Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)

The Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) carries our biomedical research in view to improve health and well-being of animals and humans. The DIP is strongly involved in teaching and education in veterinary medicine, and includes not only students of veterinary medicine, but also those of medicine and natural sciences. The DIP participates in post-graduate formation and specialisation, and is member of the Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB) of the University of Bern. The DIP offers research-supported diagnostic services to various stakeholders, including academic and private clinics, veterinary public health institutions and medical laboratories and clinicians.

Organisation (PDF, 117KB)

News

Open House - June 28

Visit us at the open day on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Get hands-on, learn about the unknown and experience the interaction between humans, animals and the environment. With food trucks, games, large animal rescue and a scavenger hunt for children. On Saturday, June 28 2025 on the grounds of the Bern Veterinary Hospital.

Important Step in the Fight Against Malaria and Theileriosis

Single-celled parasites are capable of causing a variety of life-threatening diseases in humans and animals. Of particular global significance are the pathogens of malaria (in humans) and theileriosis (in cattle), which have substantial impacts, especially in the countries of the Global South. As part of an SNF Sinergia project, researchers from the University of Bern, EPFL, and Justus Liebig University Giessen have now discovered a common Achilles' heel of these two parasites, which could be useful for new therapies. Read our article in Nature Communications for more information.

Award of the Albert-Heim-Stiftung

Marine Inglebert has received the 2023 Award of the Albert-Heim-Stiftung for her work on “Investigating canine mammary tumors and patient-derived organoids as a preclinical model for breast cancer”. Congratulations!

Young Investigator Award SSTMP to Dennis Imhof

We congratulate Dr. Dennis Imhof for having been awarded the Young Investigator Award of the Swiss Society for Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (SSTMP) for his excelling PhD thesis.

Congratulations Dr. Natalie Wiedemar!

We congratulate Dr. Natalie Wiedemar to her successful Ambizione grant application to the SNSF! We are looking forward to exciting research on your project "Dissecting resistance mechanisms and identifying new drug targets for the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica"!

New EMBO member

Hana Hanzlikova, group leader at the Institute of Animal Pathology, has been elected as EMBO member, a prestigious organization of leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. Congratulations!

Prof. Marie-Pierre Ryser

We mourn the loss of Prof. Marie-Pierre Ryser, Head of the FIWI's Wildlife Division. She passed away on May 14, 2023 after a long illness. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

Annual Report 2022 Swiss Cancer Research

The annual report 2022 of the Swiss Cancer Research Foundation is published with a presentation of a project of the research group of Sven Rottenberg.

Board exam of the European College of Veterinary Pathologists

Kemal Mehanigic, PhD student in the group of Dr. Nicolas Ruggli (IVI) and former resident at the Institute of Animal Pathology, successfully passed the board exam of the European College of Veterinary Pathologists. Congratulations!

The battle of the SARS-CoV-2 variants

In order to fight the pandemic in the long term, it is crucial to understand why one variant prevails over another. An international study conducted by the Institute of Virology and Immunology and the University of Bern, in collaboration with the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Germany, has provided important answers by comparing the spread and transmission of different emerging variants in parallel. This approach is now applicable to the comparison of new variants, such as delta and omicron. This unique study has just been published in the scientific journal Nature.

Digital Pathology Course, 1 - 3 December 2021

Key Speakers
Prof. Dr. Bernd Bodenmiller
Prof. Dr. Thomas Fuchs
Prof. Dr. Rainer Grobholz
Prof. Dr. Andrew Janowczyk
Prof. Dr. Garry Nolan
Prof. Dr. Mark Rubin
Dr. Vanessa Schumacher
Prof. Dr. Inti Zlobec

"Sooner or later, anyone who is not vaccinated will get infected"

How safe are RNA vaccines? Who will be hit by the fourth wave? Volker Thiel, head of the Division Virology of the IVI and world renowned virologist from Bern, answers urgent questions on the corona vaccinations in a video interview (in German, with captions in English and French).

n vitro zoo helps in understanding SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers from the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern and the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) have used a unique collection of advanced cell culture models of cells lining the airways from various domesticated and wildlife animals to determine which animals are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The team found that SARS-CoV-2 efficiently infected respiratory cells from monkey and cats, and proposes that SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in these animals and its close relatives is necessary.

MD-PhD grant

Morgane Decollogny, PhD student in the research group of Sven Rottenberg, is one of 12 young scientists in Switzerland, who receive the national MD-PhD award of the SAMW. Morgane is investigating residual disease in triple-negative breast cancer. Congratulations!

Amoeba

The FIWI offers a new service: Amoeba diagnostics through culture assays. Get in touch if you are interested.

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Contact

University of Bern

Länggassstrasse 122
3012 Bern

Phone: +41 31 684 21 11