[FG] Gärtner Jan

Research Focus

Palliative Care

Area of Research

We focus on patient-relevant clinical gaps in the evidence base for medication-based symptom control. The members of our research group are distinguished by their demonstrated expertise in evidence-based medicine methodologies (including meta-analyses), the development of study protocols for randomized controlled trials, and the acquisition of competitive third-party funding—an achievement that remains exceptional within palliative care compared to other disciplines.

Contrary to the textbook knowledge and traditional assumptions within palliative care, we believe that dyspnoea in advanced disease is very much an individual issue and, as we recently showed in advanced heart failure, symptomatic therapies require tailoring rather than a “one size (morphine) fits all” solution. In collaboration with the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), we are performing an fMRI study (mBREACH; PI: Lisa Hentsch, HUG) to discover the cerebral and neural mechanisms behind this.

Approved Research Projects

1. Digital voice analysis as a measure of frailty and distress: A feasibility study (DIVAN). ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05783401
2. NoDoubt trial: Efficacy of non-opioid drugs in addition to opioid therapy for cancer pain management: a double-blind, randomized, three arm, placebo-controlled trial assessing the key non-opioids dipyrone (metamizole) and ibuprofen. Approved IICT-Call 2024

Collaborations

National Collaborations

• Prof. Ralf J. Jox, MD, PhD, Prof. Claudia Gamondi, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne
• Prof. Christoph R. Meier, University Hospital Basel
• Prof. Simone Hemm, Prof. Erik Schkommodau, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Muttenz
• Prof. Sophie Pautex, Geneva University Hospitals, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics
• Prof. Sacha Rothschild, Center for Oncology/Hematology and Cancer Center, Cantonal Hospital Baden
• PD Tanja Fusi-Schmidhauser, Palliative and Supportive Care, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona

International Collaborations

• Prof. Jenny van der Steen, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
• Panagiotis Pentaris, MD, Goldsmiths University of London, England
• Prof. Martin Neukirchen, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Interdisciplinary Centre for Palliative Care, Germany
• PD Carmen Roch, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Würzburg, Germany
• Prof. Augusto Caraceni, Director Palliative Care, Pain Therapy, Rehabilitation Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Italy
• Prof. Eduardo Brurera, Department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA