Junior professor Nathalie Oexle becomes the new Heisenberg Professor at Ulm University. The health scientist is a member of the Section of Public Mental Health of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II at Ulm University Hospital. Her research interests include suicide prevention and the stigma of mental disorders. The funding within the Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation will run for five years.
"Suicides are much more common in our society than one would assume due to the taboo surrounding this topic. Around 30 people die by suicide every day in Germany," says junior professor Nathalie Oexle, explaining the significance of her research. She has now been appointed Heisenberg Professor for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health. In several projects at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II of Ulm University Hospital at Bezirkskrankenhaus Günzburg (district hospital), Oexle is investigating how suicides can be prevented and how affected relatives can be supported. In the EMIRA project (Ecological momentary intervention to reduce suicide risk among adolescents), for example, she is researching how suicidal thoughts can be curbed in adolescents. The risk of suicidal behaviour is particularly high in the period following a stay in hospital. To this end, Oexle and her team are developing a smartphone app that contains a personal action plan with so-called skills such as distraction or offers of help and is quickly available in stressful situations.
In another project, she has investigated what support services and help are needed by people who have lost a loved one to suicide. In cooperation with colleagues from the paediatric and adolescent psychiatry/psychosomatic medicine department at Ulm University Hospital, she is developing and evaluating a digital training programme for GPs to support them in dealing with taboo topics such as mental disorders, suicidal behaviour and threats to children's welfare. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), it will also focus on the social situation of relatives in the context of assisted suicide in the future.
"A major problem is that people affected by suicidal behaviour often do not disclose their burdens for fear of negative reactions. This prevents effective support options from taking effect. Many relatives also feel alone and stigmatised in their grieving process. With my research, I want to help ensure that people affected by suicidality and their relatives receive the professional and social support they need," explains Junior Professor Nathalie Oexle, who has now been awarded a Heisenberg Professorship by the German Research Foundation.
Oexle studied Health Sciences at the Technical University of Munich, the University of Miami, USA and the Karolinska Institute in Swedish and completed her doctorate in the discipline of Public Mental Health at Ulm University. During her award of a doctoral degree, she completed research visits to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, USA and King's College London in the UK. She has been a junior professor of social psychiatry since 2018. The 38-year-old has two children and lives with her family in Blaustein near Ulm. She will take up the Heisenberg professorship on 1 November. "Although I had prepared my application well and was also very positive about the selection interview, the DFG's acceptance came as a surprise. It's great that suicide prevention is now seen as an important topic and that the DFG has recognised my previous work in this way. I am very much looking forward to continuing my research and teaching activities at Ulm University and at BKH Günzburg," says Oexle.
To date, five professors at Ulm University have been funded by a prestigious Heisenberg professorship. Quantum researcher Professor Benjamin Stickler joined them in 2023.
About the Heisenberg Programme
The Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) is aimed at outstanding female scientists who meet all the requirements for appointment to a long-term professorship. It is intended to enable them to continue preparing for a scientific leadership position and to work on further research topics during this time. The Heisenberg Programme is available in four variants: Heisenberg professorship, Heisenberg position, Heisenberg rotation position and Heisenberg scholarship. The maximum funding period is five years. After that, the respective University is obliged to convert the position into a permanent professorship.
Text and media contact: Daniela Stang