This year’s Vienna School of Medicine Gala took place on October 7, 2026, and marked its tenth anniversary. Friends and supporters of the Open Medical Institute (OMI) gathered at the historic lecture hall of the Josephinum Medical History Museum to explore the exhibition on display and to join the festivities. Dr. Wolfgang Aulitzky, CEO of the Open Medical Institute, and Dr. Christiane Druml, director of the Josephinum Museum, opened the event with a warm welcome to its 180 guests, followed by an enlightening speech on the architectural history of the Vienna School of Medicine by Dr. Markus Müller, Dean of the Medical University of Vienna.
The event continued with a symposium on rare diseases in children and a gala dinner at the festive Van Swieten Hall of the Medical University of Vienna. Dr. Susanne Greber-Platzer, observership mentor and Head of the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergology and Endocrinology at the Medical University of Vienna, opened the symposium with an overview of rare diseases in children and their treatments. Dr. Saskia Gruber, Head of the Division of Cystic Fibrosis, and Dr. Christoph Arnoldner, Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, followed with updates on cystic fibrosis and cochlea implants. Dr. Elisabeth Salzer of St. Anna Children’s Hospital closed the scientific program and offered insights into individual treatments for oncological diseases in children.
The evening, highlighting the Vienna School of Medicine, concluded with a presentation of the OMI’s achievements by Dr. Wolfgang Aulitzky and an award ceremony honoring OMI faculty member and mentor Dr. Georg Stary for his commitment and support of the OMI programs.
The net profit collected at the event benefits the OMI observership program at the Medical University of Vienna as well as research projects at the Josephinum Museum. We are grateful to all attendees for joining the event and thank all sponsors and donors, particularly the main sponsor Wienerberger, for their generous support!
