The Institute of Medical Psychology was founded in 1978 and is one of the pre-clinical Departments at the Essen University Hospital. Since October 1997, Prof. Dr. Manfred Schedlowski is the Director of the Institute, which was renamed as the Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology in 2007.
The research foci of the Institute are the areas of psychoneuroimmunology, psychoneuroendocrinology, pain research, and the neurobiology and clinical applicability of placebo and nocebo responses. The Institute offers various courses for medical students attending the preclinical semesters, including seminars and lectures on topics including the fundamentals of medical psychology and sociology, research methods, patient-doctor-relationship, as well as on stress and behavior.
