MissBruna Giribaldi Cunha

Bruna Giribaldi (also Bruna Cunha) has been working as a Clinical Trial Manager at the Centres for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London since March 2017. Before then, she was an intern with the Psychedelic and Addictions teams from October 2015, under the guidance of Professor David Nutt, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes and Dr Louise Paterson. She has a 1st class hons. degree in Pharmacology from University College London. She is currently in her final year of Graduate Medicine at the Bart's and the London School of Medicine.

She worked on the set-up of multiple studies at the new CNWL-Imperial Psychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research (CIPPRes clinic) under the guidance of Dr David Erritzoe:

1. PSILOCD: exploring the effects of psilocybin on obsessive-compulsive disorders

2. [11C]UCB-J PET-fMRI synaptogenesis study on healthy volunteers using Ketamine.

3. [11C]UCB-J PET-fMRI synaptogenesis study on healthy volunteers using N,N-DMT

She was also the Clinical Trial Manager for the PSILODEP 2 study, a phase II, double-blind, randomised controlled trial comparing psilocybin and escitalopram in 59 patients with moderate-severe major depressive disorder, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. She was featured in the BBC documentary The Psychedelic Trial, as well as a Times Magazine article alongside Dr Carhart-Harris which showcased this research.

She has a particular interest in the effects of psychedelics on people's perceptions and experiences of sex and sexuality, and . She gave a preliminary talk for Drug Science on this research.

As an intern, prior to managing the Psilodep study, she was involved in several projects within the Department of Psychiatry:

1. She was the Primary Data Manager for the first PSILODEP study, the phase I open-label feasibility study that informed the PSILODEP 2 study.

2. She analysed relapse incidence and associated predictors / correlates in the large CANTAB dataset of alcohol, cocaine and opiate addicts.

3. She collaborated with Dr Christopher Timmermann on a thematic analysis of participant's experiences of intravenous N,N-DMT in the first Imperial DMT study.

4. She collaborated with Dr Mendel Kaelen on a thematic analysis of interviews on participants' experiences of music and psychedelic therapy in the PSILODEP 1 study.

Awards & Nominations
1. At Bart's and the London School of Medicine:
- 3x 2022, 2023, 2024 Distinction Awards for scoring in the top 10% in her final year exams.
- 2023 Knott's Prize
- 2024 Academic Excellence Scholarship

At Imperial College London:
- Judges' commendation for a nomination to the 2019 HelloBio Lab Hero Award by her (wonderful) colleagues at the Centre for Psychedelic Research

At University College London:
- 2016 Gaddum Award for top academic performance during the third year of a Pharmacology Bsc.
- 2015 Schild Award for top academic performance during the second year of a Pharmacology Bsc.
- 2015 and 2016 Dean's List Nominations