University Assembly at the Nuremberg Campus: Handover of Offices and Awards
The university assembly at the PMU location in Nuremberg was an inspiration for academic engagement and for the Salzburg-Nuremberg friendship.
The three new appointees have already been in office for a quarter of a year – now the Paracelsus Medical Private University (PMU) has formally sealed the changes in the university assembly. Since January 1, 2025, the Nuremberg location has a new academic leadership. Vice-Rector is Prof. Dr. Hans Herbert Steiner, the long-time former chief physician of the Department of Neurosurgery at Nuremberg Hospital. He succeeds Univ.-Prof. Dr. Theodor Fischlein, who had been committed as Vice-Rector with great dedication since 2021.
The professorial college had also elected successors for the two deanships: In the office of Dean for Science and Research, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sascha Pahernik was replaced by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hermann Josef Bail, the Clinic Director of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery. The new Dean for Studies and Teaching is Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christiane Waller, Chief Physician of the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy.
Rector Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Sperl had come to Nuremberg to present the trio with the letters of appointment and chains of office. He also thanked the staff in the middle management for their special commitment. "The university thrives on the people who dedicate themselves to research and teaching alongside the clinic." The new Vice-Rector, Prof. Steiner, underscored this with a quote from the former PMU patron Dietrich Mateschitz: "Every product, every club, every company, every brand is only as good as the people who make it." Only with a sense of community and mutual appreciation can the university continue to develop well.
In his speech, Sperl praised the success story of the Nuremberg location, which opened in 2014. "What unites us is the clinical strength of the respective large, supply-relevant hospital operations. And it is also the shared vision to be a special, uniquely innovative university."
The PMU proves to be a "catalyst for state developments in the higher education landscape" both in Salzburg and Nuremberg, said Sperl. Although privately managed, the Nuremberg PMU is increasingly gaining recognition and support from the State of Bavaria. Partnerships with neighboring public universities and colleges are also being steadily expanded.
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Stephan Kolb confirmed this with his optimistic interim report on the planned research alliance "Franconia Medicine Alliance": In 2023, Bavaria's Minister of Science Markus Blume had initiated closer cooperation between Nuremberg Hospital and Erlangen University Hospital.
The next milestone for the PMU location in Nuremberg will be the opening of a simulation center on the North Campus in autumn 2025. The rooms, equipped as a shock room, operating room, and delivery room, serve the practical training of medical students, nursing trainees, nursing staff, and midwives who learn together at Nuremberg Hospital.
At the university assembly, Research Dean Prof. Bail awarded a series of research prizes to PMU scientists in Nuremberg.
As part of the "Bridge Nuremberg-Salzburg" program (funding up to 25,000 euros), four cross-location projects were honored. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Markus Diener and Dr. Luca Giulini (Nuremberg) are researching biomarkers for esophageal cancer together with Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Emmanuel and Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Oliver Koch (Salzburg). Univ.-Prof. Dr. Simon Jäger (Nuremberg) is investigating cisplatin side effects together with PD Dr. Silvia Dossena (Salzburg). PD Dr. Julius Höhne (Nuremberg) is evaluating skull reconstruction techniques with Dr. Johannes Pöppe (Salzburg) in the "Headstart" project. MUDr. Adrian Liebert (Nuremberg) is developing therapies for subdural hematomas together with Dr. Matthias Matejka (Salzburg).
A total of 15,000 euros were awarded for research stays in guest laboratories: to Dr. Bernd Neumann (Microbiology) for his research in Boston on multidrug-resistant pathogens and to Dr. Carola Fleischmann (Gastroenterology), who is working on endoscopic techniques in Limoges.
Four research rotation positions enable three-month leaves of absence: Dr. Chantal Degen (ENT) is researching childhood hearing loss, Dr. Spela Leiler (Cardiac Surgery) is developing AI-supported monitoring systems, Dr. Jakob Rossmann (Neurosurgery) is investigating tumor cell invasions, and Dr. Anne Kamphausen (Anesthesiology) is researching postoperative pain therapies.
As a young scientist, Dr. Thomas Eibl from the Department of Neurosurgery provided insights into his research on navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) in surgical planning and prognosis for patients with brain tumors in areas controlling movement and speech.
Translated by Le Chat / Mistral AI
