2. februar 2018

Five new professors at the Department of Psychology

The Department of Psychology is happy to announce the appointment of five new full professors in psychology:

Thomas Habekost
Professor in Cognitive Neuropsychology / Professor i Kognitiv Neuropsykologi

Thomas Habekost is 44 years old and a professor in cognitive neuropsychology. His research focuses on visual and attentional processes using a range of experimental and technical methods (MRI, EEG, eye tracking). Many of his studies are theoretically based in the mathematical TVA model that was developed at the Department of Psychology. A major focus of Thomas Habekost’s research is to develop and apply the TVA model as a research tool for assessment of attentional deficits in neurological, neuropsychiatric and developmental disorders. His research on TVA based assessment also includes studies of the psychometric properties of the test, the influence of aging on test performance, and EEG correlates of the test parameters. He teaches cognitive and neuropsychology at all levels of the Psychology education with main focus on supervision of Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. Thomas Habekost is also Deputy Head of Department with primary responsibility for developing the department’s research activities.

Timothy Skinner
Professor in Health Psychology / Professor i Sundhedspsykologi

Timothy Skinner trained as a health psychologist in the UK (University of Westminster and University of Surrey) where his work initally focused on the social world of adolescents with type 1 diabetes.  His work in diabetes expanded to include adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and has focused on the development of programs to promote self-management and emotional well-being.  One of these programs is now delivered as part of routine care for people with diabetes in primary and secondary care centres across  the UK, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.  For the past 11 years, he worked in Australia and for the past 9 years this has been in rural and remote Australia, where his work has focused on Indigenous Australian health and sleep.  Currently, he is leading a trial of a diabetes programs running in 8 Indigenous communities in Western Australia. 

In 2016/17 he completed a 6 month visiting Professors fellowship with the Danish Diabetes Academy and the Steno Diabetes Centre, which led to his taking up the position here in the department.  His wife, Isabelle, a remote area nurse, midwife and public health practitioner will be joining him later this year, once their youngest of 4 sons finishes his schooling.  Outside of work, his interests include Argentine Tango, Zen, Archery, Clay Pigeon Shooting and following the adventures of their 4 sons.

Jesper Mogensen
Professor in Neuroscience / Professor i Neurovidenskab 

Jesper has been conducting research within a broad spectrum of neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen since he created the Unit for Cognitive Neuroscience (UCN) in 1980 – until 1998 at the Medical Faculty and then at the Department of Psychology. The research profile has been dominated by cognitive neuroscience – but also includes for instance neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology and neurochemistry. Much of the research has utilized animal models – but they also conduct human studies (clinical as well as on normal subjects).

Four of the major research areas are:

  1. The neurocognitive organization of the brain. Including the development of the REF (Reorganization of Elementary Functions) model and framework – a novel approach to the understanding of the functional organization of the brain.
  2. Neuroplasticity. Mainly in the context of problem solving, learning/memory, development and neuropathology.
  3. The functional analyses of the ‘association’ structures of the brain – including the hippocampus, the prefrontal system and the parietal association cortex. 
  4. Acquired brain injury (ABI) and functional recovery after ABI. Including:
    a) the neurocognitive mechanisms allowing posttraumatic recovery
    b) development of therapies limiting the original trauma and/or promoting recovery (e.g. novel drugs and the use of physical exercise, enriched environments and cognitive training).

Simo Køppe
Professor in History and Philosophy of Psychology / Professor i Psykologiens Videnskabsteori og Historie

Simo Køppe is a professor whose research spans the philosophy of science, psychology and biology, psychoanalysis, theoretical psychology, theory of socialization, aesthetics, emergence, body & psyche, consciousness, ontogenesis, the history of psychology and psychiatry and much more.

His current research focuses on the ontological determination of the psychological in relation to the biological and societal, as well as a general psychological description of the emergence of the psyche in ontogenesis with a focus on the relationship between body and psyche, relationships, amodal perception, schemata etc.

Simo’s research also spans experimental research on the establishment of multimodality in children, especially the relationship between motor function and sound. This research is conducted in collaboration with Susanne Harder and Mette Væver at the Baby Lab.

Victoria Southgate
Professor in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience / Professor i Neurokognitiv Udvikling

Victoria studies the ontogeny and development of human social cognition with a particular interest in the kind of skills that enable infants to learn from others. She uses both behavioural (looking-time, eye-tracking) and neuroimaging (EEG, fNIRS, EMG) methods to ask what cognitive and neural mechanisms support infants’ early social cognitive abilities.

Current research projects:

  • The neural bases of action interpretation (supported by the Wellcome Trust)
  • Neural mechanisms supporting early mentalizing abilities
  • Investigating the development of mimicry (with Antonia Hamilton, Carina de Klerk and Chiara Bulgarelli, supported by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust)
  • Motivation and information seeking in infancy (with Teodora Gliga and Katarina Begus)