Berna Özdemir
MD, PhD, Lausanne University Hospital
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Dr Özdemir is working as a consultant in medical oncology at the Lausanne University Hospital. Her main interest is personalized oncology and immuno-oncology.
Berna Özdemir received her MD and her PhD degree in cancer biology from the University of Bern, Switzerland. She completed her postdoctoral training with Prof. Raghu Kalluri at Harvard University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research field was genetically engineered mouse models of pancreatic cancer and the contribution of cancer associated fibroblasts to cancer development and progression.
Currently she is working as a consultant in medical oncology at the Lausanne University Hospital. Her main interest is personalized oncology and immuno-oncology. She investigates sex differences in cancer development and outcome, with men having overall higher risk for various cancer types and a poorer outcome compared to women. Although the patient’s sex is one of the most important factors influencing disease risk and response to treatment, it is usually not taken into account in clinical decision making. Dr Özdemir advocates that sex as an independent modulator of disease risk, drug efficacy and toxicity merits consideration for personalization of patient care and cancer prevention efforts.
She is Board Member of the ESMO Gender Medicine Task Force and Director of Clinical Activities of the International Cancer Prevention Institute.”