Inaugural Lectures

Instruction habilitations during Corona

Due to the Corona situation, the faculty management has issued new directives for habilitation.

Annual Report Medicine 2020 online

We are pleased to present you the annual report of the year 2020.

Tender Care-for-Rare Science Award 2021

This year, the Care-for-Rare Foundation - Foundation for Children with Rare Diseases - is again offering the "Care-for-Rare Science Award" in the amount of 50,000 euros. The science award, sponsored by the Werner Reichenberger Foundation, is intended to promote creative scientific ideas and thus help deepen the understanding of rare diseases and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Preclinical cancer research: electrospray successfully tested

A research team from Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, the University of Bern and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW has succeeded in the local application of cancer drugs directly to tumors. Using a jointly developed, special electrospray device, a massive reduction in the size of aggressive lung cancer tumors was achieved in the preclinical laboratory.

Annika Frahsa becomes Lindenhof Endowed Professor of Community Health

Annika Frahsa has been chosen Lindenhof Foundation Professor of Community Health by the University Executive Board. The assistant professorship has been made possible thanks to support from the Lindenhof Foundation Bern. It focuses on participatory health promotion involving communities and is one of a kind in Switzerland.

World Laboratory Day 2021: Talent for top-level cancer research

In conjunction with World Laboratory Day 2021, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and the University of Bern interview SNF Professor Dr. Georgia Konstantinidou about her work and recent findings to provide insight into a research laboratory..

Boredom and self-control in the pandemic.

Researchers from the Universities of Bern and Konstanz and FernUni Switzerland show that great boredom and low self-control are associated with more difficulties students have in homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are consistent with other findings and theoretical work by the research team showing that large boredom and low self-control predict lower adherence to pandemic behavioral guidelines.

Why SARS-CoV-2 replicates better in the upper respiratory tract

A team of researchers from the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern and the Federal Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) have assessed virus growth and activation of the cellular defense mechanisms in the respiratory tract. They have shown that natural temperature differences that exist in the upper and lower respiratory tract have a profound influence on SARS-CoV-2 replication and subsequent innate immune activation in human cells. The findings can help to develop antiviral drugs and preventive measures.

Postgraduate programs Academy of Sleep and Consciousness ASC

In July 2021 (application deadline April 30), the new edition of Prof. Bassetti's CAS in Sleep, Consciousness and Related Disorders will be launched

Opening Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (CAIM)

The "Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine" brings together leading medical and engineering research with active digitalization efforts in healthcare at the Bern Medical Hub. Using artificial intelligence developments CAIM will bring forward new technologies for healthcare to enable tailored and efficient patient care. CAIM will be inaugurated on Friday, March 19, 2021 at a digital event with a panel discussion and a keynote lecture by AI for advanced healthcare pioneer Gregory D. Hager, Johns Hopkins University as part of a scientific symposium on AI in medicine research.

Predicting success in therapy with individualized cancer models

Scientists at Urology Research Laboratory of the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern and Urology Department of the Inselspital of Bern, have established organoid culture models from prostate tumor biopsies. These are small clusters of cells which can be used to test the efficacy of various drugs. In this way, it is possible to test which treatment will most likely benefit individual patients.

Combating adhesions in the abdomen

Adhesions in the abdomen, such as those that form after surgery, often have serious consequences. Now, researchers from the University of Bern and Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, in collaboration with Canadian researchers, have discovered how such adhesions form. The findings may help to develop a drug to prevent adhesions in the future. The study was published as a cover story by the journal "Science".

How to track the variants of the pandemic faster

A global group of researchers is calling for better integration of viral genetics, bioinformatics, and public health to enable better pandemic response now and better pandemic preparedness in the future. In a comment piece in the journal Nature, an international collaboration of specialists in viral and genetic analysis, led by Swiss scientists Dr. Emma Hodcroft at the University of Bern and Prof. Christophe Dessimoz at University of Lausanne, both at the SIB Swiss institute of Bioinformatics, alongside Dr. Nick Goldman at EMBL-EBI in the UK, lay out the ‘bioinformatics bottlenecks’ that are hindering response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and propose ways to ‘clear the road’ for better tools and approaches. Here are the key take home messages and perspective from the Swiss angle.

First Covid 19 wave meant more stress for nursing staff

Nursing staff in Swiss hospitals experienced significantly more stress and a higher workload during the first Covid 19 wave than in 2019. In addition, satisfaction with pay fell sharply, while job satisfaction rose slightly. That's according to a survey of more than 4,100 nurses at 19 hospitals conducted by the Institute of Management Accounting and Control at the University of Bern on the work situation.

Bernese researchers build sophisticated "lung on a chip»

Researchers at the University of Bern and Inselspital, University Hospital Bern have developed a second-generation lung model with life-size alveoli in a purely biological, stretchable membrane. The new model replicates lung tissue much more lifelike than previous lungs-on-chip. This opens up new possibilities for basic research, lung disease research, drug testing and precision medicine.

Only 14% of the Bernese population have antibodies against coronavirus

In the canton of Bern, only 14% of the adult population were infected with the coronavirus and developed antibodies against SARS-Cov-2. These are the preliminary results of a seroprevalence study coordinated by the Swiss School of Public Health and carried out in Bern by the University of Bern in cooperation with the Inselspital, University Hospital of Bern.

Four Bernese researchers receive Pfizer Prize

This year, four of a total of fifteen Pfizer Research Prizes have been awarded to physicians from the University of Bern and the Inselspital, University Hospital Bern. The award-winning work deals with leukemia, cardiac arrhythmias and the fever threshold in children and adolescents with cancer.

A NEAT reduction of complex neuronal models accelerates brain research

Unlike their simple counterparts in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, neurons in the brain use dendrites – their intricate tree-like branches – to find relevant chunks of information. Now, neuroscientists from the University of Bern have discovered a new computational method to make complex dendrite models much simpler. These faithful reductions may lead AI applications to process information much like the brain does.

Bernese Award for Environmental Research 2021 call for applications

The Bernese Award for Environmental Research aims to promote disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the environmental sciences/sustainability at the University of Bern. The award totalling CHF 15,000. Nominations for 2021 should be sent by 8 February 2021.

Bernhard Pulver appointed honorary professor at the University of Bern

Bernhard Pulver, long-time Director of Education of the Canton of Bern, has been appointed Honorary Professor of the University of Bern. The appointment recognizes his political commitment to the University of Bern and the Swiss higher education landscape, as well as his current teaching activities at the Faculty of Law.

Thomas Sauter receives an endowed professorship in emergency telemedicine

Thomas Sauter, Head of Education, eHealth and Emergency Telemedicine at Bern University Hospital's emergency center has been appointed by the University Executive Board for an endowed professorship in emergency telemedicine. The assistant professorship was established thanks to the support of the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS). It deals with "eHealth" in the field of emergency medicine and is one of the very few of its kind in the world.