The Rheumasearch Foundation
Rheumasearch is a Swiss non-profit foundation. It was established in 2007 by Professor Cem Gabay of the University of Geneva. Its mission is to support research in rheumatology, including clinical research, basic research, and education.
In 2018, Rheumasearch merged with the Institute for Rheumatology Research (IRR), strengthening its commitment to the medical field.
Our Work
The Foundation supports various high-impact projects in the field of rheumatic diseases, including:
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innovative research projects;
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the publication of articles in recognised scientific journals;
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the promotion of training and education in rheumatology.
Foundation Council
Dr. Kim Lauper
Président
Kim Lauper completed her medical studies at the University of Geneva, then specialized in general internal medicine and rheumatology. She is an Associate Physician in the rheumatology department at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and a Privat-Docent at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva. She holds a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
Her research activities focus mainly on inflammatory rheumatic diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis, microcrystalline arthritis, and vaccination in immunosuppressed patients. She leads several observational and pharmacoepidemiology research projects, drawing on Swiss and international registries. She also coordinates an international collaboration of rheumatoid arthritis registries.
She is actively involved in medical training, university teaching, and quality-of-care development initiatives. From 2017 to 2019, she chaired the EMEUNET (Emerging EULAR Network – young rheumatologists and researchers in rheumatology) committee of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), was a member of the EULAR Council, and is currently a member of the EULAR Quality of Care Committee. She is also a member of the Swiss Society of Rheumatology (SSR) and an Associate Editor of EULAR Rheumatology Open, EULAR’s open-access scientific journal.
Robert-Pascal Fontanet
Secretary
Born in Geneva in 1951. Classical baccalaureate (Latin–Greek), Collège de Genève, 1969; law degree, University of Geneva, 1973; notary diploma, 1978; postgraduate diploma in law, 1983.
Honorary notary since 16 May 2019.
Married, 6 children, 9 grandchildren.
Former President of the Geneva Chamber of Notaries, the Geneva Real Estate Chamber, the Swiss Central Register of Wills, the Swiss notaries’ network swisNot, the Cross-border Notarial Committee, and the ANME – Association of Notaries of European Metropolitan Areas. Former Central President of the Swiss student society Helvetia. Colonel General Staff (1997), commander of Artillery Regiment 10.
Doctoral candidate; Swiss correspondent for the Notarial Research and Documentation Centres (CRIDON) of Lyon and Paris.
Daniel Avigdor
Treasurer
Pr. Gaby Palmer
Member
Associate Professor
University of Genevae
Gaby Palmer earned a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva in 1999 for her work on the mechanisms of bone formation. She then completed her postdoctoral training in the Rheumatology Department of the Geneva University Hospitals, where she specialized in inflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
She became a privat-docent at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva in 2008, was appointed Lecturer and Researcher in 2011, and Associate Professor in 2021. She currently leads a research group studying the role of cytokines in chronic inflammatory diseases.
She is a member of the Geneva Inflammation Research Center and also serves on the LS6 evaluation panel “Immunity, Infection, and Immunotherapy” of the European Research Council.
Robert Equey
Member
Robert Equey studied economics and law, earning both his degree and his bar qualification, and was admitted to the Geneva Bar. In this capacity, he has practised within firms in Geneva, Germany, and England. He works in various areas of business law and is familiar with the banking sector, having been active in trading, private wealth management, and legal, commercial, and tax affairs. He is engaged, in Switzerland and abroad, in the fields of education, training, and research.
He has been active in the Swiss-Israel Chamber of Commerce (former President), ORT Switzerland (former President) and ORT France. He is a member of the Boards of the Weizmann Institute, Ben-Gurion University (Israel), and other institutions and associations in Switzerland and abroad.
He speaks French, English, German, Italian, and Romanian.
Pr. Nicolas Fasel
Member
Nicolas Fasel was a full professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine (FBM) of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and has been an honorary professor at UNIL since 1 August 2021. After studying biology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and earning a doctorate at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), he completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA. Upon returning to Switzerland, he investigated post-translational modifications of T-cell surface antigens. As an independent researcher supported by the Dr. Max Cloëtta Research Foundation, he shifted his focus to infectious diseases and established his own group dedicated to studying host–pathogen interactions and the impact of viral co-infections.
From 2003 to 2016, he headed the Department of Biochemistry, and from August 2015 to August 2021 he served as Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation at the FBM. He is currently President of the Emma Muschamp Foundation and of the Biochemistry Research Foundation. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Société académique vaudoise and sits on the board of the Asile des Aveugles Foundation. In 1991, he filed UNIL’s first patent and created one of the university’s first spin-off companies. Over the years, he has contributed to the creation of two additional companies and filed several patents. He has also served on numerous national and international scientific committees and advisory boards.
Scientific Council
The Scientific Council is currently composed of two recognized scientists. Depending on the project, the Council may call upon additional specialists from Swiss or international universities.
Pr. Francis Berenbaum
Paris
Francis Berenbaum is a professor and Head of the Department of Rheumatology at Saint-Antoine University Hospital in Paris. He is President of the Board of the International Osteoarthritis Research Society (OARSI) and the French coordinator for research on bone and joint diseases. His team’s research at CNRS/Université Paris VI focuses on cartilage biology and inflammation in osteoarthritis.
Pr. Pierre Miossec
Lyon
Pierre Miossec is a professor of Clinical Immunology at the University of Lyon and a physician at Edouard-Herriot Hospital. He leads the research unit on immunogenomics and inflammation. His work focuses on the mechanisms of inflammation and the identification of predictive markers for response to biological treatments.
Supervisory Authority
Cantonal Supervisory Authority for Foundations and Pension Institutions of the Canton of Geneva
Auditor
Fiduciaire Brandt, Geneva