ERN RARE-LIVER Clinical Exchange Programme: Reports from Aachen

“I had the opportunity to participate in an ERN RARE-LIVER exchange programme at the RWTH University Hospital in Aachen, where I became part of the team led by Prof. Koch and Prof. Strnad. I chose RWTH University Hospital in Aachen because, like my home institution, it is a transplant center with excellent scientific achievements, particularly its outstanding research on alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which is the topic of my PhD. Our center has already been collaborating with Aachen in this field, so another goal of my stay was to further strengthen this cooperation and meet the team face to face.

During the exchange, I joined my colleagues in the gastroenterology ICU, where I became part of the team and observed patient care. The most interesting case was that of a young patient with acute liver failure due to autoimmune hepatitis. She eventually underwent a liver transplant, and I was able to follow her postoperative recovery as well.

Thanks to Prof. Strnad’s team, I also had the opportunity to visit the clinic’s laboratories and learn about their latest clinical studies and research topics. In addition, I spent time in the endoscopy and ultrasound departments, where I received hands-on ultrasound training under the guidance of excellent and friendly colleagues.

I would like to express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to take part in the ERN RARE-LIVER Exchange programme, which was highly beneficial. I would also like to thank Prof. Strnad and his team for enabling me to participate in this placement at their clinic.”

Mikoláš Holinka, Clinic of Hepatogastroenterology, Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

To learn more about the ERN Clinical exchange programme, please visit the dedicated section on our website or contact the ERN RARE-LIVER office directly.