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 ...
