WELCOME!

We hereby cordially invite you to the 6th Jung Symposium "Excellence in Human Medicine 2026", on May 20, 2026 in the Ian K. Karan auditorium of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

How can artificial intelligence provide more precise support for surgical decisions in cancer cases? Which molecular mechanisms help us to better understand rare diseases and classify them diagnostically? And what does it mean for treatment when the nervous system “learns” pain? These pressing medical questions will be the focus of the 6th Jung Symposium “Excellence in Human Medicine 2026”, taking place on May 20 in Hamburg and available online via livestream. The event is organized by the Hamburg-based, independent Jung Foundation for Science and Research, which has been honouring top-level research with substantial awards since 1967. At this year’s symposium, Professor Rohini Kuner, Dr. Fiona R. Kolbinger and Professor Taroh Kinoshita will present pioneering findings that open new avenues in the treatment of serious diseases. Following their presentations, these leading researchers will be available to answer questions from the audience.

Come and join us in presence in the Ian K. Karan auditorium, Campus Lehre, N55, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf or watch the presentations from 16:00 via our livestream. You can find the link to the livestream below.

PROGRAMME MAY 20, 2026

15:00 Admission
16:00 Professor Dr Blanche Schwappach-Pignataro, Jung-Stiftung and University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf

Welcome and opening

16:05 Dr Fiona Kolbinger, Clinic for Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, TUD Dresden University of Technology

“Surgery 2.0: Artificial Intelligence-Based Personalized Decision-Making in Oncologic Surgery 

16:40 Professor Taroh Kinoshita, Center for Infectious Disease, Education and Research, Osaka University

“Invisible Link: Molecular Mechanisms of GPI Anchoring and Their Role in Rare Diseases”

17:20 Coffee Break
17:40 Professor Dr Rohini Kuner, Department of Pharmacology, Heidelberg Medical Faculty

“When the Nervous System Learns Pain: Neuroplasticity as a Therapeutic Approach for Improved Treatment Strategies"

LECTURERS 2026

Dr Fiona R. Kolbinger

Clinic for Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital at Dresden University of Technology

Professor Taroh Kinoshita

Center for Infectious Disease, Education and Research, Osaka University

Professor Dr Rohini Kuner

Department of Pharmacology, Heidelberg Medical Faculty

HOSTS 2026

Prof. Dr Blanche Schwappach-Pignataro

Member of the Board of Trustees and the Scientific Advisory Board

Jochen Spethmann

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Verena Strasoldo

Management