Willem J. (Wijo) Kop, Ph.D. is Professor of Medical and Clinical Psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Until 2010 he was the Director of the Behavioral Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Dr. Kop received his Ph.D. from the Maastricht University, the Netherlands (1994) and has since developed a productive research career in behavioral cardiology. He has conducted various studies in Behavioral Medicine and Neuropsychology and has an M.Sc. in Epidemiology.

Currently, Dr. Kop investigates cardiovascular diseases and other disorders where fatigue and depression play a major role. His research focuses on the associationss of fatigue, depression and mental stress with the immune system and cardiac function. These studies involve psychological evaluation for depressive disorders and hostility using Structured Clinical Interviews, ambulatory monitoring techniques, as well as controlled procedures to induce mental stress. The general scope his research program is to identify the biological mechanisms by which psychological factors affect disease outcomes, and to what extent these relationships are mediated by health behaviors, such as physical activity.  Dr. Kop has been Principal Investigator on several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health

Dr. Kop is actively involved in the fields of Psychosomatic and Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Dr. Kop has also served on several editorial boards of journals in his field of research, including Health Psychology and Brain, Behavior and Immunity and was a member of various NIH review panels and other international scientific review boards. Dr. Kop is the recipient of the 1998 Early Career Award of the American Psychosomatic Society and the 2002 Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association.

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