Initially trained as a nurse, Manuela Eicher is the director of the Institute of Higher Education and Research in Health Care at University of Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes an appointment as research consultant in the Department of Oncology at University Hospital Lausanne. Her research and teaching focuses on supportive care in cancer including the monitoring and self-management of symptoms, self-management support and the development and implementation of new models of care including specialized nursing and advanced practice nursing. Over the last years, she contributed to teaching and practice standards for cancer nurses at an international level as well as to establishing academic-practice-partnerships in Switzerland.