The Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) is delighted to welcome Prof. Dr. Michèle Wessa as the new holder of the W3 Hector Professorship for “Cancer Survivorship and Psychological Resilience”. Since October 1, she has headed the “Neuropsychology and Psychological Resilience Research” department at the CIMH and the “Cancer Survivorship and Psychological Resilience” department at the DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.
Michèle Wessa succeeds Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Herta Flor, who will continue her research in the “Learning and Plasticity in Mental Disorders” working group in the “Neuropsychology and Psychological Resilience Research” department as a senior professor.
The professorship for “Cancer Survivorship and Psychological Resilience” was newly established with a grant from the Hector Foundation II to the German Cancer Research Center. It is part of the DKFZ Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim and the Mannheim Medical Faculty (UMM) and is affiliated to the CIMH. Its main aim is to strengthen the mental health of cancer survivors and their families.
Neuropsychological mechanisms of resilience
Michèle Wessa is a recognized expert in resilience research. She investigates the neuropsychological mechanisms of resilience, for example the neuronal and psychological basis of the perceived controllability of stressful events and emotion regulation, as well as possible dysfunctions of these mechanisms in affective disorders and in people with cancer. One of the aims of the professorship is to improve the mental health and quality of life of cancer survivors and their families.
Michèle Wessa previously worked at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where she held a professorship in clinical psychology and neuropsychology and was a founding member of the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research. After working in Heidelberg and Mainz, she is now returning to the CIMH, where she began her academic career.