Academic Staff
Clinical psychology/ Neuropsychology/ Psychotherapy
Prof. Bezdíček is a clinical neuropsychologist who studies cognitive and behavioral changes in REM sleep disorder and Parkinson’s disease. His work spans deep brain stimulation, the development of new tests of memory and executive functions, and psychometric analyses of everyday functioning, complemented by MRI and DAT-SPECT imaging.
Dr. Horáková researches cognitive changes in pathological ageing, especially Alzheimer’s disease. She studies experimental memory paradigms and their neural correlates, and examines subjective cognitive complaints and neuropsychiatric symptoms as some of the earliest clinical markers distinguishing pathological from normal ageing.
Dr. Kuchař studies psychotherapy and contemporary psychoanalysis, with a focus on depressive and neurotic disorders, substance use, mentalization, and moral competence. His work bridges theory and clinical practice, examining how psychoanalytic concepts, emotions, and scientific methodology come together in the therapeutic process.
Dr. Maulisová is a pediatric neuropsychologist specializing in neurodevelopmental diagnostics. She works in multidisciplinary teams treating children with complex epilepsy and other neurological conditions, studies long-term cognitive outcomes of neonatal care, and is developing a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery for children aged 6–19.
Dr. Michalec focuses on cognitive assessment in psychiatric populations, particularly people with schizophrenia. He helps introduce internationally established test batteries such as MATRICS and the Tower of London into Czech clinical practice to better predict psychosocial functioning and guide tailored interventions.
Dr. Mikoška is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapy researcher with a strong focus on emotion-focused therapy (EFT). He conducts meta-analyses and process research on what makes therapy effective, and validates diagnostic tools for anxiety, depression, and emotion regulation to connect rigorous research with everyday clinical work.
Dr. Nekovářová researches cognitive functions such as time perception, theory of mind, and episodic memory. She studies spatiotemporal processing in schizophrenia, social cognition and autobiographical memory across development, develops interactive game-based screening tools, and collaborates on animal cognition projects focusing on social cognition and emotion in non-human primates.
Doc. Nikolai focuses on cognitive rehabilitation and its effectiveness in patients with Parkinson’s disease, as well as the neuropsychological aspects of functional movement disorders. He also studies preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease and their neuropsychological markers, contributing to early detection and intervention.
Dr. Veverová is a neuroscientist and head of the Brain Aging Laboratory within the Czech Brain Aging Study. She leads international projects on biomarkers of neurodegeneration, including mitophagy in Alzheimer’s disease, plasma biomarker panels for differentiating dementias (bPRIDE/JPND), and brain-derived exosomes as novel tools for diagnosing LATE and related co-pathologies.
Prof. Weiss is a renowned sexologist studying sexual behavior and paraphilias in the Czech population. He analyzes the prevalence of paraphilias, evaluates therapeutic interventions for non-delinquent sexual deviants, and participates in pan-European COST projects mapping sexual behavior across Europe.
Cognitive psychology/ Methodology
Dr. Děchtěrenko explores how we perceive and remember complex visual information. He uses neural networks and behavioral experiments to study memory for photographs, divided attention to multiple moving objects, and the perception of visualizations such as graphs—key skills in an information-rich world.
Dr. Dlouhá collaborates with the Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences on grants in computational psychometrics. She helps develop modern methods and analytical tools for constructing and evaluating knowledge tests, strengthening the scientific basis of educational assessment.
Dr. Kaplan is a cognitive psychologist and neuropsychologist with a special interest in EEG-based neurofeedback. He develops experimental environments that translate brain activity into sound and studies how these tools can support emotion regulation, sense of control, and motivation, while also examining self-concept using mixed methods.
Doc. Lukavský is a cognitive and experimental psychologist researching visual perception, attention, memory, and mathematical modeling of cognitive processes. He specializes in eye-tracking studies of how visual information drives perception and decisions, investigates cognitive training options, publishes internationally, and chairs the Research Ethics Committee at the Faculty of Arts.
Mr. Máčel focuses on occupational and organizational psychology, especially workplace mental health, well-being, and stress management. He also works in psychometrics, developing and validating psychological scales, and evaluates interventions that strengthen coping resources in demanding situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Developmental/ Educational psychology
Dr. Dragomirecká focuses on ageism, language, and well-being in later life. She validates key instruments for measuring health, life satisfaction, and personal well-being in older adults and contributes to projects mapping the history of Czech and Slovak psychology, as well as psychologists’ experiences of working with older clients.
Dr. Kubíková specializes in educational psychology and teacher development. She focuses on the healthy psychological growth of children and educators and evaluates teachers’ educational and professional competencies, including how their skills and interactions influence learning.
Dr. Pekárková works in educational psychology, focusing on effective diagnosis of school readiness and reducing deferrals of school entry. She explores how ICT can be used in assessment and prevention with children, develops digital tools to foster STEM thinking in early childhood, and co-creates online self-evaluation instruments for teachers and tools that strengthen cooperation between parents and kindergartens.
Dr. Pešout’s research centers on educational psychology and mental health literacy in young people. He co-develops and validates measurement tools, including the Universal Mental Health Literacy Scale for Adolescents, and studies how teachers decide whether to integrate educational games into their teaching.
Prof. Smolík is a leading researcher in language development and psycholinguistics. His current work investigates prediction and prediction error in language learning and the relationships between early morphology, phonology, and grammatical categories in children.
Dr. Švandová develops diagnostic and didactic tools aimed at strengthening general and STEM skills in preschool and early school-age children. Her current research focuses on effective school-readiness diagnostics to reduce school deferrals and on innovative online tools that support teacher self-evaluation.
Doc. Urban explores the development of metacognitive processes from preschool age onwards. She studies the accuracy of metacognitive monitoring, early cognitive and linguistic precursors of reading literacy, and self-directed learning in metacognitively rich online environments, with a strong focus on innovative educational programs.
Dr. Urban specializes in creativity, metacognition, and self-regulated learning, with a particular interest in how people collaborate with artificial intelligence during creative problem-solving. He leads research on motivational and cognitive processes underlying creativity and examines the role of generative AI tools in education and innovation. His work combines experimental approaches with qualitative and mixed-method designs, linking psychological theory with real-world applications in learning and human–AI interaction.
Social/Work psychology
Dr. Fajmonová is a social and political psychologist whose work focuses on gender equality, institutional change, and public perceptions of threat and violence. She has experience in research and policy development at national and international institutions, including the OECD and Czech government bodies, and has contributed to major European projects on gender-based violence in universities. Her research combines experimental and qualitative approaches to study narratives, social attitudes, and resilience.
Jana Jakerlová is a doctoral researcher in social and work psychology studying personal resources, job demands, and resilience in demanding professions, with a focus on developing the Life Demands–Resources (LD-R) model. Her background in organizational psychology informs her interest in motivation and well-being, and she also teaches courses on positive psychology and works therapeutically with clients.
Doc. Mudrák studies how social, organizational, motivational, and behavioral factors shape competence and well-being across the life course. His projects examine working conditions and well-being in higher education, educational opportunities for children and adolescents, sport motivation, and lifestyle and quality of life, using both quantitative and qualitative methods grounded in systemic, developmental, and motivational theories.
Doc. Popper is a social psychologist currently leading a project on family constellations with biological and non-biological children in “patchwork” families. He examines motives for re-partnering, the experiences and well-being of children and adults in blended families, and translates his findings into practical guidance for families and professionals.
Dr. Šípová focuses on work and organizational psychology, particularly interventions that enhance quality of work life, mental health, and performance. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources and salutogenic frameworks, she studies teamwork (including sociomapping and team coaching), engagement, positive psychological and mindfulness interventions, and develops diagnostic tools for emotional intelligence.
Doc. Špinka is a specialist in comparative psychology and behavioral ethology. He studies social behavior in animals – play, dominance, synchronization, and acoustic communication –and how these patterns reflect emotions and well-being, and he teaches Comparative Psychology, linking animal research to broader psychological concepts.
Dr. Štěrbová researches evolutionary and social psychology with a focus on mate selection, sociosexual behavior, and relationship dynamics. She examines factors such as attractiveness and depressive symptom homogamy in couples and investigates interpersonal psychopathology at the National Institute of Mental Health, publishing in leading international journals.
Doc. Zábrodská specializes in occupational health psychology and positive organizational psychology. She investigates personal and organizational factors that shape workplace well-being, stress, burnout, and engagement –particularly in universities and schools – leads GAČR and SYRI projects on academic working conditions and teacher health, and is an expert in qualitative and mixed-methods research on organizational resilience.
Dr. Zernerová works in occupational and organizational psychology with a focus on workplace mental health. She researches mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) as ways to address work stress, perfectionism, and psychological flexibility and collaborates with the ACT+ Institute to translate research into practical interventions.
Program Leadership
Doc. Tomáš Nikolai, Ph.D.
Head of the Department
Doc. Jiří Mudrák, Ph.D.
Academic Coordinator
Ivana Šípová, Ph.D.
Programme Guarantor
Programme Team:
Filip Děchtěrenko, Ph.D.
Doc. Jiří Lukavský, Ph.D.
Doc. Kateřina Zábrodská, Ph.D.
Jana Dlouhá, Ph.D.
Administrative support
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