Per Gunnar Töres Theorell#

Biography#

Töres Theorell became a licensed physician in 1967. He worked in internal medicine and cardiology in the years 1967-1978. During this period he published his doctoral thesis (psychosocial factors in relation to myocardial infarction) at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. In 1978 he turned to social medicine and epidemiology and in 1980 he became a professor of health care research at the National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health in Stockholm. He then became the director of this institute in 1995 and remained in that position until 2006. During the period 1995-2006 he was also a professor of psychosocial medicine at the Karolinska Institute. After formal retirement he now serves as a scientific consultant at the Stress Research Institute at the Stockholm University where he is still an active researcher.

Töres Theorell´s main research area is psychosocial factors in relation to health. Critical life events and work stressors in relation to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and mental disorders have been in focus. Controlled evaluations of interventions and longitudinal observational studies including psychosocial as well as biological data illuminating psychosomatic mechanisms have been typical of his research. T has had major input from Richard H Rahe, Lennart Levi, Stewart Wolf and Robert Karasek. During later years several publications have been on the influence of cultural activities on health and possible mechanisms behind such relationships.

Curriculum vitae#

Date of birth: November 25, 1942
Address: Stress Research Institute, Stockholms universitet, 106 91 STOCKHOLM, Sweden

International contacts

• Senior research associate, School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore MD USA since 1990
• Member of the New York Academy of Sciences since 1996
• Member of the Academia Europeae since 2000
• Member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Institute for Work, Toronto, Ontario
• Member of the Institute for Society and Health, Univ. College of London since 2000

Employments

• Dept. of Medicine (Head: Professor Gunnar Biorck,), Serafimer Hospital, Stockholm, 1967-1978
• Employed for clinical research at the Marine Biomedical Institute (Head: Professor Stewart Wolf) in Galveston, Texas, June 1973 - Febr. 1974
• Employed at the Laboratory for Clinical Stress Research at Karolinska Hospital (Head: Assistant Professor Lennart Levi) on grant from the Work Environment Fund from March 1974 - Dec 1974
• Employment by the Swedish National association against Heart and Lung Diseases for cardiological research at Serafimer Hospital, 1977
• Assistant Chief Physician at the Dept. of Social Medicine (Head. Professor Erik Allander) at Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge, 1978-1980
• Employment by a NIOSH Grant with Professor Robert Karasek, Columbia University, USA, 1979.
• During 1980 full-time Primary Care Physician - 6 months
• Professor of Health Care Research at the National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, Stockholm, and Professor on the Medical Faculty of Karolinska Institute since 1980
• Consulting physician, Dept. of Occupational Medicine, Karolinska Hospital 1990-1996
• Director of the National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, and professor of Psychosocial Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet 1995-2006
• Professor emeritus from Feb 2006
• Consultant, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, from October 2007 – ongoing

Teaching

• 1978 - 1980: Main responsibility for courses in Social Medicine at Karolinska Institutet (Huddinge Hospital, Huddinge).
• Lecturer for courses in social work, psychology and epidemiology at Stockholm University and for courses in Medical Psychology and Internal Medicine at Karolinska Institutet (KI).
• Seminar leader for care research, KI, 1981-1984.
• Leader of two-week courses in psychosomatic research methodology at KI since 1981.
• Leader of undergraduate courses in social and psychosocial medicine, KI, 1991-95.
• Leader of courses in stress prevention within the programme for public health since 1999

Current major projects

Theorell is involved in many projects as a consultant. He is PI of the programme Modern Work funded by the Swedish Council for Work and Social Research (FAS) and the project entitled Conflicts at Work lasting until the end of 2010. He is also PI of an ongoing project funded by The Swedish Research Council (VR) on Stress and Hearing Problems. In addition Theorell is scientifically responsible for a project entitled Art Talks to Leaders which is funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR, PI Britt Maj Wikström).

Memberships

• Senior research associate, School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, USA since 1990.
• New York Academy of Sciences since 1996. Academia Europeae since 2000.
• Research Advisory Committee of the Institute for Work, Toronto, Ontario.
• Institute for Society and Health, Univ. College of London since 2000.
• Member of boards in following international journals:
  • Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health
  • Psychotheraphi Psychosomatic.
  • Stress and Health
  • Work and Stress