Rosalind McAlpine

Rosalind completed her BA in Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, where she specialised in neuroscience, social psychology, and developmental questions in science and religion. She then completed her MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology at UCL, followed by a year working as a Post-Graduate Research Fellow at Yale University. In her rotational year, she worked on on projects with (1) Sunjeev Kamboj/Vaughan Bell [intervention], (2) David Osborn [population] and (3) Ray Dolan/Rani Moran [mechanism].

Her research interests include the study of altered states of consciousness, neurophenomenology, psychedelic mechanisms of action, as well as comparisons between the use of psychedelic substances in traditional/ceremonial retreat settings and their place in the Western world. She is also interested in the extra-pharmacological processes which shape the response to these substances, and the development of effective meditation-based preparation practices. She considers the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies - with emphasis on the requirement of increased cultural competency - incredibly important if we are to progress within mental health science.

She is currently collaborating with the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit (CPU), the Understanding Neuroplasticity Induced by Tryptamines (UNITy) Project, and the Harvard Meditation Research Group. She leads a project on the neural and subjective effects of 5-MeO-DMT and is developing a novel psychedelic preparation intervention.

Beyond academia, Rosalind has a passion for contemporary dance, yoga, and mushrooms. She also helps to facilitate plant medicine ceremonies in South America and the Netherlands.

email: rosalind.mcalpine.18@ucl.ac.uk