Faculty of Medicine Heidelberg

With close links between research labs and hospital wards, swift implementation of newly acquired knowledge from clinical studies, practically oriented modern teaching methods and systematic encouragement for young researchers, the Faculty of Medicine Heidelberg is one of the leading institutions for medical research and training in Germany.

Demystifying science. Heidelberg medical experts explain the advantages of laser surgery to a general audience at an event organised by the "Uni-Forum", run jointly by the University and Southwest German Radio and TV.

One of the four original Faculties of the University in 1386, it rose to new heights in the 19th and 20th centuries with the presence of internationally renowned physicians like Hermann von Helmholtz, Vinzenz Czerny and Ludolf von Krehl. In 1910 and 1922 respectively, Albrecht Kossel and Otto Meyerhof were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine, a distinction also accorded more recently to Bert Sakmann in 1991 and Harald zur Hausen in 2008.

The Teachers The Institutes and Clinics (German) The Faculty in the Internet

Recent studies and rankings confirm that the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine is one of the leading academic institutions in Germany. The acquisition of external research funding to the tune of over 40 million euros annually confirms this evaluation. In addition, the Faculty and the University Hospital, including about 20 academic teaching hospitals, represent one of the largest medical teaching locations in Germany, admitting over 450 medical and 80 dentistry students every year. In 2001 the Faculty also introduced the Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale (Heicumed) course, designed to meet the high standards for practically oriented training set by the new German regulations for the award of licences to practise medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.
Intensive block teaching in all subjects, symptom-based lectures, the acquisition of practical and communicative skills and work on clinical cases in small groups are integral elements in this ambitious course. There are also two courses at the interface between computer science and medicine, run in conjunction with the Heilbronn University of Applied Science.
A central aim in Heidelberg is to translate innovative basic-research findings to the field of medical practice. Success in this endeavour is assured by the Faculty's close connections with the Hospital, with other medical institutions all over the world and within clinical research networks in Germany and elsewhere. A milestone in this respect was the new Otto Meyerhof Centre (German) for Outpatient Medicine and Clinical Research From lab work to clinical testing Ion radiation therapy opened in 2001. It offers clinicians new opportunities for basic research and the implementation of innovative concepts in special outpatient units.

The University Medical Hospital is one of the most modern of its kind in Europe. It is named after the Heidelberg internist Ludolf von Krehl (1861-1937).

Ion radiation therapy

A further basis for a wide variety of projects is provided by the close cooperation with top-ranking local research institutions: the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim.
A notable development in the close collaboration with the DKFZ came with the establishment of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre in 2004 providing interdisciplinary treatment for cancer patients.
Unique in Europe is the Heidelberg Ion-Radiation Therapy Centre (HIT) on the Neuenheimer Feld campus. Some 10,000 patients with previously incurable tumours will be treated here every year. The new building for the University Medical Hospital (German) provides ultra-modern therapy and research opportunities and novel perspectives for clinical research. New buildings are to follow in the years to come like the Women's Hospital and the Angelika Lautenschläger Children's Hospital, made possible by a generous donation from the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation to the tune of 13.8 million euros. Lautenschläger sponsors numerous medical projects in Heidelberg, among them the Diabetes Centre, to which he has contributed 4.1 million euros.

Instruction in orthodontics. Work in small groups is characteristic of the teaching approach. Alongside degrees in medicine and dentistry, students can also qualify in medical informatics, pharmacy, and health systems in developing countries

Alongside its special interest in cancer treatment, the Faculty concentrates its research endeavours on cardiovascular medicine, infectious diseases, neuroscience and psycho-social medicine, medical genetics and genomics, transplant medicine and pioneering systems of imaging and image processing in the treatment of dental, maxillary and facial disorders. The overall aim is to create research and medical care centres operating at an interdisciplinary level.