Meet the Conference Committee for CaReMeLO 2026
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Martin Alberer
Praxis Dr. Frühwein
und Partner
Martin Alberer
PD Dr. M. Alberer is a specialist in pediatrics and general medicine. He worked for eight years in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, where his work included conducting studies on travel vaccinations. He has many years of experience in the field of travel vaccinations and vaccinations in general, and regularly gives lectures on these topics.
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Aleksander Biesiada
Polish Society of Family
Medicine
Aleksander Biesiada
Aleksander Biesiada, a specialist in family medicine, MD, PhD, Vice President of the Main Board of the Polish Society of Family Medicine, member of the Ministry of Health’s Coordinated Care Implementation Team, and Editor-in-Chief of the magazine for primary care teams: strefaPOZ.pl. He is a graduate of the Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University and a graduate of the WHO Strengthening Primary Health Care Leadership Program.
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Nir Flint
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center,
Israel
Nir Flint
Dr. Nir Flint is a Senior Cardiologist and Head of the Non-Invasive Cardiology Unit at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), Israel. His clinical and research work focuses on echocardiography, particularly structural heart imaging and valvular heart disease. From 2017 to 2020, he was a visiting fellow at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, specializing in interventional echocardiography and advanced valvular heart disease. Dr. Flint received his MD from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in Israel. He has authored more than 65 peer-reviewed publications and consults for biomedical companies developing cardiac ultrasound and transcatheter valve technologies.
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Thomas Frese
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Thomas Frese
Prof. Thomas Frese is a distinguished German physician and researcher specializing in general medicine. He earned his medical degree from the University of Halle/Saale (2007) and later completed his doctorate at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, focusing on diabetes research. With over two decades of experience in epidemiology and clinical research, his expertise spans primary care, diabetes treatment, interprofessional communication in healthcare, and post-COVID studies. Currently, Prof. Frese serves as the Director of the Institute of General Medicine and a university professor at the Medical Faculty of Leipzig. He is also a practicing family doctor, Vice Chairperson of the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN), and President-Elect of WONCA Europe. With approximately 165 publications, he has made significant contributions to primary care research and medical education.
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Markus Frühwein
Praxis Dr. Frühwein und Partner, Germany
Markus Frühwein
Dr. Markus Frühwein, MD, MaHM, is a general practitioner and entrepreneur based in Munich, Germany, specializing in vaccination medicine, travel medicine, and tropical diseases. He is the owner of the medical practice Dr. Frühwein & Partner and co-founder of Workaya, a company developing digital solutions for occupational medicine. Dr. Frühwein studied medicine at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and completed additional training in tropical medicine and health management. He is actively involved in several professional organizations related to vaccination and travel medicine and serves as Vice President of the German Society for Travel Medicine.
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Arthur Grünerbel
Diabeteszentrum München Süd, Germany
Arthur Grünerbel
Dr. med. Arthur Grünerbel received his clinical education at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, specializing in Internal Medicine with additional qualifications in diabetology, nutritional medicine, lipidology, and sports medicine. Over 20 years ago, he founded the Diabetes Center Munich-South, which has grown into a leading outpatient clinic for diabetes care. The center is certified as a Diabetes Excellence Center for the treatment of all types of diabetes mellitus and diabetic foot syndrome and also operates as a nutrition medicine center offering structured weight management programs. Dr. Grünerbel continues to practice and lead the center today.
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Baruch
Itzhak
Clalit Health Services,
Israel
Baruch Itzhak
Dr. Baruch Itzhak is a specialist in Family Medicine and Diabetologist at Clalit Health Services; Haifa; Israel. He was graduated in medicine at Tel-Aviv university in 1986. He received his medical degree of Family Medicine at the Technion faculty of medicine, Haifa in 1994. Dr. Itzhak is working as a clinician and diabetologist in primary care settings at Clalit Health Services in Israel. He is recognized as a teacher for medical students and residents in Family Medicine and Diabetes, and the project coordinator of Diabetes Education and Quality Assurance in the Community. He is a member of EASD, Israel Association of Family Physicians, Israel National Diabetes council and a board member of the Israel Diabetes Association. He is involved in national and international projects of Diabetes Prevention. Dr. Itzhak is a clinical investigator of Diabetes, Lipids and Hypertension in the Research Unit, Lin Medical Center, Haifa, where he is involved in many clinical studies Phase 2b and Phase 3. His special interest is the prevention of Diabetes and complications, and early initiation and intensification of injectable therapies among primary care providers. He is the author of multiple articles on diabetes and complications in primary care published in journals including Cardiovascular Diabetology, Diabetes Care, and Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. He is an active speaker in national and international conferences, and has participated in many advisory panels. He is the current secretary of the D & CVD Study Group related to EASD and a council member of EPCCS. He is a member of PCDE steering committee and an active member of WONCA Europe.
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Avraham Karasik
Tel Aviv University,
Israel
Avraham Karasik
Avraham Karasik is Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism (Emeritus) and previous vice dean at the Tel Aviv University and former head of the endocrine institute at the Sheba medical center. He is currently conducting research at the Maccabi institute of innovation and leading large population studies and serves as chief diabetes and endocrinology advisor to the Maccabi Health services. He graduated from the Hebrew university in Jerusalem, Israel and did his postgraduate specialization in endocrinology and internal medicine, followed by a fellowship at Harvard school of medicine and the Joslin diabetes center in Boston, Mass, Professor Karasik research interests span from basic science in the field of insulin transmembrane signaling through study of the basis for obesity induced insulin resistance. Prof. Karasik led large clinical studies in diabetes, prediabetes and the metabolic syndrome, He recently harnessed the large databases in Maccabi Health services to understanding the CaReMe-obesity complex in large populations. Professor Karasik is past vice-president of the Israel endocrine society and scientific council of the Israeli diabetes association. He has published over 150 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and has been awarded several honors.
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Niki Katsiki
International Hellenic University, Greece
Niki Katsiki
Niki Katsiki, MSc, PhD, MD, FRSPH is a specialist in Internal Medicine, Diabetes, Obesity and Lipids, an Assistant Professor in the International Hellenic University and an Adjunct Associate Professor of the Medical School of the European University of Cyprus. She has given talks and lectures in several international conferences and participated in Expert Panel meetings, guidelines publications and clinical trials. Prof Katsiki is also a National Clinical Fellow of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health (FRSPH), the Secretary of the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society (HAS) and a member of the Executive Board of the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS) Regional Federation: Europe, as well as a member of the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP).
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Karolina Kloda
Polish Society of Family Medicine, Poland
Karolina Kloda
Professor Karolina Kłoda MD, PhD, family medicine specialist. Vice-President of the Polish Society of Obesity Treatment. Special Representative for International Affairs and Member of the Main Board of the Polish Society of Family Medicine. Member of the Presidium of the Partnership for the Prevention & Treatment of Obesity STOP Obesity.
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Katharina Marx-Schütt
RWTH University Aachen,
Germany
Katharina Marx-Schütt
Prof. Katharina Marx-Schütt is Senior Consultant in the Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Aachen, Germany. She leads the heart failure section of the Department. Katharina Marx-Schütt is a member of several organizations within the field of cardiology and diabetes, including the European Society of Cardiology, and the German Society of Cardiology. In addition to reviewing submitted manuscript to numerous journals, she is currently Editorial Board Member of the European Journal of Heart Failure and Associate Editor for DVD Research. She was the Chairman of the working group AG “Herz und Diabetes” of the German Society of Cardiology from 2021-2024 and task force Co-ordinator of the 2023 ESC Guidelines for the management of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes.
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Aaron Novikoff
Helmholtz Diabetes Center, Germany
Aaron Novikoff
Aaron Novikoff is a tenured postdoctoral researcher at Helmholtz Munich – Institute for Diabetes and Obesity. He earned his PhD in 2022 at Helmholtz Munich, where he investigated the molecular pharmacology of novel incretin receptor dual- and triple-agonists, as well as nuclear hormone-conjugated GLP-1 agonists, under the mentorship of Prof. Timo Müller and Prof. Matthias Tschöp. As a Helmholtz High Potential Fellow, his current research centers on novel peptide-based drug design, with an emphasis on harnessing subcellular dynamics and polypharmacology to enhance systemic therapeutic outcomes against diabetes and obesity.
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Robert Ritzel
Klinikum Schwabing and Klinikum Bogenhausen, Germany
Robert Ritzel
Professor Robert A. Ritzel is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Angiology, München Klinik Schwabing and Bogenhausen, Munich, Germany, and faculty at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He is board certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology and diabetes. Over the past 30 years, Dr Ritzel has been actively involved in research into many aspects of diabetes and has conducted research at centres in Germany (Universities of Göttingen, Bochum and Heidelberg and Klinikum Schwabing/Bogenhausen in Munich) and the USA (USC and UCLA, Los Angeles, California). He published over 100 original articles, reviews, book chapters, case reports and comments and is a reviewer for multiple scientific journals in the field of metabolism. His research interests include the pathophysiology of insulin secretion, incretin hormones, islet biology, -cell regeneration, islet and pancreas transplantation and -cell apoptosis, for which he has been awarded numerous awards.
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Jörg Schelling
Hausärztliche Gemeinschaftspraxis Martinsried, Germany
Jörg Schelling
Prof. Dr. Jörg Schelling, MD, is a Professor of General Practice and Family Medicine at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and Head of the Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine. A practicing general physician since 2008, his clinical and academic work focuses on primary care, vaccination medicine, travel medicine, and infection prevention. He completed his medical studies and doctoral training at LMU Munich and later achieved his habilitation in General Practice and Family Medicine. Prof. Schelling is active in several German medical societies and advisory boards related to vaccination, infectious diseases, and primary care research.
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Oliver Schnell
Sciarc GmbH,
Germany
Oliver Schnell
Founder and Managing Director of Sciarc GmbH in Munich-Baierbrunn, Germany.
Lecturer in human medicine at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. Member of the Forschergruppe Diabetes e.V. at the Helmholtz Center, Munich-Neuherberg. Editor-in-chief of the journal “Diabetes, Metabolism and Heart”. Initiator of various science portals, e.g.: diabetes-symposium.de and diabetes-symposium.org. Since 2015 conference president of the annual “CVOT Summit”. Research interests: Micro- and macrovascular complications in diabetes mellitus, new therapies, diabetes technology, telemedicine.
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Eberhard Standl
Munich Diabetes Research Group Helmholtz Centre, Germany
Robert Ritzel
Professor Robert A. Ritzel is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Angiology, München Klinik Schwabing and Bogenhausen, Munich, Germany, and faculty at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He is board certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology and diabetes. Over the past 30 years, Dr Ritzel has been actively involved in research into many aspects of diabetes and has conducted research at centres in Germany (Universities of Göttingen, Bochum and Heidelberg and Klinikum Schwabing/Bogenhausen in Munich) and the USA (USC and UCLA, Los Angeles, California). He published over 100 original articles, reviews, book chapters, case reports and comments and is a reviewer for multiple scientific journals in the field of metabolism. His research interests include the pathophysiology of insulin secretion, incretin hormones, islet biology, -cell regeneration, islet and pancreas transplantation and -cell apoptosis, for which he has been awarded numerous awards.
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Josep M. Vilaseca
University of Vic – Central Catalonia University, Spain
Josep Vilaseca
Prof. Dr. Josep Vilaseca, MD, PhD. Family doctor. Chief of Service of Primary Health Care in the Althaia Foundation (Manresa, Catalonia, Spain). Master of Business Administration (Universitat Pompeu Fabra). MSc in Public Health (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). Associate professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Vic – Central Catalonia University, and former Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona. Former honorary treasurer of WONCA Europe. Academician of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Catalonia.
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Christoph Wanner
University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
Christoph Wanner
Prof. Dr. Christoph Wanner is Senior Professor of Medicine at University Hospital of Würzburg and Visiting Professor of Renal Medicine at University of Oxford. From 1994 to 2023, he served as Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University Hospital of Würzburg. An internationally recognized expert in nephrology, he has authored more than 1,000 scientific publications and serves as co-chair of Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO). He is also the Immediate Past President of the European Renal Association.