Inaugural Lectures

Bern Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

The University of Bern and the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, are founding a “Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine” (CAIM) that combines cutting-edge research, engineering and digitalization. Using artificial intelligence it will develop new medical technologies to enable tailor-made and efficient patient care. Partners of the new center are sitem-insel, the Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, and the University Psychiatry Services (UPD).

Processing of emotion-free body language analyzed in the brain

Within the framework of an extensive international research project, brain networks for the perception of emotional and emotion-free body language were analyzed. The results show a significant involvement of the limbic system in the recognition of emotion-free, neutral body language.

Cloëtta-Prize 2020

Zebrafish can flexibly regenerate their hearts after injuries. An international research group led by Prof. Nadia Mercader shows that certain heart muscle cells play a central role in this process. On 6 November 2020 Prof. Nadia Mercader Huber was awarded the Cloëtta Science Prize for this research.

10 million euros for an optogenetic revolution

An interdisciplinary research project of the University of Bern, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Humboldt Universität of Berlin (D) and the University of Manchester (UK) will be funded with 10 million euros by the European Research Council (ERC). Over the next six years, the SOL project intends to make cell activities in the entire body controllable by means of light pulses, thus opening new avenues of research opportunities and novel forms of therapy.

Project on prostate cancer awarded

This year's Johanna Dürmüller-Bol DBMR Research Prize of the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR) of the University of Bern goes to Joanna Triscott. She is being honored for her research on metabolic processes of prostate cancer tumors. The junior research prize worth CHF 30,000 was awarded on the "Day of BioMedical Research" on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

Bern researchers identify sleep as possible target to improve recovery after ischemic stroke

Until today neurorehabilitation is the only approach that promotes recovery after stroke. Researchers at the Neurology Department of the University of Bern and Inselspital have provided first evidence that sleep could be targeted to improve post-stroke recovery.

Significant vulnerability in prostate cancer detected

Researchers at the University of Bern led an international team that has identified a novel vulnerability in advanced prostate cancer that is no longer responding to hormonal therapy. These findings could lead to the development of new treatment approaches for men suffering from the most aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Successful network research is extended

Sleep, religious conflicts and the health of the environment, plants, humans and animals: these are the topics of the three interdepartmental research cooperations at the University of Bern. The innovative network projects, which started in 2018, were very successful and will therefore be extended for two years.

Most people infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop symptoms

Some people who fall ill with SARS-CoV-2 infection never show any symptoms. There is still disagreement about what proportion of the total number of infections these cases represent. A study by researchers from the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern suggests that true asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 represent a minority of infections.

Covid-19 research receives 8.4 million francs in national funding

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) supports fifteen Bernese Covid-19 research projects totalling 8.4 million Swiss francs. These should contribute in helping to develop solutions to combat the pandemic in Switzerland. The projects deal with topics ranging from the effects of Covid-19 on the cardiovascular system to the use of artificial intelligence in the treatment of Covid-19 patients in hospital.

Increasing the effectiveness of immunotherapy against skin cancer

Researchers at the University of Bern have discovered a mechanism in the body’s own immune system which is responsible for the maturing and activation of immune cells. In the fight against skin cancer, the results have the potential to help immunotherapy succeed, even for patients on whom it previously had no effect.

Four ERC Starting Grants for researchers from Bern

Four researchers from the University of Bern will each receive one of the coveted "Starting Grants" from the European Research Council (ERC). The plant researcher Christelle Robert wants to use the grants to understand the interactions between plants and natural enemies of pests, while the economist Christoph Oberlack is investigating new ways of establishing environmental justice. Physiologist Ziad Al Nabhani is investigating the influence of early childhood nutrition on the immune system, and chemist Tomas Solomek is exploring new ways to better understand and use a material of the future.

New Full Professor for Human Genetics and Director and Head Physician at the University Clinic for Human Genetics

The Executive Board of the University has elected Christiane Zweier as full professor of human genetics as of September 1. She succeeds Sabina Gallati and becomes Director and Chief Physician of the University Clinic for Human Genetics.

Rapid test for the determination of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A Swiss-German team presents a test that determines the amount of neutralising antibodies within a short period of time. The test was developed at the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) of the University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Office for Food Safety and Animal Health, and evaluated in cooperation with colleagues from the Ruhr-University Bochum using serum samples from COVID-19 patients.

Immunoprotein impairs Sars-Cov-2

An international team with researchers of the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) of the University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) showed that an endogenous protein prevents the virus from fusing with host cells. This raises hopes for new therapeutic approaches.

Discovery of new genes that influence the success of cancer treatment

One of the great mysteries of cancer research is why certain patients respond better to radiation therapy than others. Researchers at the University of Bern have now discovered which genes play an important role in this. This results in new findings for cancer treatment.

Gut microbes shape our antibodies before we are infected by pathogens

Colonization with intestinal microbes is known to shape many body systems, especially the white blood cells that produce antibodies. Because the microbiota is so complex, containing hundreds of different bacterial species, it is not known how the presence of microbes in the intestine shaped the antibodies that are present even before we are challenged by an infection. Researchers at the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR) of the University of Bern and the Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, have now shown how these beneficial microbes reprogram the repertoire of white blood B cells that produce antibodies and how this helps counter infections.

Improving health care for migrant women

An international study led by the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) at the University of Bern examined the access of migrant women to the Swiss health care system. Based on the patients' experiences, the researchers developed ten concrete recommendations to improve access to health services for previously underserved groups.