University Medicine for Upper Austrians

In tune with the times, research serves as a foundation to support medical advances.

The JKU MEDCampus: photo credit: Martin Steinkellner
The JKU MEDCampus: photo credit: Martin Steinkellner

University medicine means being able to treat patients by applying advanced state-of-the-art surgical and medical examination techniques and providing effective treatment. Established in 2015 following the inception of the Faculty of Medicine at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, the Kepler University Hospital today provides both primary and standard care (which is available to patients at hospitals throughout Upper Austria). With over 50 medical specialties and a wide range of competence centers, the teaching hospital provides high-quality healthcare.

Research-Based Medicine
Physicians at the Kepler University Hospital not only actively provide patient care, they also apply hands-on, future-oriented approaches to teach and conduct research at the JKU’s Faculty of Medicine, thereby educating Upper Austria’s next generation of physicians.
The JKU Faculty of Medicine offers innovative research funding programs as well as financed research sabbaticals, thereby enabling physicians interested in research to pursue a professional academic career path that includes clinical-scientific research. Along with their teams, professors conduct interdisciplinary research in a coordinated manner in an effort to apply the most recent medical findings directly to patients during everyday clinical practice. Medical professionals working at the teaching hospital are challenged by complex cases and clinical conditions that require broad, in-depth scientific expertise.

Elgin Drda, Vice-Rector for Medicine, and Dean of the JKU Faculty of Medicine, explains: "Our challenge is to develop university medicine in Upper Austria in a way that benefits our patients’ health and well-being. Medical research is the key to ensuring we can apply the most recent medical findings to treat everyone in our region."