The team

A clinical psychologist, Pascal defended his PhD in psychology at the University of Lille in 2002, followed by his habilitation to direct research in psychology at the University of Lille in 2008. Appointed associate professor (Maître de conférences) in psychology at the University of Lille in 2003 and full professor in 2010, he is responsible for the master’s course on psychopathology and health psychology.

After working on stress in extreme conditions (1997–2002), his focus shifted to psychological distress when facing chronic illness in 2003 and to neurodegenerative diseases, both at the individual and dyadic levels, in 2010. He is renowned for his development of innovative interventions for family caregivers.

Laura is a clinical psychologist with a master’s degree in health psychology, who initially worked with patients with cancer and their families in a clinical setting. She subsequently obtained her PhD in psychology from the University of Lille. Her thesis involved examining the role of the vagus nerve in the relationship between psychological risk factors and the onset of cancer.

She is currently employed as a research engineer and has joined the opsyrii chair team as part of the ICEbreaker and TRANSITION projects.

Holder of a master’s degree in psychology with a specialization in psychopathology and health psychology from the University of Lille, Léna joined SCALab (UMR CNRS 9193, Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team) at the University of Lille as a research assistant for the REHAB-Quali project. This initiative, in collaboration with the Oscar Lambret Center and funded by AstraZeneca, aims to create and coordinate a supportive care and rehabilitation pathway for head and neck patients with cancer by offering them a personalized strategy tailored to their needs.

Holder of a master’s degree in psychology, specializing in psychopathology and health psychology, from the University of Lille, Léa obtained PhD funding from the French National Cancer Institute, enabling her to pursue a PhD in psychology (supervised by Dr Kristopher Lamore).

Affiliated with the University of Lille, SCALab (UMR CNRS 9193, Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team), and the ONCOLille Institute, her doctoral research focuses on cervical cancer and sexual health. Her work is structured around two main objectives:

1. Exploring the intimate and sexual experiences of couples facing cervical cancer, focusing on the impact of the disease and its treatments at various stages of the care pathway.
2. Identifying the barriers that healthcare professionals face in providing sexual care to these patients, aiming to better understand obstacles to appropriate care.

This project seeks to enhance the sexual care of couples dealing with cervical cancer and improve the training of oncology professionals in this area. Léa conducts this work in collaboration with clinicians from the Oscar Lambret Center. Through her research, Léa aims to integrate sexual health into the care pathway and destigmatize sexuality in the context of illness.

After obtaining a master’s degree in psychology, Christelle went on to obtain a PhD in psychology focusing on the role of emotions in emotional regulation, particularly in patients with cancer. In 2013, following the completion of her PhD, she assumed the role of human and social sciences project manager for the first SIRIC ONCOLille. Since 2017, she has been employed as a research engineer at SCALab and coordinates various research projects, particularly in psycho-oncology. She has also been a member of the University of Lille’s research ethics committee since 2017, and she has been co-responsible for Axis 5 “Cancers, Individuals, and Society” at Cancéropôle Nord-Ouest since 2019. Additionally, she is a member of the Non-Pharmacological Intervention Society (NPIS).

During her research projects, she has developed expertise in intervention research and is particularly interested in the emotional processes of patients with somatic diseases and those of their family caregivers. Another of her research areas is health beliefs.

Valentyn holds a master’s degree in psychology, specializing in health psychology, and a master’s degree in local health policies. After completing these, he obtained a PhD in psychology funded by the French National Cancer Institute at the University of Lille on beliefs about innovative cancer therapies. From 2018 to 2022, he worked as a clinical psychologist at the Northern Departmental Committee of the National League Against Cancer, providing individual and group support to people affected by the disease and their family caregivers.

Between September 2022 and August 2024, he continued his career with a postdoctoral contract with the opsyrii chair team. He was particularly involved in the ICEbreaker project, which aims to develop an online support system for patients with cancer and their families.

As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montreal (Quebec, Canada), he remains involved with the team by collaborating on the ICEbreaker project and serving as a member of the project’s steering committee.

His research focuses on developing interventional studies aimed at mitigating the impact of chronic health conditions (e.g., cancer, chronic pain) on the quality of life and psychological adjustment of affected individuals and their loved ones.

Géraldine holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Strasbourg, which she completed in 2020. Her thesis focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of adverse perinatal experiences on pain response and psychiatric vulnerability in adulthood. After two years of project management at an interdisciplinary biomedical engineering institute, she directed her research toward addressing chronic pain and its affective comorbidities.

Currently a postdoctoral researcher within the opsyrii chair team, under the direction of Dr Kristopher Lamore, she is involved in the EN-HOPE SMART4CBT interventional research project (PEDIACRIEX consortium, funded by the French National Cancer Institute). This project aims to improve the quality of life and psychosocial support of children with brain tumors and their parents. She is particularly focused on parents’ adjustment to their child’s brain tumor diagnosis and care.

After obtaining a master’s degree in psychology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Delphine completed a thesis at the Université Catholique du Louvain (Belgium), which she defended in 2012, investigating the links between alexithymia and empathy. Appointed associate professor (Maître de conférences) in psychology at the University of Lille in 2015, she defended her habilitation to direct research in 2020. In 2022, she was appointed full professor in health psychology, and since then, she has been the head of the Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team in SCALab at the University of Lille.

For more than 10 years, her research has focused on disorders of social cognition, emotional regulation, and interoceptive awareness among various clinical populations, including patients with cancer.

Ambre holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology, psychopathology, and health psychology, with a specialization in psychotherapy and traumatic dimensions, from the University of Metz. She is currently a psychology PhD student at the SCALab UMR CNRS 9193 laboratory (Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team) at the University of Lille.
Her PhD concerns the development and evaluation of an eHealth program focusing on information, communication, and emotional management, aimed at improving support for patients with cancer and their families (under the supervision of Dr Kristopher Lamore). This PhD is an integral part of the ICEbreaker project.

Ambre was awarded the ORION “Dare to Research” Excellence Scholarship for the 2022–2023 academic year. The scholarship enabled her to spend six months as an intern in the APEMAC laboratory (UR 4360) at the University of Metz, which improved her understanding of the research environment and gave her the opportunity to contribute to the development of innovative projects. This experience enabled her to confirm her career objective, which is to pursue a university career focused on teaching and research.

Clara holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology and psychopathology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She joined SCALab (UMR CNRS 9193, Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team) at the University of Lille as a research engineer for the EN-HOPE SMART4CBT project (PEDIACRIEX consortium, funded by the French National Cancer Institute).

Her work primarily focuses on the psychosocial impacts of brain tumors and treatments on pediatric patients. She is also interested in how parents adapt to their child’s illness and the needs and challenges that the caregivers of these young patients face.

Jean-Louis is a psychologist and family psychotherapist with a PhD in psychopathology and behavioral neuroscience from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris (1995) and has his habilitation to direct research in psychology from the University of Lille (2004). He was appointed associate professor in psychology at the University of Lille in 1996 and full professor in 2006, and he has been director of the SCALab cognitive and affective sciences laboratory (UMR CNRS 9193) since September 2022. In 2010, he established the Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team, which is currently led by Prof. Delphine Grynberg.

For more than 20 years, his research has focused on the awareness of emotional states and emotional regulation processes in various mental disorders and their relationship with early learning in the family.

Martin holds a master’s degree in public health, specializing in the epidemiology of communicable and non-communicable diseases, from the University of Limoges. He joined the SCALab UMR CNRS 9193 laboratory (Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team) at the University of Lille as a research assistant in the domain of health and is interested in participating in research projects that combine fundamental science and practical applications, with a particular focus on public health issues.

His main research interests lie in the areas of health behavior in relation to vaccination and the use of adjuvant treatments (designed to increase the effectiveness of antibiotics) for respiratory diseases among the general public and healthcare professionals.

He also contributes to the primary research initiatives of the opsyrii research chair, including the ICEbreaker project (which is aimed at developing an innovative eHealth intervention targeting the information needs, communication difficulties, and emotions of patients with cancer and their family members) and the RESIST project (which aims to explore the experiences of healthcare professionals, patients, and patients’ relatives during announcements of disease progression, emphasizing empathy and its effects). Additionally, he is involved in the TRANSITION project, which aims to improve the support given to adolescents and young adults who have had pediatric cancer and their parents when transitioning to adult care.

A psychologist specializing in neuropsychology, Louis holds a European master’s degree in the psychology of neurocognitive processes and affective sciences from the University of Lille. Currently, she works as a research engineer in the Dynamics of Emotions and Pathologies team of SCALab (UMR CNRS 9193) at the University of Lille. Alongside her research projects, she has worked in a rehabilitation center, providing care for adult patients with brain injuries or various neurodegenerative diseases.

Louise is involved in projects focusing on the psychological impacts of cancer, such as the REPHEMO LNH project on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, under the supervision of Dr Christelle Duprez. She also contributes to the REHAB-Quali project, which focuses on head and neck patients with cancer, directed by Dr Kristopher Lamore. This project seeks to design and coordinate a pathway of supportive care and rehabilitation for head and neck patients with cancer, offering personalized strategies adapted to their needs. Additionally, she has worked on the ICEbreaker project in the OPSYRII chair team.

Her work aims to improve our understanding of issues in psycho-oncology and support advancements in research in this field.

Julia holds a master’s degree in psychology, specializing in health psychology, from the University of Lausanne and is currently pursuing a PhD in psychology under the supervision of Prof. Sophie Lelorain and Dr Kristopher Lamore. She is currently employed as a graduate assistant at the University of Lausanne.

Her thesis is on the RESIST project, which focuses on the announcement of disease progression related to resistance to treatment and the involvement of family caregivers in oncology consultations. This project will enable her to apply the qualitative methodology skills she acquired during her master’s degree and develop quantitative research skills.

Sophie is a graduate of the École des Psychologues Praticiens from Paris, and she completed her PhD in psychology at the University of Nantes on the quality of life of women in remission from breast cancer. She subsequently worked as a psycho-oncologist at a hospital in Nantes, France. She then undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the Curie Institute and the University Paris Descartes, during which she investigated the empathy of doctors treating patients with advanced cancer. She continued her research in this field as an associate professor (Maître de conférences) at the University of Lille, driven by her continued fascination with the subject matter. Simultaneously, she spent two years working in therapeutic education at the University Hospital of Lille. She obtained her habilitation to direct research in 2019, and finally, in 2021, she was appointed full professor in health psychology, quantitative approaches, at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Her research focuses on medical empathy, especially the interaction between doctors and patients. Another focus of her research is therapeutic education, including patient adherence and the experiences of caregivers, for whom this form of care can be destabilizing.

Lisa holds a master’s degree in international and development economics from the Université Pan-théon-Assas Paris II and previously held a position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before joining the United Nations system. She first worked for the United Nations Development Program in Geneva, where she was responsible for ensuring cooperation with France. Her subsequent role was with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, where she spent four years on the mission in Haiti and then two years on the mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since 2021, she has been employed in the health sector. Committed to patient partnership, she holds a degree in the foundations of patient partnership from the University of Montreal, complemented by a university diploma in the art of care in partnership with the patient from the University of Côte d’Azur and a university diploma in ethics applied to health from the University of Nantes. She currently provides her expertise on concepts, implementation, and evaluation in partnership with institutions in Switzerland and France across the care, training, and research sectors.