores tissue-specific regulation of steroid action with a focus on the role of androgens in metabolic dysfunction. We are very interested in mechanisms that explain sex differences in the impact of androgens on metabolism.

VIEW MY RESEARCH GROUP