research
Contemplative practices
We investigate how meditation — mindfulness and compassion — transforms, in an embodied way, automatic cognitive and behavioral patterns, from the de-automatization of attentional and social biases to the cultivation of compassionate states in expert practitioners. Our work has shown, for example, how mindful attention modulates neural and behavioral responses to emotionally charged stimuli, and how tonglen practice reshapes the experience of compassion in expert meditators. We are particularly interested in exploring how these contemplative states may have clinical applications, opening new ways of approaching mental health and wellbeing. From a neurophenomenological approach, we combine EEG, autonomic electrophysiology, and first-person interviews to study these processes in depth.
research
nature connectedness
We study how connection with nature — understood as an embodied relationship between organism and environment — shapes wellbeing, cognition, and states of consciousness, and how that relationship can translate into caring and conservation behaviors toward ecosystems. Our project Bridging Minds and Nature, integrates contemplative wisdoms to enhance nature connectedness, pro-ecological behavior, and wellbeing. This line connects directly to our fieldwork alongside the Andean Resilience Foundation and the San Francisco de Lagunilla Sanctuary, where research engages directly with the conservation of mountain ecosystems.
research
psychedelics
We investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in the treatment of hard-to-manage mental health conditions, such as treatment-resistant depression. We seek to understand how these substances modify states of consciousness and lived experience, and what neural and phenomenological mechanisms underlie their therapeutic effects. We combine electrophysiology, neural biomarkers, and subjective experience measures to track the trajectory of the experience throughout the process, in collaboration with clinical and research teams, both national and international.
