The highly distinguished specialist for pulmonary illnesses and an expert on the Coronavirus has been serving as head of the department of the same name at the Kepler University Hospital. The Kepler University Hospital has been a teaching hospital since 2013. This is the 17^th professorial chair and the 12th clinical chair in the JKU Faculty of Medicine’s young history.  

A great deal has happened since the JKU's Faculty of Medicine was established in September 2014.

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas remarked: "Our Faculty of Medicine is eight years young. It was almost six months ago to the day that our medical school found a new home at the JKU MED Campus. We have created 17 professorial chair positions, awarded 13 habilitation/post-doc certificates, and have published 446 publications. This fall, 310 newly accepted students will join the 1,176 students currently studying medicine."

So much for a short recap; for a broader view of the future, the new event center, the JKU medLOFT, has now opened its doors.  Elgin Drda, Vice-Rector for Medicine at the JKU explained: "The JKU medLOFT is meant to be a place to come together, meet up, take a minute during a busy day, and share information. We would like to create a space to talk about and discuss innovative ideas and solutions for the future."

The JKU medLOFT opened its doors in February 2022. Located on the 9th floor of the Faculty of Medicine’s administration building, the medLOFT provides space to drive innovation, communicate with others, and talk about the latest findings in medicine and science.

Rector Meinhard Lukas added: "The JKU medLOFT reflects just what the JKU stands for: Discourse, an interdisciplinary focus, transformation, always emphatically looking beyond the surface, no restrictions in regard to intellectual thought, continually and critically questioning oneself, as well as both generating and communicating scientific and academic findings. I strongly believe that these 'dated' academic qualities could serve as the key to meeting future challenges. This center here will provide just that space." 

Franz Harnoncourt, managing director of Kepler Universitätsklinikums Ltd. explains: "When standing in the JKU medLOFT at the Faculty of Medicine, you can clearly see the close proximity of the Kepler University Hospital to the Faculty of Medicine and how they have grown together over the past year. Teaching, research, and patient care go hand-in-hand at both organizations’ medical training centers. Physicians of tomorrow enjoy a research-led, hands-on medical degree program and patients benefit from high-quality university medical care. Researchers can take advantage of a state-of-the-art infrastructure that is directly linked to the Kepler University Hospital. The JKU Faculty of Medicine was established close to 8 years ago and since then, it has strongly driven university development at the Kepler University Hospital. Our collaboration with the JKU combined with the MED Campus’ infrastructure are an indispensable milestone when it comes to the ongoing advancements for both the Kepler University Hospital and its employees, and ultimately becoming a fully-fledged university hospital."

The JKU Faculty of Medicine is continually evolving. At the moment, the appointment procedures for open professorial chair positions in neurology, virtual morphology, medical systems biology, pediatric hematology and oncology are ongoing.

The JKU Faculty of Medicine is expected to be at full capacity by 2028, accepting 330 new medical students each fall and accommodating a total of 1,980 students over six academic years. Prof. Lamprecht holds the Chair for Internal Medicine with a focus on Pneumology, the 12th clinical chair at the Johannes Kepler University Linz’ Faculty of Medicine.

Prof. Bernd Lamprecht Professorial Chair: Healthcare-Related Research and New Educational Formats
Prof. Bernd Lamprecht was active in the area of infectiology even before the Coronavirus pandemic (i.e. tuberculosis, influenza, pneumococci). Since the pandemic, the demand for an expert in infectious diseases as well as for correlating research and patient care has increased dramatically. In scientific and academic terms, never before has the scientific community come together so quickly to collaborate, especially on an international level, to advance science and acquire a new understanding of the new health threat.

Prof. Lamprecht intends to conduct ongoing and planned research studies at the JKU that focus on improved lung cancer treatment options, diagnosing and treating respiratory infections, and better coordinating the treatment of chronic respiratory illnesses in clinical and outpatient settings.

In the area of medical education, Prof. Lamprecht aims to hold classes on-site, something he believes is indispensable when it comes to medical education, but he also wants to create new educational formats independent of time and location constraints. He added: "The JKU Faculty of Medicine provides ideal conditions to support both hands-on and innovative teaching practices."

‘Faces of the Pandemic’ at the JKU medLOFT
The new JKU medLOFT also has space for art and culture. Nurse and photographer Günter Valda’s photo series titled "Faces of the Pandemic" captures selfies by health care workers at the frontlines of patient care during the pandemic. These portraits are a contemporary witness during a time when the healthcare system that was at the brink of capacity but did not give up; a system that protected itself in order to protect others.

In cooperation with Günter Valda and leading up to the publication of his book by Kettler Publishing, over the coming weeks and months the JKU's Circus of Knowledge will present these moving images in various locations. At today's press conference, the JKU will show a sample from the collection of over 80 images.

Airan Berg, the director of the Circus of Knowledge, stated: "When I first read about Günter Valda and the Faces of the Pandemic exhibition, I saw images of extremely brave people looking straight into my eyes and I was deeply moved. As one of the first projects at the Circus of Knowledge, I would really like to bring these photographs to Linz. Our new space at the JKU is on a mission to bring art and science together, making the invisible visible, and addressing highly pertinent issues through art to provide a powerful, emotionally engaging experience and ultimately to give a wider audience a more in-depth understanding."

ERector Meinhard Lukas added: "I am particularly pleased that Günter Valda has chosen the JKU medLOFT to display his impressive photo exhibition."

Well-Wishers on Prof. Lamprecht’s Appointment

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas commented: "Bernd Lamprecht is not only an outstanding physician and research scientist, he is also a formative force behind the Faculty of Medicine. As Deputy Dean of Studies, since 2019 he has been contributing significantly to the Faculty of Medicine’s development and success story, creating a solid educational foundation. He will now further strengthen the faculty as a professor. He is well-known throughout Austria as a Coronavirus expert, especially on account of his medical expertise and his ability to teach in a clear, factual manner. I would like to congratulate Prof. Lamprecht on his professorial appointment as chair of pneumology."

To mark appointing the 12^th professorial chair at the JKU’s Faculty of Medicine, Vice-Rector Elgin Drda stated: "I have known and valued Prof. Lamprecht for many years now. On both a professional level and on a personal level, I am happy that Bernd Lamprecht is the professorial chair of internal medicine with a focus on pneumology. It was an internationally, highly competitive process and he was the clear choice. He is an excellent clinician, a highly respected researcher, and a passionate educator. In addition to his professional expertise, Professor Lamprecht has the unique ability to address complex issues in a pointed, concise, and comprehensible manner. Our medical students will benefit greatly."

Franz Harnoncourt, managing director of Kepler Universitätsklinikums Ltd., added: "Prof. Dr. Bernd Lamprecht’s appointment as Chair of Internal Medicine with a focus on Pneumology means we have an expert on board who is highly recognized both in Austria and abroad, and one who also possesses a high level of scientific expertise, clinical experience, and - as we have experienced over the past few months - a high level of competence in speaking with experts as well as with lay people. Prof. Lamprecht is an excellent example of the fact that patient care, medical training, and teaching & research do not compete with each other, but rather they go hand-in-hand; and the results of these findings go straight into patient care at Kepler University Hospital. The Department of Pneumology demonstrated this most impressively during the last two years of the pandemic. On one hand, the department served as a central part patient care on a regional level and on the other hand, they were very active in conducting research into Covid-19, such as conducting clinical trials to test geneticist Josef Penninger’s APN01. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Lamprecht for his extraordinary commitment in managing the Covid pandemic."  

About Prof. Dr. 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 (at the Barmherzige Brüder Hospital in Salzburg as well as at the Landeskrankenhaus Salzburg), Bernd Lamprecht specialized in internal medicine and pneumology at the Department of Pneumology. He earned his habilitation/post-doc in 2012 in the special subject area of pneumology at the Paracelsus Medical Private University.
Fellowships and research stays have taken him to, among other places, Spain (International Center for Advanced Respiratory Medicine, Fundación Caubet-CIMERA, Bunyola) and to the USA (Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon).

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

Bernd Lamprecht unwinds and relaxes by exercising and spending time outdoors, especially hiking or skiing together with his family. If there is time, he also enjoys playing chess and reading (Karl Kraus, Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, particular). Bernd Lamprecht is married and the father of two.