The researchers Richard DiMarchi and Matthias H. Tschöp are awarded the 2026 Rolf Luft Award for groundbreaking research that has led to new treatment options for type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Professors Richard DiMarchi of Indiana University, Bloomington, USA, and Matthias H. Tschöp, President of Ludwig-Maximilians-University, München in Germany, are awarded the 2026 Rolf Luft Award for their outstanding and groundbreaking scientific contributions to diabetes and obesity research. The laureates’ pioneering work has led to the availability of medical treatment that corrects biochemical disturbance that causes obesity.
Obesity affects approximately 17 percent of the world’s population and 18 percent of Sweden’s population. It is a disease for which no effective medical treatment could previously be offered, despite greatly increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer, and shortened life expectancy. It is also one of the most stigmatized conditions.
Rolf Luft Foundation recognizes DiMarchi’s and Tschöp’s groundbreaking scientific contributions to diabetes and obesity research, which has led to important clinical applications, and particularly highlights their advances in peptide chemistry and development of new dual and triple agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. The triple agonist, not yet been approved in Sweden, has an even greater effect on weight without substantial loss of muscle mass. The discovery and validation of these highly effective anti-obesity medicines by DiMarchi and Tschöp represent a transformative breakthrough, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, notes.
I am proud that the Rolf Luft Foundation for Diabetes Research recognizes groundbreaking basic research by presenting this award. The extra ordinary effect this new class of medicines has on obesity is comparable to the revolutionary effect insulin has on type 1 diabetes, says Senior Professor Kerstin Brismar, Chair of the Rolf Luft Foundation for Diabetes Research.
The Rolf Luft Award, one of the world’s most prestigious award in diabetology and endocrinology, is presented annually by the Rolf Luft Foundation for Diabetes Research and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, in recognition of outstanding research in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism.
The laureate receives the Rolf Luft Medal, a diploma, an honorarium and gives a prize lecture at a prize ceremony, which this year will be the 10th of September at Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
To learn more, please visit:
- More about the prize winners: https://ki.se/en/mmk/research/rolf-luft-award/rolf-luft-award-2026
- About the Rolf Luft Award: https://luftdiabetesfoundation.se/en/rolf-luft-award-2/
