Vetsuisse-Fakultät (Veterinärmedizin)

Research

The Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Bern is engaged in research with the aim to advance veterinary medicine for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. Core thematic areas of research have been specified to promote collaboration within and beyond the faculty. These include Animal Health and Welfare, Infectious Diseases and One Health, and Sustainability and Biodiversity.

The faculty maintains a Faculty Clinical Research Platform (FCRP) to foster early-career clinician scientists and facilitate collaborative clinical research. It also hosts the Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID), a strategic center of the University of Bern, aimed at determining the origins of infectious disease risks, preparing for emerging diseases and managing these risks.

The faculty plays an active role in the use and further development of all of the university’s core facilities, notably the Experimental Animal Center (EAC), the Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit (IBU), the Microscopy Imaging Center (MIC), the Next Generation Sequencing Platform (NGSP), and the Data Science Lab (DSL). This involvement enables the faculty to leverage state-of-the-art research infrastructure for veterinary and biomedical research, as well as contributing to its strategic advancement.

Featured Projects

Research Project

The Role of Minnows as Intermediate Hosts in the Life Cycle of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD), caused by the parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, is a notifiable condition that affects endangered wild brown trout. We systematically examine the parasite’s life cycle and the role of non-salmonid species as intermediate and reservoir hosts. Our findings hold important implications for epidemiology and management.

Céline Möckli, Nicolas Diserens, Heike Schmidt-Posthaus

Research Project

DROP: Effects of Different temperature Regimes on host-Pathogen dynamics in freshwater ecosystems

Host-pathogen dynamics in freshwater ecosystems are influenced by environmental temperature, which affects the host's fitness as well as pathogen's growth and virulence. This international, SNF funded study investigates how realistic current and projected temperature regimes affect the dynamics of crayfish plague, a disease in endangered crayfish species.

Eliane Jemmi, Simone Pisano, Heike Schmidt-Posthaus

Research Project

Sustainable improvement of bovine health using genomic data

The Vetsuisse livestock genetics team is working with experts at Qualitas Zug and ETH Zurich to identify harmful gene variants and develop selection tools that will prevent inherited disorders and improve health and welfare of Swiss cattle.

Joana Jacinto, Cord Drögemüller

Research Project

Can pain inhibit pain in horses – and can AI detect it?

To better understand conditioned pain modulation - how pain can inhibit pain - in horses, researchers at the Vetsuisse Faculty study this mechanism with AI support, aiming to improve pain assessment, management, and animal welfare.

Claudia Spadavecchia

News

Events

Research

Awards for the next generation at the Swine Clinic

Francesca Grech, doctoral student and research assistant at the Swine Clinic, was awarded first place for her presentation at the “News from Science” event during the "Schweizerische Tierärztetage" in Bern. Lisa Gmür was equally successful, taking third place for her master’s thesis.

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Research

Sven Rottenberg elected to the Academia Europaea

Sven Rottenberg, Director of the Institute of Veterinary Pathology and Group Leader of the Cancer Therapy Resistance Cluster, has been elected a member of the Academia Europaea “due to outstanding achievements as a researcher.” This prestigious scientific society promotes European research and advises governments and international organizations on scientific matters.

Research

The IVI in the Fight Against Epizootic Diseases

In the video, Claudia Bachofen explains the key role played by the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) in the diagnosis and research of highly contagious animal diseases.

Research

Rearing conditions influence the immune system of brown trout

For the first time, researchers at the University of Bern have studied the immune system of brown trout cell by cell and compiled an overview of the gene activity in each cell. The study shows the diversity of the immune system of this ecologically important fish species, which is protected in Switzerland, and demonstrates that rearing conditions can leave measurable traces in the immune cells.

Media Release

Research

Domestic cats may hold the key to understanding breast cancer

An international research team with participation from Bern has conducted the world's first comprehensive genetic study of cancer in domestic cats. The study shows that some of the genetic changes in cat tumors closely resemble those found in human cancers. These parallels open up new perspectives for developing targeted cancer therapies, particularly for breast cancer.

press release

Research

Toxin-receptor interaction decoded

Researchers at the Institute of Animal Pathology, the Institute of Anatomy, and EPFL were able to identify the cellular receptor of the NetF toxin and visualize its binding at the molecular level.NetF is a pore-forming-toxin secreted by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens and thought to play a role in enteritis in dogs and horses. The results, published in Nature Communications, represent an important step toward new therapeutics for bacterial infections.

Research

For faster differentiation between BVDV and BDV antibodies

Katja Moser talks about her journey in developing a diagnostic test for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in the blog of the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI).

Read now!