University of Zurich’s first gender medicine professor sparks interest

Advocates of gender-based medical research say it brings concrete benefits. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The new academic position, created a year ago, faced some hurdles in its first 12 months – but overall, the university is satisfied.

For the past year, cardiologist Carolin Lerchenmüller has been the professor of gender medicine at the University of Zurich – the first position of its kind in Switzerland. Her aim: medical research that takes biological and social gender differences seriously.

As with any new initiative, the start brought its share of challenges. One of the first was to decide where to place the initial focus of her research, SRF public broadcaster reports.

Administrative issues and the implementation of new computer systems also brought difficulties. And although the university has fully backed the new professorship, criticism came from some members of the public.

This criticism often stemmed from confusion with debates around gender-inclusive language. “Once you explain the actual content [of the research], there is very little resistance,” says Lerchenmüller. In the end, she explains, gender medicine is a step towards personalised medicine – with benefits for men and women.

The university of Zurich meanwhile stresses the importance of the subject: recognising that biological and sociocultural aspects of gender significantly affect health, disease progression, and treatment outcomes.

Heart attacks and hidden symptoms

Take heart attacks, for example. While men typically experience chest pain, women often report less specific symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, or back pain.

As a result, women may not recognise an imminent heart attack – and medical staff may not respond with the correct treatment quickly enough, sometimes with fatal consequences, Lerchenmüller explains.

Funding for the new chair has been secured for the time being with the help of donations and foundations. The University of Zurich is also contributing financially. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Mental health is another area where gender plays a role – this time to the disadvantage of men. Depression, for instance, is usually diagnosed based on symptoms more commonly shown by women: social withdrawal and low energy levels. Men, however, are more likely to show signs of aggression or substance misuse – behaviours that are often overlooked.

Research still skewed towards male participants

Another issue is that much medical research is still based primarily on male test subjects. This can lead to incorrect medication dosages being prescribed to women. For instance, some antihypertensive drugs are known to require only half the standard dose in women. Yet if women are given the full dose, side effects can occur more frequently.

To help address this, Lerchenmüller and her team have produced more than 20 fact sheets for lecturers. Like her, many of them had never been exposed to such research during their own medical studies. The goal is to make students aware of gender differences as early and as comprehensively as possible.

Overall, student interest is strong, with increasing demand for more content on gender-specific medicine. For Lerchenmüller, this is an encouraging sign – but just the beginning.

“We are never finished. Every answer raises five new questions,” she says. As such, she remains committed to advancing both the professorship as well as the teaching of gender medicine.

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Translated from German using DeepL/amva