SDU students win national psychiatry prize for thesis on cardiac arrest

— We were obviously absolutely thrilled – it’s a really big deal and incredibly exciting to win a prize like this.

That is how medical students Natalia Sokolowski and Marie Harstveit describe their reaction after their master’s thesis from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) was named the best psychiatry thesis of the year by the Danish Psychiatric Society.

The prize was awarded at the society’s annual meeting, where the two students from SDU’s master’s degree programme in medicine in Esbjerg went on stage to receive the recognition.

Their thesis investigates the risk of cardiac arrest among people with mental illness and/or alcohol or substance misuse. The results show that this group has an increased risk. The study therefore highlights the need for early assessment of cardiovascular disease and closer follow-up, particularly among younger patients.

A study based on large datasets

The thesis is a register-based study built on extensive Danish health data. The analysis examines the association between cardiac arrest in the population and mental illness or substance misuse.

The study is also part of a larger research collaboration between several units affiliated with the University of Southern Denmark:

• The Research Unit of Psychiatry in Southern Jutland
• The Cardiology Research Unit in Odense
• The Prehospital Research Unit in the Region of Southern Denmark

A supervisor with strong commitment

Clinical associate professor and consultant Monika Pankiewicz from the psychiatric department at Hospital Sønderjylland supervised the thesis. She also teaches psychiatry to medical students.

Natalia Sokolowski and Marie Harstveit chose her after recommendations from students in the year above them.

— Monika always made time for us and helped us with the many tables in the thesis. She was good at asking questions such as: what is most important to focus on, and how do we make the numbers understandable for the reader?

From thesis to prize paper

The prize – the Prize Paper in Psychiatry 2025 – was established in collaboration between the Danish regions, the Danish Psychiatric Society, the Danish Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Society and the Danish Society for Community Psychiatry.

To nominate their thesis for the award, Natalia Sokolowski and Marie Harstveit had to revise the text further. They shortened the thesis and translated parts of the English technical terminology into Danish so that it matched the prize format.

Research may become part of the future

The prize also gives the two students access to the entire academic annual meeting as well as a monetary award. In addition, they have been invited to take part in an upcoming researcher café at Esbjerg and Grindsted Hospital.

Although both see research as a possible path later in their careers, their focus is currently elsewhere.

First, they need to complete the final exams in their medical degree programme – bringing six years of medical education to a close.