The 6th Annual Meeting of the Cardiovascular Research Cluster (CVRC) Bern took place on Monday, January 19th, 2026. The combination of online and on-site presentations, together with the diversity of cardiovascular research performed in Bern made the meeting dynamic. Keeping our goals met, which are to raise visibility and awareness of cardiovascular research in Bern, and to enrich the training environment of junior researchers.
Once again, the meeting has been considered a success, with 130 registrations and 40 abstracts submitted from more than 13 different institutes from Bern and from two partner programs / universities (University of Lausanne and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany).
The online program consisted of three sessions chaired by local CVRC members, where six local guest speakers and researchers presented their latest results, followed by flash presentations by early career investigators. The on-site program initiated with a roundtable discussion on the topic “New imaging directions in CV medicine and research” followed by a poster session and a networking apéro. At the apéro, the Prize Jury Committee, chaired by Prof. Jan Kucera, awarded four research prizes. The prize for Best Flash Presentation in the Clinical Category went to Lena Bürgi (Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine), and in the Fundamental Category it went to Rahel Ottersberg (Department of Cardiac Surgery and Department for Biomedical Research). The Best Poster Prize was earned by Pooya Mohammadi Kazaj (Department of Cardiology) in the Clinical Category and by Bryce Evans (Department of Angiology) in the Fundamental Category. Congratulations to the winners!
PhD students who presented could obtain 0.5 ECTS for the CVRC Annual Meeting 2026. The scientific programme was accredited by the following societies: Swiss Society of Cardiology (SGK): 5 credits, Swiss Society of Cardiac Surgery (SGHC): 4 credits, Swiss Society of Angiology (SGA): 2 credits. Furthermore, it was also recognized as 0.5 days of continuing education for animal experimentation for researchers and study directors by the Cantonal Veterinary Authorities of Canton Bern.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the members of the organizing committee Dr. Maria Arnold, Dr. med. Sarah Bernhard, Ms. Daniela Castillo, Prof. Yvonne Döring, Prof. Sarah Longnus, Prof. Katja Odening, PD Dr. Marco Osterwalder and Prof. Dr. Emrush Rexhaj for their commitment to the CVRC Annual Meetings.
Finally, we would like to extend our profound gratitude all participants for their attendance, their ongoing dedication to cardiovascular research, and their commitment to continued fundamental-translational-clinical partnerships and collaborations. We are already looking forward to the next CVRC Annual Meeting in 2027.
