News

03.10.2025 – At the DGSMP Annual Conference 2025 in Berlin, hosted by Charite and Berlin School of Public Health, Annika Frahsa delivered a keynote on «Rethinking Participation», presenting new methodological perspectives and a conceptual model for strengthening participatory health research. Her related scoping review has just been published in Social Science & Medicine. Continue reading

29.09.2025 – Fabiën Belle (Principal Investigator) and Christina Schindera (Principal Investigator) have received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for their project “Underweight, overweight, and linear growth of childhood cancer patients”. Continue reading

29.09.2025 – PD Dr Myrofora Goutaki (ISPM) and PD Dr Loretta Müller (University Children’s hospital) will receive the Ewald Weibel Award 2025 for their outstanding research in the field of Lung and Respiration in Switzerland, particularly in the field of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Continue reading

23.09.2025 – Science knows no boundaries, yet it is often rooted in local communities. The BEready cohort study is an example from Bern that illustrates this point, as featured in the latest edition of uniFOKUS. Continue reading

12.09.2025
Grippenet.ch a participatory surveillance system presented at the «Nacht der Forschung». Grippenet.ch is a participatory surveillance system that monitors influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) in Switzerland to improve the understanding of infection transmission dynamics and to provide insights into the symptoms they cause. Continue reading

01.09.2025 – The 2026 Winter School features a diverse range of engaging courses led by experienced teachers. Whether you want to strengthen your methodological skills or advance your knowledge in specialized topics, there is something for everyone. Beyond the classroom, the social program offers a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world. Continue reading

08.08.2025 – A new national survey on Perspectives and Attitudes Towards Health and Smoking (PATHS) is reaching underrepresented people across Switzerland in 13 different languages. The PATHS study invites Swiss residents with a migration background to share their views on smoking and health. Continue reading

17.07.2025 – Hicham Achebak, a postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), has been awarded the highly competitive SNSF Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowship (SPF) on his project TEMPO (Temperature Exposure During Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes in Europe). Hicham will join ISPM in January 2026 to lead this 2-year project at the Climate Epidemiology and Public Health research group. Continue reading

15.07.2025 – We are delighted to announce that Christina Schindera has been awarded the venia docendi (habilitation) for her research on cardiovascular health in survivors of childhood cancer. Continue reading

14.07.2025 – Claudia Kuehni (Principal Investigator) and Carina Nigg (Co-Applicant) received funding from Swiss Cancer Research to investigate and improve health behaviours among long-term survivors of childhood cancer. Continue reading

07.07.2025 – Fabiën Belle received a grant from Swiss Cancer Research/ Krebsforschung Schweiz. Continue reading

12.06.2025 – Franco Romero, PhD student at ISPM Bern, won the Best Podcast-Format Research Presentation award at the 2025 Swiss Paediatric Conference for his work on using routine electronic health records to enhance data collection in paediatric cohort studies. His project, part of the SPHN-SPAC Demonstrator Project, highlighted both the potential and challenges of integrating standardised routine clinical data into paediatric research. Continue reading

16.05.2025 – Despite widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs), concerns persist regarding their usability and implications for patient safety. David Schwappach from ISPM together with colleagues from Switzerland and the US developed and validated a new survey instrument that reliably captures physicians’ perceptions of EMR usability – with a focus on patient safety–relevant domains. Continue reading

01.04.2025 – After nearly two decades of leadership, Prof. Matthias Egger is stepping down as Multi-Program Director of the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS Southern Africa (IeDEA-SA). The collaboration welcomes Dr. Eliane Rohner, Dr. Gilles Wandeler, and Dr. Cleophas Chimbetete as the new leaders alongside the previous MPI Prof. Mary-Ann Davies who is based at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Continue reading

04.03.2025 – Researchers at the Multidisciplinary Centre for Infectious Diseases (MCID) are preparing the canton of Bern for future pandemics with the BEready long-term study. Continue reading

03.03.2025 – Research results by Lars Lenze, a member of the research group on community health and health care systems, were recently featured in newspapers from the Tamedia group (e.g., Tagesanzeiger, Berner Zeitung). His study examines how becoming a parent influences sports and exercise behaviour, highlighting the difference between becoming a mother and a father. Continue reading

18.02.2025 – Annika Frahsa and her research group on community health and health care systems research had a mandate by Health Promotion Switzerland on particularly vulnerable population groups in health promotion and prevention. This mandate was to strengthen the issue of health equity in the development and implementation of the new cantonal action programs on health promotion and prevention. Continue reading

17.02.2025 – Environmental epidemiologist Ana Maria Vicedo Cabrera discusses the challenges she faced as a young foreign woman in academia and her dedication to studying the health impacts of climate change. Continue reading

04.02.2025 – Carina Nigg receives the first prize of the Science Award 2023/2024 of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund; DOSB) in Frankfurt. Continue reading

29.01.2025 – Coral Salvador, a postdoc researcher working at the University of Vigo, has been awarded a SNSF Ambizione on her project IGIA-SETH (unravelInG the ImpActs of droughtS on human hEalTH). The project will start in July 2025 at the Climate Epidemiology and Public Health research group at ISPM. She has been a visiting researcher of the team between 2022 and 2024. Continue reading

23.09.2025 – Science knows no boundaries, yet it is often rooted in local communities. The BEready cohort study is an example from Bern that illustrates this point, as featured in the latest edition of uniFOKUS.