This anniversary year is above all an opportunity: an opportunity to celebrate what we have built, and to pursue with enthusiasm the undertakings that will shape the Faculty of tomorrow.  And among the great challenges that the medicine of tomorrow will need to address — and which we are already preparing for today — are environmental issues. Indeed, human health and planetary health are now inseparable.

Six strategic areas structure our action — and together, they sketch a vision commensurate with our history.

Learning differently

Medical education is reinventing itself, and that is excellent news. The ongoing reforms to our curriculum are not mere adjustments: they respond to a fundamental question — what kind of physician do we want to train for tomorrow? We seek to train professionals capable of navigating uncertainty, working as part of a team, and committing to the health of the population, balancing technological advances with constant humanism. New pedagogical approaches, the strengthening of transversal competencies, and the transformation of healthcare systems open up exciting prospects that we are seizing to offer training genuinely aligned with the needs of today's and tomorrow's society.

A professional identity built throughout one’s career

Becoming a physician is a process that begins during one’s studies but does not end at graduation — it is an adventure that lasts an entire career. Undergraduate and postgraduate training, specialisation, continuing education: these are so many stages that forge a rich and constantly evolving professional identity. In a context where the social position of physicians is being redefined, the Faculty intends to support its graduates well beyond their years of study, by strengthening its offerings and cultivating a lasting sense of belonging to our community. We would like the Faculty of Medicine to become more than a youthful memory for our alumni — a genuine anchor point and a space where debate and reflection remain central.

150 years of research — and tomorrow?

From cell biology to clinical trials, from genomics to global health, research at the Faculty has embraced — and often anticipated — the great scientific revolutions of its time. It has also extended its influence well beyond Swiss borders, welcoming scientists from around the world who enrich our community and give it global reach. Today, a new revolution is upon us: that of artificial intelligence, which is profoundly transforming research methods, clinical practice, and pedagogical tools. Furthermore, new techniques — imaging, multi-omics analyses, and much else — are opening vast new fields of experimentation and knowledge creation. Past, present, future: this is the ideal moment to draw up this ambitious panorama, to celebrate the scale of this intellectual adventure, and to look ahead to the major questions that will shape the coming decades.

This dynamic of innovation finds its fullest expression in the primary mission of medical research: to strengthen the care of patients based on robust scientific evidence, within a healthcare system in perpetual learning. Technological and methodological advances thus achieve their full impact when they translate into concrete benefits for those concerned.

In this perspective, communicating transparently with the public and the community about the stages and outcomes of research is a major challenge. This requirement for clarity and accountability is an essential factor of trust — a determining condition for the uptake and implementation of these innovations.

The translational revolution

More than ten years ago, the Faculty created its first thematic faculty centre, the Diabetes Centre. This bold bet on interdisciplinary and translational research has since become a model. Bringing together synergies accelerates the translation of basic research findings into clinical practice. Today, our faculty centres — working in fields as diverse as inflammation, cardiovascular disease, oncology, or the relationship between muscles and movement — form a dynamic and vibrant ecosystem, at the interface of basic research, clinical medicine, innovation, and industrial development. This translational revolution is one of the great sources of pride for our institution, and it is only just beginning.

Unlocking the potential of clinician-researchers

Clinical research is one of the pillars of academic medicine, and clinicians who engage in knowledge production alongside their daily clinical work perform an essential role. Yet too many structural obstacles still hinder the consolidation of these dual-track careers. Creating the best possible conditions for more physicians to contribute to the production of knowledge, and better recognising and supporting these dual careers: this is a challenge we are determined to meet.

To this end, we have established — a unique initiative in Switzerland — dedicated positions enabling junior physicians to benefit from protected, funded time to develop research projects alongside their clinical activity. This structural scheme aims to secure early academic trajectories, strengthen the attractiveness of academic clinical careers, and consolidate the research ecosystem within our institutions.

Valuing careers, acting against precarity 

The Faculty can only flourish if the people who bring it to life — doctoral students, researchers, and clinicians — work in conditions that enable them to thrive fully. Acting against the precarity of academic careers and recognising every trajectory is a firm commitment, on which concrete actions are already under way. At a time when public and private funding is tightening, budget savings must not come at the expense of the next generation of scientists. Tomorrow’s research will be built by scientists whose academic ambitions rest on robust ground. This also requires a resolute commitment to equal opportunity, so that each person can develop their full potential: a Faculty that reflects the plurality of the society it serves is a stronger, more creative, and more just Faculty.

One hundred and fifty years is worth celebrating! Throughout the year, a rich programme of activities — lectures, exhibitions, public events, and scientific gatherings — invites you to discover or rediscover the Faculty in all its dimensions, whatever your connection to it. And beyond the festivities, a conviction stronger than ever: Geneva medicine still has an enormous amount to offer — to science, to patients, to society. It is together that we will make this anniversary a milestone in a story still very much in the making.

Antoine Geissbühler, Dean
Camilla Bellone, Alexandra Calmy, Serge Ferrari, Idris Guessous, Stéphanie Hugues & Mathieu Nendaz, Vice-Deans of the Faculty of Medicine - Dean's office 2023 - 2027