Marc Y. Donath

Marc Y. Donath is Head of the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland, and Professor for Endocrinology at the University of Basel. His main scientific contribution is the description of an inflammatory process underlying beta cell failure and apoptosis in Type 2 diabetes, with a central role for IL-1beta. On the basis of this he initiated a pioneering clinical trial in patients with Type 2 diabetes that vindicates his hypothesis and opens the way for a causative treatment and prevention of diabetes.