The distinguished pulmonary physician and coronavirus expert has served as head of the department of the same name at the Kepler University Hospital since 2013. The department which will now become a university department.

As Deputy Dean of Studies since 2019, Prof. Lamprecht has played an indispensable role in shaping the JKU’s Faculty of Medicine. Prof. Lamprecht remarked: "I expect the JKU’s Faculty of Medicine will continue to strengthen medical expertise in Upper Austria, which will not only contribute significantly to ensuring medical care, but will also be a strong boost to push science forward. I consider it a great opportunity and a unique privilege to be involved in creating and further expanding the Faculty of Medicine."

Prof. Lamprecht considers his work as a physician as his calling: "I believe the opportunity to help and support others going through stressful, difficult and extraordinary situations is very rewarding and fulfilling." As part of his area of expertise in respiratory and pulmonary illnesses, chronic issues plague many patients and while treatment may not involve a cure, many treatments can improve the patients’ quality of life to a great degree.

Healthcare-Related Research and New Educational Formats

Before the coronavirus pandemic, infectiology (i.e. tuberculosis, influenza, pneumococci) was already part of Prof. Lamprecht's everyday routine. However, since the pandemic, the need for expertise in infectiology and the related research and care has increased exponentially. In scientific terms, the current pandemic is fairly unparalleled and has proven to be extremely valuable in regards to an international collaborative effort as well as rapid advancements in terms of treatment and medical understanding.

Prof. Lamprecht’s ongoing and planned research efforts at the JKU will focus on improving treatment options for lung cancer, diagnosing and treating respiratory infections, and coordinating care for chronic respiratory diseases in clinical and office-based settings.

In the area education, Prof. Lamprecht aims to create and develop invaluable on-site classroom teaching formats and blend the advantages of in-person teaching with new, independent educational formats that are free of time and location constraints. Prof. Lamprecht added: "The JKU Faculty of Medicine offers ideal conditions to support educational on a practice-oriented and innovative level."

Christine Haberlander, deputy governor and State Health Minister, remarked, “I am happy with and for Prim. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Bernd Lamprecht, head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Kepler University Hospital. Bernd Lamprecht is an outstanding physician and renowned scientist and will be a great asset to the JKU’s Faculty of Medicine. His appointment gives future physicians an opportunity to learn and grow from one of this country’s finest and most distinguished pulmonary physicians. Dr. Lamprecht’s expertise during the coronavirus pandemic has been indispensable to us all. I wish him all the best and great success in the future."

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas remarked: "Bernd Lamprecht is not only an excellent physician and scientist, but also a formative figure at the Faculty of Medicine. He has been contributing significantly to the development and success story at our Faculty of Medicine since 2019 as Deputy Dean of Studies, and has been an invaluable faculty member in the area of education since the very start. He will now strengthen our faculty as a university professor. His medical expertise and his ability to teach in a clear, factual, and straightforward manner have made him well-known throughout Austria as a Coronavirus expert. I would like to congratulate Prof. Lamprecht on his appointment as clinical chair of pneumology."

Vice-Rector Elgin Drda is pleased about the JKU Faculty of Medicine’s 12^th professor appointment and added: "I have known and appreciated Prof. Lamprecht for many years now. I am all the more delighted – not just for me but for the faculty as well - that Bernd Lamprecht we be our professor for internal medicine with a focus on pneumology. The international process was highly competitive and he clearly prevailed. He is an accomplished clinician, a respected researcher, and a passionate educator. In addition to his professional expertise, Professor Lamprecht has a gift of being able to teach complex issues in a pointed, concise, and comprehensible way. Our medical students will benefit greatly from all these qualities."

Franz Harnoncourt, CEO of Kepler University Hospital, added: "Prim. Priv. Doz. Dr. Lamprecht’s appointment as a university professor and Chair of Internal Medicine with a focus on Pneumology means we have a renowned expert who is highly respected and recognized in Austria and abroad. He possesses a high level of scientific expertise, clinical experience and, as we experienced during the past few months, he is an outstanding educator, able to convey complex material to both experts and laypersons. The Kepler University Hospital and the Pulmonary Department are pleased with the appointment in lieu of the qualifications and qualities described above, but also in lieu of his overall character. In addition, the Department of Pneumology has impressively demonstrated that it is a key component of regional care as well as very active in the field of research, particularly during the last two years of the pandemic. I would like to wish Prof. Lamprecht and his entire pneumology team all the best and would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his extraordinary commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic."

About Prof. Bernd Lamprecht

Born in Innsbruck on July 24, 1976, Prof. Dr. Bernd Lamprecht studied medicine at the Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck, earning his doctorate in 2002. After training as a general practitioner (Barmherzige Brüder Hospital in Salzburg as well as at the Landeskrankenhaus Salzburg), Lamprecht trained as a specialist in internal medicine and pneumology at the Department of Pneumology. He completed his habilitation at Paracelsus Medical Private University in 2012 in the area of pneumology.

Fellowships and research stays have taken him to Spain (International Center for Advanced Respiratory Medicine, Fundación Caubet-CIMERA, Bunyola) and to the USA (Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon), among other places.

Prof. Lamprecht has been head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Kepler University Hospital in Linz since 2013.

Bernd Lamprecht enjoys exercise and outdoor sports, preferably hiking and skiing together with his family. If there is time, he also enjoys chess and reading (particularly Karl Kraus, Thomas Mann, and Robert Musil). Bernd Lamprecht is married and has two sons.