Beatrice Beck Schimmer
Beatrice Beck Schimmer

Professor
Vice President of University Medicine Zurich and Chair of the Coordination Committee

A network with an international reach

Many questions in the field of medicine can no longer be answered by a single discipline working independently. The majority of medical problems now cross disciplinary boundaries. Academic Medicine Zurich (UMZH) has laid the foundations for overcoming these challenges as efficiently and effectively as possible. Our network brings together the most prestigious universities and university hospitals in Zurich: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), the University of Zurich (UZH), University Hospital Zurich (USZ), University Children’s Hospital Zurich (Kispi), Balgrist University Hospital, and University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich (PUK). Bringing together research and medical treatment puts us in a better position to manage the current and future medical challenges involved in research, teaching, and healthcare. Our focus is on carrying out medical research, educating the next generation of physicians, promoting academic career development, and providing equal opportunities.

Answering the urgent medical questions

We are working together to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of diseases. In addition, we aim to introduce innovative technologies and develop new approaches to treatment. One of our focuses is on precision medicine, which includes digitalization (keyword big data). The goal of this data-driven medicine is to determine the risk of illness for patients better than before and to improve our ability to determine patients’ disease risk and increasing individuals’ chances of recovery. Precision medicine makes it possible to take individual measures using new methods and biomarkers. For example, it can be used to predict how someone will respond to certain medicines or therapies, enabling us to adapt treatments to individual patients. The focus on big data, artificial intelligence and other relevant technologies ensures high quality competence. Our emphasis on big data, artificial intelligence, and other relevant technologies ensures that we have a high level of expertise.

Offering rapid, lasting benefits for patients

The findings of pure research must be applied as quickly as possible in everyday clinical practice so that we can always offer patients the best medical care and health outcomes – both now and in the future. To achieve this joint goal, we have pooled our strengths at many of the interfaces between research, teaching, and healthcare. We take an interdisciplinary approach to complex research issues and help to educate the next generation of physicians by passing on the latest findings in our teaching. In our hospitals, not only do we treat many patients who are seriously ill and have rare conditions; we also provide round-the-clock emergency care. And all of this happens in the city of Zurich.

Professor Beatrice Beck Schimmer
Vice President of University Medicine Zurich, UMZH

Welcome to the Medical Research Centre in Zurich

02:25

Coordination Committee

Number of members

11

The Coordination Committee is responsible for the operational management of UMZH. We coordinate and plan the research and teaching services, academic career development, and healthcare at our institutions. This includes the medical infrastructure and the platforms for clinical research. Furthermore, we have developed a joint umbrella strategy on behalf of the Strategy Council and we provide the resulting information for decision-making on professorial chairs, finances, and infrastructure.

Verordnung über die Forschung und Lehre der Universität im Gesundheitsbereich

Who we are

Beatrice Beck Schimmer
Beatrice Beck Schimmer

Professor
Vice President of University Medicine Zurich and Chair of the Coordination Committee

Matthias Baumgartner

Professor
Director Research and Education
University Children's Hospital Zurich

Mazda Farshad
Mazda Farshad

Professor
Medical Director
Balgrist University Hospital

Monika Jänicke

Dr. phil. II
President of the Hospital Executive Board
University Hospital Zurich

Stephan Neuhauss
Stephan Neuhauss

Professor
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science
University of Zurich

Frank Rühli

Professor
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich

Gabriela Senti
Gabriela Senti

Professor
Executive Director Research and Education
University Hospital Zurich

Lukas Sommer
Lukas Sommer
Susanne Walitza

Professor
Head Medical Directorate
University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich

Christian Wolfrum

Professor
Vice President for Research
ETH Zurich

Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer
Hanns U. Zeilhofer

Professor
Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich

Strategy Council

Number of members

9

The Strategy Council is responsible for the strategic direction of UMZH. Together with the Coordination Committee, we determine the umbrella strategy and define how it is implemented in research, teaching, academic career development, and healthcare. We encourage the UMZH institutions to base their individual strategies on this umbrella strategy. However, we apply the principle of consensus to ensure that the governing bodies of the UMZH institutions retain their responsibilities and authorities.

Who we are

Petra Hüppi

Professor
Member of the Board of the University and Chair of the Strategy Council

Dorothea Christ (advisory)

Professor
Head of the Office of Universities
Department of Education

Rita Fuhrer

President of the Swiss Balgrist Association
Balgrist University Hospital

Peter Indra (advisory)

Dr.
Head of the Health Departement
Health Directorate

Joël Mesot

Professor
President ETH Zurich
and Member of the ETH Board

Renzo Simoni

Dr.
Chair of the Hospital Advisory Board
University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich

Martin Vollenwyder

Chair of the Board of the Eleonore Foundation
University Children’s Hospital Zurich

André Zemp

Chair of the Hospital Advisory Board
University Hospital Zurich

Beatrice Beck Schimmer (advisory)

Professor
Vice President of University Medicine Zurich and Chair of the Coordination Committee

External Advisory Board

Number of members

5

The experts on the External Advisory Board provide advice to the Coordination Committee of UMZH. Their scientific knowledge and varied experience help to determine the strategic direction of the medical institutions in Zurich. They provide feedback to the Coordination Committee of UMZH for the purposes of international benchmarking and identifying the scientific direction that the medical institutions in Zurich should be moving in.

Who we are

Patrick Aebischer

Professor Emeritus
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Andrew Carr

Director at the Botnar Research Center
University of Oxford, UK

Lars French

Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology
Hospital of the University of Munich (LMU), Germany

Nouria Hernandez

Professor Emeritus
Faculty of Biology and Medicine
Université de Lausanne

Carol Tamminga

Professor & Chair of Psychiatry
UT Southwestern Medical Center Department of Psychiatry
Dallas, Texas, USA

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