Influencing the ageing process through nutrition

After 20 years abroad, Prof Dr Christian Riedel is moving back to Germany. He was born in the Ruhr region, but is now settling on campus in Kulmbach. The biochemist will be working on the interplay between nutrition and health at Faculty VII. "The influence of nutrition on the ageing process is enormous and I would like to use my research here to help decipher the components in food that change the ageing process," says Riedel.

Prof Dr Christian Riedel studied biochemistry in Bochum and Tübingen and then obtained his diploma at the Max Planck Institute in Martinsried. He went to Vienna for his doctorate before working as a post-doc at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. This was followed by a stint in Groningen before he started as a group leader in the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

"I already know the University of Bayreuth from my time as a student," says Riedel. "Biochemistry has always had a very good reputation. The fact that Faculty VII is now focussing precisely on the topics that also shape my research is a perfect fit."

In terms of teaching, Prof. Riedel will primarily be involved in the existing degree programmes in Kulmbach; an English-language Bachelor's degree is also being planned. "It is important to me to strengthen teaching and emphasise nutrition and ageing," he says. "The influence of nutrition on health is not only interesting for students, but can also be of great interest to our students' future employers."