Obituary: Prof. Dr. Margit von Kerekjarto
Prof. Dr. Margit von Kerekjarto, University of Hamburg, Germany, professor emeritus of medical psychology, passed away on March 5, 2009, in Hamburg after a long period of severe illness.
Professor von Kerekjarto was born in Szeged, Hungaria. She grew up in Budapest and received education and training in psychology, biology, medicine, and pharmacology at the University of Budapest. In 1958, she came to Germany, where she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Hamburg. In 1961, Professor von Kerekjarto completed her Ph.D. on multiple sclerosis.
She continued her academic career at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Hamburg. In 1961, she sustained her work and research at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine within the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Professor von Kerekjarto served as director of the Department of Medical Psychology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf between 1975 and 1990 as the first female chair of Medical Psychology in Germany. During the seventies and eighties, she established one of the most recognized Departments for Medical Psychology in Germany. Under the auspices of Prof von Kerekjarto, the first curriculum of medical psychology was developed, which had a strong and long-lasting influence on the structure and implementation of medical training in Germany.
With her excellent research scientific background and particular research and clinical focus on psycho-oncology, she raised numerous funded research projects about psychosocial support for cancer patients and the role of the family in cancer care. Her name is closely connected with the development of psycho-oncology in Germany. Further research priorities of Prof. von Kerekjarto included the psychotherapeutic support and rehabilitation for patients with chronic psychosomatic illness. She retired from teaching in 1990, but continued her research, writing, publication, and service activities.
Prof. von Kerekjarto’s inspiring career in the field of medical psychology and psycho-oncology brought her worldwide recognition. She was invited as a guest lecturer at Harvard Medical School, at Columbia University, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and at the University of California. She was honoured by becoming a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Prof. von Kerekjarto was president of the German Society of Medical Psychology. She was founding member and member of the scientific board of the European Psycho-oncological Society. She was founding member and president of International Psycho-Oncology Society as well as the recipient of the Arthur M. Sutherland Award in 1991.
Prof. von Kerekjarto possessed a special gift, the ability to fascinate people with her visions, ideas and her words. She was able to inspire people, and to tie them into common goals. In her work for psycho-oncology she made highly constructive use of this gift to the benefit of her students, colleagues and friends. We owe her a lot.
Uwe Koch PhD, MD; Hamburg, 16 March 2009