Faculty of Medicine

The Medical Faculty is one of the largest in Switzerland with about 2,100 students in Bachelor, Master and further education programs (CAS, DAS, MAS). It consists of University clinics and institutes from 3 organizations (University of Bern, University Psychiatric Services UPD and Insel Hospital).

The Medical Faculty actively promotes research and teaching in the area of human medicine and has an important contribution in scientific knowledge transfer and its progress. Furthermore, it is responsible for the education of students as well as for tasks in the area of continuing training and further education of physicians and dentists. Undergraduate teaching at the highest level, practical relevance and intensive support of the students are some of the central tasks of the Medical Faculty. The popularity of our teaching is reflected by the number of medical students enrolled, which has increased continuously in the last decade and is the highest in Switzerland. Beginning in September 2018, we have accepted an additional 100 first-year students. The University Hospitals (Insel Hospital and UPD) as well as the Dental School offer a well-founded theoretical, broadly diversified and practice-oriented study.

In addition, the Faculty of Medicine of Bern provides excellent opportunities for high-quality and future-oriented research. The spectrum extends from basic research in the pre-clinical institutions and the Department of Biomedical Research (DBMR) – which offers all researchers from the clinics of the Insel Hospital and UPD excellent opportunities including infrastructure and technical support – to translational and clinical research. Clinical research by the Clinical Trial Unit (CTU), affiliated to the Departement of Clinical Research (DCR), which is being developed, supports and offers possibility for cooperation in large international trials.

News and Events

Inaugural Lectures

New professor in pediatrics

The Medical Faculty welcomes Mr. Matthias Kopp. Prof. Kopp has been appointed by the University Management as Full Professor of Pediatrics and successor of Prof. Ch. Aebi.

Designing animal studies to improve research reproducibility and reduce animal use

At the invitation of the University of Bern, international experts worked out new recommendations for the design of animal studies. They encourage a paradigm shift to improve the reproducibility of scientific results and reduce animal numbers.

Even natural products can be harmful for the unborn child

Plant products ingested by pregnant women through their diet are broken down by the intestinal microbiota into chemical substances, some of which can cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus. These foreign substances can harm the unborn child, even if they are of "natural origin". Researchers at the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR) at the University of Bern and Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, therefore warn against underestimating the effects of such substances.

Dynamic measures against the coronavirus examined

An alternating cycle of suppression interventions and relaxation could offer a pragmatic strategy - particularly for developing countries - to prevent health systems from being overloaded while reducing the economical and societal burden. This is illustrated in an international study with significant participation by the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) at the University of Bern.

Geography of childhood cancer in Switzerland studied

A research group under the direction of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of the University Bern has investigated the spatial distribution of childhood cancer risks in Switzerland for the period 1985-2015. The group found evidence of increased risks in certain areas, particularly for brain tumors. The researchers demand that the search for the causes of brain tumors in children be intensified.

Medical Research and Training Centre, University of Bern

The architectural competition for the new research building of the preclinical institutes, which is to be built in construction field 7, has been completed. The winning project is called "JANUS". Further information about the competition and the planned building can be found via this link.

Bern coronavirus clone goes "viral"

Researchers in virology and veterinary bacteriology at the University of Bern have cloned the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The synthetic clones are being used by research groups worldwide to test corona samples, find antiviral drugs and develop vaccines as quickly as possible. The method developed in Bern can also be used in future to combat other highly infectious viruses.

Extraordinary Professor of Biochemistry

Wanda Kukulski has been elected by the Executive Board of the University as Associate Professor of Biochemistry as of 1 May 2020. She will become group leader at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (IBMM) and member of the NCCR TransCure.

New vaccination strategy against diarrhoeal diseases developed

Infectious intestinal diseases and diarrhoea still claim many lives worldwide, including more than half a million children under the age of 5 every year. Now researchers from Berne at the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK), headed by Siegfried Hapfelmeier, have developed a strategy that could solve a previous problem of vaccination against these diseases.

Reducing the effects of coronavirus with EU funding

As part of a European consortium, researchers from the University of Bern are investigating how the corona virus spreads, how dangerous it is and what measures are effective in containing the pandemic. The EU research framework programme "Horizon 2020" is supporting the consortium's project with a total of three million euros.

Annual Report 2019

The annual report 2019 is online

Call for proposals Grant for Protected Research Time - Deadline for submission postponed to 31 July 2020

With the announcement of grants for "Protected Research Time", the Medical Faculty supports the possibility of creating clinical research time for young academics in the medical service sector. Due to the corona pandemic, the deadline for submission has been postponed to 31 July 2020. Further information can be found here.

5000 year old genetic material points to parallel societies in early Switzerland

Old and new immigrants probably lived side by side until the early Bronze Age in present-day Switzerland - one of the earliest lactose-tolerant people in Switzerland was also discovered. This is shown in a new study involving the University of Bern.

University of Bern increases test capacity for corona suspect samples

The Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern is well equipped with three different analysis systems for a possible broader testing of samples suspected of being corona. A new device enables fully automated testing of a large number of samples. This would give the IFIK sufficient capacity for the Insel Gruppe AG hospitals should the authorities decide in favour of broader testing.

New website with the most important studies and guidelines related to Covid-19

Here you will find an up-to-date collection of the most important studies and guidelines related to Covid-19, aimed at health professionals of all disciplines.

Six Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows are coming to the University of Bern, 3 of them to the Medical Faculty

The University of Bern is welcoming six Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows this year. The "Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships", awarded annually by the European Commission, give experienced researchers the opportunity to enrich their scientific careers with a stay abroad.

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