Team

PD Dr. med. Christine Thurnheer is an Infectious Disease specialist and senior consultant at Bern University Hospital, where she incorporates a multidisciplinary approach to the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis into her daily practice. Being part of the Swiss Sepsis Program allows her to work on a healthcare issue that is particularly close to her heart, driving her commitment to improving outcomes for sepsis patients.
Dr. Thurnheer leads Work Package 2 (WP 2), which focuses on raising sepsis awareness through public campaigns and building sepsis champions and ambassadors. In this role, she will work closely with a communication specialist to enhance both public and professional recognition of sepsis across Switzerland.
Additionally, she co-leads Work Package 3 (WP 3), which is dedicated to the education of healthcare workers. By developing and implementing targeted training programs, she aims to ensure early detection and better management of sepsis, further contributing to improved patient outcomes.

Prof. Dr. Peter Stücheli-Herlach is a professor of organizational communication and the public sphere at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and co-founder of the Digital Discourse Lab at the same university. His research focuses on leadership, management and counseling communication, political communication, particularly in the areas of government, administration, energy, health and culture, as well as public storytelling and message design. He is developing a strategy for the Swiss Sepsis Program to raise public awareness of sepsis in Switzerland.

Andrina Sarott has many years of experience as a project manager in corporate communications and marketing. She also worked as an online editor for several years. She has been supporting the Swiss Sepsis Program as Content Producer and Community Manager since July 2025. She combines her expertise in media production with a strong strategic understanding of communication to convey complex content in an understandable and effective way.

PD Dr. med. Christine Thurnheer is an Infectious Disease specialist and senior consultant at Bern University Hospital, where she incorporates a multidisciplinary approach to the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis into her daily practice. Being part of the Swiss Sepsis Program allows her to work on a healthcare issue that is particularly close to her heart, driving her commitment to improving outcomes for sepsis patients.
Dr. Thurnheer leads Work Package 2 (WP 2), which focuses on raising sepsis awareness through public campaigns and building sepsis champions and ambassadors. In this role, she will work closely with a communication specialist to enhance both public and professional recognition of sepsis across Switzerland.
Additionally, she co-leads Work Package 3 (WP 3), which is dedicated to the education of healthcare workers. By developing and implementing targeted training programs, she aims to ensure early detection and better management of sepsis, further contributing to improved patient outcomes.

Isabelle Lüthi is an experienced project manager, lecturer, and consultant with a strong background in education and development cooperation. Since 2025, she has led contav kompetenzentwicklung gmbh as owner and managing director, specializing in vocational education and training. Previously, she managed innovative educational projects, taught and consulted in Nicaragua, advanced vocational training, and contributed to the environmental sector. Her career began in primary and secondary education before she became a lecturer in German as a foreign language. She holds a Master’s degree in Vocational Education and Training, a teaching diploma, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Education. She plays a key role in shaping educational initiatives and programs.

With a Master of Science in Nursing (Major in Research) from the Institute of Nursing Science at the University of Basel, Ursula specializes in implementation science, ensuring that education translates into real clinical impact. With over 20 years of nursing experience across adult, geriatric, and pediatric care – 18 of those at the Children’s Hospital in Bern, including 14 years in the pediatric emergency room as a Clinical Nurse Specialist – she brings deep expertise to the field. As a board member of the Swiss Emergency Nurses Association and Chair of the Quality Commission, as well as a board member of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Switzerland (PEMS), Ursula is committed to advancing emergency care. Passionate about bridging research and practice, Ursula works closely with clinical teams to develop and implement effective educational programs that drive meaningful change in sepsis awareness and treatment.

Dr. med. Marius Schlienger is a senior emergency physician at Bern University Hospital. In addition to treating sepsis patients on-shift in the ED, he is passionate about medical education and policymaking. As a representative on behalf of the Swiss Resident and Senior Physicians’ Association (VSAO/ASMAC) at the Swiss Medical Interfaculty Commission (SMIFK/CIMS), he has gained valuable insights into the development of the current joint curriculum of the Swiss medical schools. With an interest in bridging the transition between medical school and postgraduate training, he aims to facilitate the implementation of standardized, high quality sepsis training into the longitudinal learning journey through Working Package 3 (WP3).

PD Dr. med. Sylvain Meylan is an Infectious Diseases specialist and has led the sepsis quality of care program at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) since fall 2019. In addition to his leadership role at CHUV, Dr. Meylan is an attending physician and instructor in infectious diseases at Lausanne University Hospital and holds a Privat Docent title at the University of Lausanne. As part of the Swiss Sepsis Program, he serves as the medical lead for Work Package 4, focusing on the development and implementation of clinical pathways and care models. Trained in Lausanne, Stockholm, and Boston, Dr. Meylan also completed residency experiences in Basel and Brighton. He holds an MD-PhD in retrovirology and human genetics and completed a research fellowship on antibiotic tolerance in Boston. Dr. Meylan’s work focuses on enhancing rapid recognition and delivering guideline-based care for sepsis patients, with a strong emphasis on integrating advanced technologies like AI to improve clinical support and patient outcomes.

Mrs Sophie Le Guennec is a project and change management professional with 20 years of experience, specializing in innovative projects across healthcare, fiberglass, stainless steel, and the wine industry. Since March 2024, she has served as the project manager for Work Package 4 in the Swiss Sepsis Program, focusing on the development and implementation of clinical pathways and care models to improve sepsis care. She also brings her expertise to the CHUV Infectious Diseases Service in Lausanne.
With a degree in political science, a master’s in Innovation and Technology Management, and certifications in PMP® and Prosci®, she has successfully led large-scale projects and cross-functional teams across EMEA, North America, and Asia. Her leadership style emphasizes collaboration and open communication to achieve project success. Her broad experience gives her a well-rounded understanding of project management, allowing her to adapt to various challenges.
In her role with the Swiss Sepsis Program, she utilizes her expertise to drive the successful implementation of key initiatives aimed at improving sepsis care in Switzerland.

Dr. med. Sara Cereghetti is a specialist in internal medicine and intensive care, working as a senior attending physician in the intensive care unit at the Geneva University Hospitals. She leads a unit dedicated to patients who have spent more than seven days in intensive care and focuses on the prevention of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome. Since 2018, Dr. Cereghetti has headed the post-ICU consultation, conducting follow-ups at six and twelve months. She established a patient registry and concentrates her research on improving patient-centered outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the frailty score. Additionally, Dr. Cereghetti leads the department’s end-of-life care group and is highly involved in medical education at both the postgraduate and undergraduate levels. She is an active member of the postgraduate training committee of the Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine and co-leads a medical education reform project at the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Medicine. As a co-leader of the Swiss Sepsis Program’s workgroup on post-sepsis care, Dr. Cereghetti, alongside a dedicated team, is working to define national care standards aimed at enhancing the outcomes of sepsis survivors in Switzerland.

Dr. med. Hannah Wozniak is a Clinical Associate at the Geneva University Hospitals, where she divides her time between clinical work and research in the Intensive Care Unit. After completing her medical training in Switzerland (University of Geneva), she pursued a clinical and research fellowship at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, focusing on long-term patient outcomes and liver diseases. Her research emphasizes improving patient-centered outcomes and long-term recovery for critically ill patients, with a special interest in patients recovering from sepsis and those with liver diseases. As a leader of the Swiss Sepsis Program’s workgroup on post-sepsis care, Dr. Wozniak, together with a dedicated team, works to define national standards of care to enhance the outcomes of sepsis survivors in Switzerland.

Mirjeta Syla, is a registered nurse at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), with over six years of clinical experience in infectious diseases and hemato-oncology. She provides autonomous care for patients with hematologic cancers, a subset of patients at particularly high risk of developing sepsis. She manages complex clinical situations including chemotherapy side effects, emergency care, and palliative support. In her acute care practice, she has developed a solid experience in the early detection, management, treatment, and support of patients and their families regarding sepsis, contributing to improved outcomes for critically ill patients.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from La Source School of Nursing and completed a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Oncology and Palliative Care. Her professional focus lies in ethical, patient-centered care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the continuous improvement of clinical practices in both acute and chronic care settings. She is developing a particular interest in patient communication, working in close collaboration with patient representatives.

Dr. Giacomo Stroffolini graduated in Medicine from “La Sapienza” University in Rome (2016) and specialized in Infectious Diseases at the University of Turin. He holds a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) with distinction from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and completed the European Programme in Epidemiology (EEPE 2022). His work focuses on healthcare-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, notably within the REVERSE Horizon Europe project. He has served as a consultant in Infectious and Tropical Diseases across various Italian institutions and has field experience in the Central African Republic and Angola, working on tuberculosis and antibiotic use.During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stroffolini was deployed with the EMT2 Emergency Medical Team in New Delhi, India. He has since contributed to the Drive-AMS initiative, supporting antimicrobial stewardship in Rwanda and Central America. He is a member of the 2023–2025 ESCMID Antimicrobial Stewardship Certificate program, where his work on antibiotic use earned second place recognition. He also completed an observership at the ESCMID center in Verona under Prof. Tacconelli and Prof. Carrara, enhancing his expertise in infection prevention and stewardship. Dr. Stroffolini is actively involved in several professional societies, including ESCMID, ESGAP, BSAC, and FPCRI.

In February 2025, he joined CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) to take on new responsibilities within the institutional antibiotic stewardship program and the National Swiss Sepsis Program.

David Haerry has been writing about scientific research and medical conferences in layman’s terms for over thirty years. He is involved in projects for the education of health professionals and doctors and is Secretary General of the Swiss Academic Foundation on Education in Infectious Diseases (SAFE-ID). He is active throughout Europe as a consultant on patient-centered clinical research and medicine. He has been in contact with regulatory authorities throughout Europe for many years. He represents the patient perspective in the Cantonal Ethics Committee of Zurich and in the Swiss Personlized Health Network. He is co-author of numerous publications in the fields of infectious diseases, doctor-patient communication, research ethics and pharmacovigilance.

Prof. Dr. med. Luregn Schlapbach is a Professor of Pediatric Intensive Care at the University of Zurich, leads the Department of Intensive Care and Neonatology at University Children’s Hospital Zurich and is the Swiss Sepsis Program Initiator. He co-leads a research program focused on sepsis, infection, and inflammation in critically ill children and neonates. As key initiator of the Swiss Sepsis National Action Plan, he is involved in the leadership of the Swiss National Sepsis Program. Schlapbach maintains collaboration with The University of Queensland, Australia, where he contributed to the Statewide Sepsis Collaborative before moving to Switzerland in 2020. His research centers on life-threatening infections in children, aiming to improve patient outcomes through better understanding and clinical trials.

PD Dr. med. Nora Lüthi is a specialist in Intensive Care Medicine and General Internal Medicine with a postgraduate diploma in epidemiology from the the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is the Medical Program Manager for the Swiss Sepsis Program and oversees the implementation of the Swiss National Action Plan. Dr Lüthi has worked as a senior researcher at the ANZICS RC in Melbourne, Australia, and was one of the principal investigators and coordinators of the VITAMINS trial, a multi-centre study of the effects of vitamin C in patients with septic shock. Her research focuses on improving outcomes in critically ill patients through evidence-based interventions and clinical trials, and she is dedicated to advancing sepsis research and quality improvement in healthcare.

Mr. Manuel Schweighofer holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and joined the Swiss Sepsis Program as a Data Manager within Work Package 5. With a background in the Medtech industry and experience as a project and data manager at University Children’s Hospital Zurich, he brings valuable expertise in project and data management. His skills in handling complex datasets and supporting evidence-based decision-making are instrumental in advancing the program’s quality improvement initiatives. He is committed to leveraging data-driven insights to enhance sepsis care and improve patient outcomes across Switzerland.