Women and men get sick in different ways, and also drugs affect them differently. Gender medicine works with precision medicine to better explore these differences and incorporate the results into patient care and medical training.
Academic Medicine Zurich, as a forward-looking and innovative institution, is introducing the new field of gender medicine to its range of subjects. With a professorship, it aims to expand sex-specific interdisciplinary research and teaching at UZH together with the four university hospitals. The goal is to advance research in the field of gender medicine and to establish it in university teaching.
Carolin Lerchenmüller was appointed associate professor of gender medicine by the University Council, effective May 1, 2024. Upon taking office, she will assume the first professorship in gender medicine in Switzerland.
The professorship’s key responsibilities include advancing research in the field of gender medicine by establishing projects across all areas of research, forming consortia for these projects, and securing external funding. Furthermore, gender medicine will be integrated into the curriculum so that students receive fundamental information on the significance of biological and sociocultural gender in as many subjects as possible.
Gender differences are evident in many diseases: The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dying from a heart attack is significantly higher for women than for men. In addition, women are more likely to suffer from thyroid disorders, rheumatic diseases, and immune system disorders. In contrast, more men are affected by Parkinson’s disease and are more likely to die from COVID-19. Taking gender differences into account benefits both women and men and is now being actively promoted through the Chair in Gender Medicine.
Eighty percent of studies on the development of diseases and drug treatments are conducted on young male mice—the female menstrual cycle, female and male sex hormones, as well as menopause and andropause, are not addressed in these studies. Clinical trials are also predominantly conducted on men and do not break down their results by gender. Furthermore, they do not take into account the sociocultural dimension of health or illness. Factors such as stress, environmental conditions, and living conditions—which differ between women and men—are left out. There is also almost no data available on people with other gender identities.
In medical education, the issue of gender has received just as little attention to date. Medical students still do not learn enough about the differences between men and women, what they need to take into account when examining both sexes and prescribing medication, and how to communicate with patients in a gender-sensitive manner. There is also a lack of comprehensive approaches to better integrate this topic into both the content and structure of medical education. This will change at the University of Zurich with the establishment of the Chair in Gender Medicine.
Prof. Dr. Beatrice Beck Schimmer, Vice President Medicine
Funding: CHF 1,300,000
Project duration: Six years (2024–2028)
Current status: In May 2024, Carolin Lerchenmüller took up the position as Switzerland’s first professor of gender medicine. Her initial tasks include establishing the chair and filling PhD positions. In the long term, the chair is to be further expanded through partnerships with other medical disciplines. This professorship not only ensures the academic anchoring of gender medicine in research and teaching but also strengthens its presence in Switzerland. She is already in high demand as an expert and is regularly invited to appear in the media.
Many thanks to all donors who make this valuable research possible!
