Organization

Introduction to the Foundation Council, the Scientific Advisory Committee, and the General Administration

The Foundation is a private law entity and as such it falls under the authority of the Geneva ASFIP, the cantonal monitoring agency for foundations and benefits institutions

The Private Foundation of the Geneva University Hospitals (hereafter, “the Foundation”) is a foundation based on private law and regulated by statutes and by articles 80 et seq of the Swiss Civil Code.

It is made up of 4 groups:

  •  the Foundation Council
  •  the Scientific Advisory Committee
  •  the General Administration
  •  the Review Board

the foundation council

The Foundation Council is the highest body of the Foundation. It ensures that the foundation’s objectives are achieved. It has the broadest powers for managing the Foundation’s assets. 

Its mandate includes:

  • Enacting the general principles and dictates necessary for the Foundation’s activities
  • Setting the rules for how the Foundation is represented
  • Making strategic decisions, especially those pertaining to fundraising and communications
  • Researching all sources of funding that could support the goals of the Foundation
  • Ensuring a balanced distribution between the different goals of the Foundation
  • Deciding the allocation of donations and the method and duration of project funding, while adhering to donors’ wishes
  • Defining priority themes for calls for proposals, selection procedures, and evaluation criteria
  • Appointing members of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the General Administration
  • Adopting annual budgets, balance sheets, accounts, and activity reports

The Foundation Council meets four times per year, in March, June, September, and December.

Its members :

 

 

Prof. Jean-Dominique VASSALLI
President

Rector Emeritus of the University of Geneva (2007-2015); MD, University of Geneva and PhD, Rockefeller University.  Professor Vassalli focused on developmental genetics over the course of his academic career. He was appointed by UNIGE and is a full member of the Foundation, as well as its president since 2014

Mr Bertrand LEVRAT
Vice President
General Director, HUG

Mr. Levrat, a lawyer by training, has been the General Director of the Geneva University Hospitals since 2013. He is very involved in social and humanitarian aid and has run Geneva’s General Hospice and worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross. He is a full member of the Foundation and has been its vice president since 2014.

Ms Sandra MERKLI
Treasurer
Healthcare Director, HUG

Ms. Merkli holds an advanced degree in Healthcare Facilities Management and has been in charge of care at the HUG for more than 15 years.  In September 2017, she was named the Healthcare Director at the HUG and became a full member of the Foundation.

Prof. Henri BOUNAMEAUX
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine

A specialist in angiology and hemostasis, Professor Bounameaux has been the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva since 2011. He sits on the Executive Committee of the HUG as the Director of Teaching and Research. He has been a member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences since 2015. He is a full member of the Foundation.

 

Prof. Arnaud PERRIER
Chief Medical Officer, HUG

Professor Perrier has been the Chief Medical Officer at the Geneva University Hospitals since 2015. For many years, he directed the General Internal Medicine Division and actively participated in developing and implementing the new curriculum of undergraduate medical studies in the UNIGE’s Faculty of Medicine. He has been a full member of the Foundation since 2015.

Ms Emmanuèle ARGAND

An expert attorney in the judicial and legal matters of charitable foundations and associations, Emmanuèle Argand practices at the Kellerhals Carrard law firm in the areas of financial and estate planning as well as trusts and foundations. She has been a member of the Foundation since 2014 and represents civil society in this capacity.

 

Dr Michèle OLLIER, MD PhD

Holding degrees in both medicine and science, Dr. Michèle Ollier has expertise in innovation and the transfer of technologies in the fields of medical and pharmaceutical sciences. She has been a member of the Foundation since 2016 and represents civil society in this capacity.

Mr Pierre PONCET

A former Bordier & Cie associate, the economist and banker Pierre Poncet has used his experience to serve Geneva by working for the Geneva Chamber of Commerce for years.

 

advisory committees

Scientific Advisory Committee for Fundamental, Translational, and Clinical Research Projects

 

Upon nomination by the HUG and in agreement with the Faculty of Medicine, the Foundation Council appoints members to the Scientific Advisory Committee.  The presidency of the committee is fully conferred upon the representative of the deanship in charge of research at the Faculty of Medicine.

The Scientific Advisory Committee may be convened by the Foundation Council at any time and provides it with expert advice.  The Committee proposes the method and duration of funding for projects, as well as project objectives to be achieved. Its evaluation is based on the procedures and criteria established by the Foundation Council. The Committee may rely on outside experts, whether Swiss or foreign, as needed.

  • Prof. Jérôme PUGIN, HUG| President of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee, Head of the Intensive Care Department. UNIGE|  Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Vice-dean of Clinical Research, Head of the HUG-FACMED Clinical Research Center.
  • Prof. Margitta SEECK, UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences. HUG| Deputy Head Physician and Clinical Professor, Leader of the Epilepsy Unit.
  • Prof. Karl-Heinz KRAUSE, HUG| Division Head of the Genetic and Laboratory Medicine Department. UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Immunology.
  • Prof. Thomas LECOMPTE, HUG| Department of Medical Specialties. UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva.
  • Prof. Klara POSFAY BARBE, HUG| Deputy Head Physician and Clinical Professor in the General Pediatrics Division, Director of the Clinical Pediatric Research Platform. UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine.
  • Prof. Carole BOURQUIN, UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Intensive Care.
  • Prof. Jules DESMEULES, HUG| Head of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Division. UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine.
  • Dr. Nicolas MACH, HUG | Leader of the Clinical Research Unit, Dr. Henri Dubois-Ferrière Dinu Lipatti Foundation, Oncology Department.
  • Prof. Dominique SOLDATI-FAVRE, UNIGE| Professor in the Faculty of Medicine. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine.
  • Prof. Walther REITH, UNIGE| Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine.
  • Prof. Bernard WAEBER, Professor in the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at the University of Lausanne.
  • Prof. Christoph MEIER, Chief Medical Officer at the Basel University Hospitals.

 

Scientific Advisory Committee for Research Projects about Patients and Processes

  • Prof. Laurent KAISER, HUG| Deputy Medical Director, Committee President.
  • Prof. Pierre CHOPPARD, HUG| Care Quality Division of the Medical and Quality Directorate.
  • Prof. Jérôme PUGIN, HUG| Manager of the HUG-FACMED Clinical Research Center.
  • Prof. Didier PITTET, HUG| Head of the Infection Prevention and Control Division of the Medical and Quality Directorate.
  • Prof. Idris GUESSOUS, HUG| Deputy Head Physician, Clinical Professor, and Unit Leader, Primary Care Division