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Program
October 26–27, 2026
What to expect
This year’s symposium at the Kursaal in Bern brings together the fundamentals and future prospects of gender medicine with topics such as global health, health policy, clinical guidelines, prevention, men’s health, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. Presentations on the SAGER Guidelines (Sex and Gender Equity in Research) and innovations in medical education round out the program.
Two scientific sessions will be held on October 26. For each session, you can choose from three topics, each of which includes various presentations. Practical how-to sessions, poster presentations, and panels round out the symposium and create space for interdisciplinary exchange.
Monday, October 26, 2026
09:00 | Arrival and Check-in at the Kursaal Bern | Meet & Greet in the Forum | ||
10:00 | Welcome and Introduction into Gender Medicine and its Fundamental Change of Perspective in Medicine | Prof. Dr. med. Beatrice Beck Schimmer, Host, University of Zurich, Switzerland & Michael Rauchenstein, Moderator | |
10:15 | KEYNOTE - History of Gender Medicine and a Look Ahead in the Future | Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Germany | |
10:45 | IMPULSE - Gender Medicine in the Light of Global Health and Health Policy 2026 | Prof. Dr. Ilona Kickbusch, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland | |
11:15 | Presentation of Posters I | ||
12:15 | BREAK: Networking Lunch | Meet the Speakers | ||
13:15 | HOW TO ... Build a Women's Heart Health Program | Prof. Dr. med. Noel Bairey Merz, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, USA | |
13:25 | HOW TO ... Build a Company in Gender Medicine Through Evidence and AI | Thao Nguyen, EQUAL CARE, Switzerland | |
13:35 | HOW TO ... Implement Sex as a Biological Variable Guideline in Preclinical Research | Dr. Ivana Jaric, University of Zurich, Switzerland | |
14:00 | PLENARY TALK - Ten Years of the SAGER Guidelines: Progress, Impact, and Future Needs | Dr. Shirin Heidari, GENDRO, Switzerland | |
14:20 | PLENARY TALK - Sex/Gender in Industry Research and Development - The Role of the Pharmaceutical Industry | Dr. med. Katharina M. Gasser, Roche Pharma Switzerland | |
14:45 | IMPULSE - The Role of Politics for Equitable Health | Dr. med. Bettina Balmer, Pediatric Surgeon, Member of the National Council FDP ZH and President FDP Women, Switzerland | More |
15:15 | BREAK - Networking | Meet the Speakers | ||
15:45 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 1 - Men's Health | ||
Gender Medicine is Men's Business Too: Why Engaging Men Matters for Better Health | Dr. med. Ruben Fuentes Artiles, University of Bern, Switzerland | ||
The Evolving Field of Boys' and Men‘s Health | Prof. Dr. John Oliffe, University of British Columbia, Canada | ||
Understanding and Treating Depression in Men: From Biology to Psychology | Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Andreas Walther, University of Graz, Austria | ||
15:45 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 2 - Clinical Guidelines | ||
Intersectional Analysis in Biomedical Research | Prof. Dr. Mathias Wullum-Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
Clinical Practice Guidelines as Structural Instruments for Equity | Prof. Dr. med. Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, University of Bielefeld, Germany | ||
Bringing Sex and Gender into Clinical Standards: A Medical Society Perspective | PD Dr. med. Maria Rubini, National Centre for Cardiovascular Research, Madrid, Spain | ||
15:45 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 3 - Policy / Global Health | ||
Gender Inequalities in Global Health and What They Mean for Policy | Prof. Dr. Sarah Hawkes, Monash University, Malaysia | ||
Gender Power and Health Equity: Why Policy Must Address Structural Inequality | Prof. Anita Raj, PhD, MS, Tulane University, USA | ||
Aligning Research Efforts with the Global Burden of Disease in Women and Men | Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, University of Mannheim, Germany | ||
16:45 | BREAK: Networking and Change of Rooms | ||
17:00 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 4 - Education - Innovation in Europe and Beyond | ||
Panel with Representatives from Different Nations | Austria, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine | ||
17:00 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 5 - Epidemiology and Prevention | ||
Sex Differences in Metabolic Disease: From Mechanisms to Personalized Prevention | Prof. Dr. med. Susanna Hofmann, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany | ||
17:00 | SCIENTIFIC SESSION 6 - Evolution and Development | ||
Evolutionary and Biomedical Insights into Sex Differences in the Primate Brain | Dr. Alexandra DeCasien, National Institute of Health, USA | ||
What Primates Societies Reveal about Sex/Gender Differences Relevant to Human Health | Prof. Dr. Erica van de Waal, The Sense Center for Research and Innovation, University of Lausanne, Switzerland | ||
Can We Close the Sex Gap in Lifespan? An Evolutionary Comparative Perspective | Dr. Johanna Stärk, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany | More | |
18:00 | Networking and Apéro |
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
08:00 | Arrival and Check-in at the Kursaal Bern | Meet & Greet in the Forum | ||
08:30 | Welcome by Moderator | Michael Rauchenstein | |
08:40 | KEYNOTE - Topic to be announced | Speaker to be announced | |
09:10 | PANEL DISCUSSION - Update on Gender Medicine in Switzerland | Speakers from University of Basel, University of Bern, University of Geneva, Unisanté Lausanne, University of Zurich | |
09:35 | Presentation of Posters II | ||
10:45 | PLENARY TALK - Bias in Artificial Intelligence and How to Build Equitable Systems | Dr. Saniye Gülser Corat, NonBiasAI, France | |
11:05 | IMPULSE - Topic to be announced | Speaker to be announced | |
11:15 | IMPULSE - Funding the Future of Gender Medicine: Why Venture Capital Matters | Maryann Selfe, FemmeHealth Alliance, Switzerland | |
11:35 | Poster Award Ceremony | ||
11:55 | Wrap-up and Conclusions | ||
12:00 | Farewell Lunch and Networking | ||
14:00 | End of Swiss Gender Medicine Symposium 2026 |
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