Pursuing excellence since 1971
The purpose of the foundation is to promote health care through grants to medical centres, hospitals, and other institutions within the health care system, as well as to individuals in need of medical treatment.
THE FOUNDATION
For 53 years, the Helmut Horten Foundation has promoted health care in Switzerland.
The foundation supports medical research, medical treatment, and nursing care. In the field of fundamental medical research, the organisation also promotes the academic work of students at Swiss universities. The institution was founded in 1971 by Helmut Horten. Since his death. His wife, Countess Heidi Goëss-Horten, accompanied the business of the Foundation until her death and made considerable donations in favour of the Foundation.
The Founder
Founder and Donor
Helmut Horten was among the exceptional entrepreneurial personalities who brought economic prosperity to the Federal Rupublic of Germany in the post-war period. Always searching for projects that gave meaning and purpose to his life, Helmut Horten devoted himself to biological and medical challenges and the protection of human health.
Projects
The Helmut Horten Foundation supports scholarly research in the field of fundamental medical research conducted by young talents at Swiss universities.
In addition, the following three institutions are the focus of long-term funding.
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB)
Since 2000, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine has investigated the fundamental mechanisms of immune defences against bacteria, viruses, tumours, and neurodegenerative diseases. The IRB thus makes a significant contribuiton to biomedical research. In 2016, the organisation achieved a methodological breakthrough that led to the development of the first effective Ebola vaccine. Read more.
Read moreThe Cornerstones of the ETH Zurich
Freedom, self-responsibility, entrepreneurial spirit, and worldliness: these Swiss values are the cornerstones of the ETH Zurich. Since 1855, the university for technology and science has been among the most promising educational institutions in Switzerland. The commitment of the Helmut Horten Foundation to the Institute for Biomedical Research and the ETH Human Immunology Professorship is pioneering in character. In 2016, the project "Immunology Hub ETH-Zürich-IRB" was implemented with the aim of improving our understanding of the fundamentals, functions, and dysregulation of the human immune system. Read more.
Read moreVisionary Research for Tomorrow’s Healthcare
The Helmut Horten Foundation enables the establishment of a new research center with an initial focus on precision medicine in Zurich. The LOOP Zurich combines the strength in basic research in biomedicine and bioinformatics of the two universities in Zurich, ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, with clinical research from the city’s four university hospitals. The center's aim is to use translational research to rapidly develop new treatment methods for the benefit of patients.
Read moreExcellence
am irb in bellinzona
A dynamic doctoral programme that allows students to work on their dissertations as part of one of the international IRB research groups. So far, more than 100 students have successfully graduated and now hold prominent positions in world-leading institutions.
Who we are
The Helmut Horten Foundation can reflect with pride on its 53 years of providing extensive support for medical advancement.
Buoyed by encouraging results from medical research, the Board of Trustees is committed to continuing their work over the coming decades with the same passion for reserach, patient well-being, and medical care that has distinguished the Foundation thus far.
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