Stephan Harbarth

Stephan Harbarth (born 1967) obtained his medical degree from the University of Munich in 1993. He completed postgraduate training in internal medicine and infectious diseases in both Munich and Geneva. After serving as a clinical research fellow in infectious diseases at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), he pursued postgraduate studies in epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, earning a Master of Science in Epidemiology in 1999 (funded by a Harvard University scholarship award). He continued his research activities at Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School until 2001.

In April 2007, he was appointed Attending Physician in the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Division at HUG and has also served as a consultant in the Infectious Diseases Service. He became Chief of the IPC Division and Director of the WHO Collaborating Center in 2022, and Chairman of the Clinical Section of the Faculty of Medicine in 2025.

Professor Harbarth was appointed Associate Professor in 2010 and promoted to Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in 2018. His research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, as well as on antibiotic stewardship. A renowned expert in this field, he serves on numerous national and international expert committees. His work has received multiple awards, including the prestigious Robert Koch Award for hospital hygiene and infection prevention in 2022. Since 2022, he is also member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Clinical Research Alliance on Infectious Diseases (ECRAID) and the Senate of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMW).

His research group is currently conducting several clinical and epidemiological studies aimed at addressing key issues related to the control of acquisition, transmission, and infection by multidrug-resistant organisms, as well as the associated clinical and public health burden. In particular, his work on the impact and control of nosocomial transmission of MRSA and ESBL-producing organisms has significantly improved strategies to combat these pathogens. His additional research interests include the molecular epidemiology of emerging bacteria, pharmaco-epidemiology and antibiotic optimization, and the rapid diagnosis of severe infections.  He is involved in several large-scale studies and research networks (REVERSE, ECRAID, COMBACTE, RESERVOIR, INTRODUCE) and led as academic PI the major European project “Drive AB,” which coordinated over 20 public and private partner institutions across 12 European countries to address this public health threat.