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Antoine Geissbühler to head the Faculty of Medicine

©UNIGE. The new Dean's Office of the Faculty of Medicine, with, from left to right: Camilla Bellone, Vice-Dean for basic research and technologies, Mathieu Nendaz, Vice-Dean for teaching and undergraduate training, Martine Collart, Vice-Dean for careers, equality, diversity and inclusion, Antoine Geissbühler, Dean, Idris Guessous, Vice-Dean for postgraduate and continuing training and professional identity, Alexandra Calmy, Vice-Dean for clinical research, and Serge Ferrari, Vice-Dean for translational research and valorisation. 

On 15 July 2023, Antoine Geissbühler will succeed Cem Gabay as Dean of the AV����Ƶ (UNIGE) Faculty of Medicine. Appointed jointly by the UNIGE Rector, Yves Flückiger, on the recommendation of the Faculty of Medicine Participatory Council, and by the Board of Directors of the Geneva AV����Ƶ Hospitals (HUG), where he will take on the role of Director of Teaching and Research, Antoine Geissbühler will serve in this dual capacity for a period of four years. Innovating teaching tools, research, development and partnerships: with his team, he will lead an ambitious strategy centred on commitment and transversality.

With more than 2,615 undergraduate and postgraduate students and 1,570 staff members, the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine trains every year more than 150 new physicians, 30 new dentists and more than 25 bachelor students in biomedical sciences. The Faculty of Medicine also hosts 228 research groups working on the various aspects of life sciences, from basic to translational and clinical research. "A Faculty where everyone is happy to learn, teach, research, work, debate and get involved   — that, in a nutshell, is the vision I would like to pursue," emphasises Antoine Geissbühler.  "In other words, a place of inclusion, of solidarity and of open debate, where collective intelligence is discussed and valued.”

The evolution of education

20 years ago, the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine radically overhauled medical studies. Today, technological and societal developments are calling for new format, for instance, project-based learning, where students from different backgrounds work together to complete a project. As well, 'peer-based learning', where courses are given by students to their peers, is already winning the support of the student community.  In addition, diversity, gender bias in medicine, sustainability, digital technology, and artificial intelligence will be better taken into account. "How do we position ourselves in today’s society? What does it expect from medical professionals? Professional identity, patient care, physical and mental health, equality, and diversity: these questions are central when training future physicians who will make a responsible commitment to the health of the population.”

Transversality and attractiveness

Science tends to hyperspecialize. Yet, the most original ideas rise from the areas where different fields meet. There is therefore a need to go beyond the Faculty's somewhat rigid structures to encourage cross-disciplinary research. The Faculty centres, the first of which have been in existence since 2015, will spearhead this approach. These thematic networks working on diabetes, inflammation, oncology, neuroscience, or biomarkers bring together biologists, pharmaceutical scientists, clinicians, and other professionals. "Through a variety of initiatives, we want to bring together and complement each other's expertise to promote a common innovation and excellence. The aim will be to support basic research, promote clinical research that is directly linked to patient care, and develop translational research in order to make the Faculty more attractive for recruiting and developing the best people locally and internationally.

Strong values with an enlarged team

Antoine Geissbühler's team will comprise 6 vice-deans — 3 for education and careers, and 3 for research and development — and will be supported by an expanded team to deal with today's issues: digital technology and data, funding and research tools.

Antoine Geissbuhler is an internist and specialist in medical informatics. A full professor since 2006, he is also director of the HUG Innovation Centre and head physician of the eHealth and Telemedicine Division, which is recognised as a WHO collaborating centre. His research focuses on the design and application of new IT tools in the medical field. In particular, he helped implement Switzerland's e-health strategy and developed the RAFT project, a major telemedicine network linking hundreds of healthcare professionals in 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since 2022, he has also been President of BioAlps, the life sciences cluster for Western Switzerland. A former vice-dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Antoine Geissbühler is UNIGE's vice-rector in charge of digital strategy and innovation until July 2023.

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