Senior Consultant Surgeon, Chief of Pancreatic Surgery

Clarunis University Center for Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease

Basel, Switzerland

I started in the Price Institute as young resident with two years of clinical experience. Ten years after finishing my fellowship, I am a Senior consultant surgeon in a University-setting being able to perform a wide range of oncologic and gastrointestinal surgeries as well as leading a research group. As a Senior consultant, I am also involved in teaching activities and national as well as international committees. Without the fellowship at the Price institute, my personal path would have certainly been different.

After the first two years of residency with some clinical insight, it is an ideal timepoint to do a translational research fellowship. The benefit of the Price Institute is that the fellow has major input in the research projects and research planning. While this is somewhat more difficult and challenging than doing research in a large lab with predefined projects, the fellow must learn to develop his own project and set up a successful project. The support in the Price Institute is not limited to the Department of Surgery but extends due to the connections with other Departments such as the Department of Physiology and other long-term collaborators to top notch researchers in various fields. If these opportunities are used properly, clinically relevant, and outstanding research is possible.

The experience to have developed an own project from scratch is of extreme value for the fellow`s future research in a new setting. It allows to be successful in many different settings, independent of the research support at that location.

The other, probably even more important part of the fellowship is the insight in the surgical world. The national and international connections of Dr. Galandiuk and Dr. Polk as well as the whole Department of Surgery in Louisville allows to connect with many different surgeons all over the world. In fact, without these connections, I would likely never have gone to the University of Heidelberg and my career would have taken a completely different course. The fellow also learns to “manage” a lab with technicians and students. This development is supported by the leadership of Dr. Galandiuk, Dr. Polk and all the other senior members of the Price institute.

I can highly recommend the Price fellowship because it includes the whole package of training – not only as a researcher but also as surgeon.