Our Team

 

Professional Board

MUDr. Rastislav Šumec, Ph.D.

Head of the Academic Center, Neurologist, Neuroscientist, Certified Mindfulness Teacher

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Rastislav Šumec, MD, Ph.D., is a co-founder and head of the Mindfulness Research and Practice Network center at Masaryk University. He is a neurologist at the St. Anne's University Hospital in Brno and a neuroscientist at the International Clinical Research Center of St. Anne's University Hospital Brno (FNUSA-ICRC). He has long been dedicated to researching the effectiveness of mindfulness on mood, cognition, and brain structure in various clinical and non-clinical populations. Currently, he is investigating the impact of mindfulness on key brain areas for Alzheimer's disease and the effects of an eHealth mindfulness program on the mental health of cancer patients. He completed the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy teacher training at the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre, where he was awarded the Certificate of Competence according to MBI-TAC criteria. He also has extended qualifications for teaching Mindfulness for Life (MBCT-L), Mindfulness for Cancer (MBCT-Ca), and Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World (M:FP) programs. Since 2016, he has been teaching mindfulness to future doctors, nurses, and psychologists at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University.

doc. PhDr. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D.

Head of the Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University

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Assoc. Prof. Miroslav Světlák, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and gestalt psychotherapist. He has long been involved in both research and clinical work focusing on emotional awareness, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and in recent years, eHealth. He lectures on medical psychology and psychosomatics at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, and partially works as a clinical psychologist at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospital Brno.

doc. PhDr. Alena Slezáčková, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology at the Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University. Founder and Coordinator of the Center for Positive Psychology in the Czech Republic

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Alena Slezáčková is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Masaryk University in Brno. Her long-term scientific interests include researching the psychosocial determinants of mental health and well-being. Currently, she is primarily focused on researching the protective role of hope in both the general and clinical populations, as well as investigating the effects of mindfulness on mental and physical health. She is the founder and head of the Center for Positive Psychology in the Czech Republic (CPPC), a member of the leadership team of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), the representative for the Czech Republic in the European Network of Positive Psychology (ENPP), and a member of the board of the Czech-Moravian Psychological Society (ČMPS). She is involved in several international research projects and serves on the editorial boards of five professional psychology journals. She is the author of the first comprehensive monograph on positive psychology in the Czech language and numerous scientific and popular publications in the fields of positive psychology and health psychology.

Mindfulness Teachers

Ing. Alena Lašková, MSc, MSt (Oxon)

Certified mindfulness teacher and instructor of MBCT, Mindfulness for Life, and Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World

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Alena completed the Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) training at the University of Exeter and the University of Oxford, where she earned a Master's degree in MBCT with a "Distinction" award. At the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, she leads the Mindfulness for Life courses. In 2023, she will begin her doctoral studies at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, where she was also selected as a trainee instructor for training new mindfulness teachers. Her passion is teaching medical students, from whom she learns herself, and studying Buddhist psychology.

Research Team

MUDr. Monika Lekárová

Physician, doctoral student in neuroscience

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Monika Lékárová graduated in General Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University. Currently, she is pursuing her doctoral studies at the Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics. Her main topic is supporting the mental health of oncology patients. Last year, she also began her preparation to become a certified instructor in Mindfulness for Life (MBCT-L) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.

Mgr. Zdeňka Barešová

Anthropologist, doctoral student in neuroscience

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I'm an anthropologist, a doctoral student in neuroscience specializing in Psychiatry, and simultaneously a student of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. In my dissertation and research, I focus on the impact of the mobile application MindCare on the mental health of oncology patients. Additionally, I monitor overall changes in psychological predictors of quality of life in patients using the application. My main motivation for conducting this research is to verify the effects of the application and thereby support its expansion to where it can truly make a difference.

RNDr. Dana Vigašová, Ph.D.

Doctor of Natural Sciences, doctoral student in neuroscience

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RNDr. Dana Vigašová, Ph.D., as a member of the research team at the Department of Medical Psychology and Psychosomatics of Masaryk University, focuses on researching the impact of various teaching modules in the field of health psychology on the psychobiological correlates of stress response in medical students, as well as researching the suitability of mindfulness for oncology patients. Additionally, she is a student of psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc.

Among her other personal interests is the research on the effect of mindfulness on neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the impact of mindfulness on self-awareness and the concept of "self."

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