Leif Groop
MD, PhD, Professor, Head of Unit

Current projects

Genetic prediction of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is polygenic disease characterized by impaired insulin secretion and action. Identification of individuals at high risk of developing T2D is a prerequisite for prevention of the disease. Knowledge of the effect of conventional risk factors for T2D is particularly useful for identification of genes interacting with environmental factors in the genetically predisposed individuals. We believe that genetic markers might be used to design diagnostic tests that, when assessed with lifestyle factors, will allow clinicians to predict an individual's risk of the disease.

Funding

• Swedish Research Council
  • Linné Centre of Excellence Grant; Period 2006-16; "Dissection of the geneticand metabolic complexity of diabetes and its complications". Basis for Lund University Research Centre with a total of 140 researchers.
  • Project grant; Period 2008-10; "Dissection of the genetic complexity of type 2 diabetes"
  • Samverkan grant: "Exploring the mechanisms by which TCF7L2 causes type 2 diabetes"
• Lund University/ Region Scania
  • ALF grant, period 2008-2010; "Dissection of the genetic and metabolic complexity of type 2 diabetes and its complications"
• Swedish Diabetes Research Foundation
  • 2008; "Genetic and metabolic heterogeneity of diabetes"
• European Community grants
  • EXGENESIS (PI G. Hardie) 2005 – 2009 
  • ENGAGE (PI L. Peltonen) 2008 – 2012
  • CEED3 (PI A. Hattersley) 2008 – 2013 
  • SUMMIT
  • EXODIAB

About Leif Groop

Leif Groop, M.D., Ph.D. is since 1993 Professor in Endocrinology at Lund University and Director of Lund University Diabetes Centre. He received his MD at University of Berne, Switzerland and PhD at University of Helsinki, Finland.  After a PostDoc period at Yale University he devoted his research to dissection of the heterogeneity of diabetes but also to explore the pathogenic events leading to type 2 diabetes. As an important tool to achieve this goal, he initiated the Botnia Study at the west coast of Finland, one of the world’s largest family studies on type 2 diabetes. The research group has been involved in many of the genetic discoveries on type 2 diabetes during the past 15 years, including one of the first whole genome association studies for type 2 diabetes.

Leif Groop is a member of the Swedish  Royal Academy of Science, he has served on numerous editorial boards and achieved several international recognitions, including the  Claude Bernard and Anders Jahre awards.