MissJoanna Vamvakopoulou

Joanna is a London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP) PhD Scholar in the Division of Psychiatry, supervised by Dr Martina Di Simplicio and Prof David Nutt. Her research investigates the effects of a psychedelic-augmented mental imagery-based intervention for young people with self-harming behaviour. She is a neuroscientist in training, with a background in addiction (opioids, cannabis, and alcohol) and self-harm clinical research.

She holds an MSc in Translational Neuroscience from Imperial College London and a BSc in Neuroscience from the University of Bristol. She received the Daniel Capon Prize, a biennial prize in recognition of a published article on a topic relating to the important aspects of psychiatry. She received the award for her first published article based on her MSc thesis, on “Dopamine D3 receptor antagonism and negative emotional processing in substance dependence”.

Joanna is a passionate mental health and drug harm reduction advocate. She has been an active volunteer for the Student Drug Science Network since 2019, helping organise events and talks regarding the application of mind-altering substances in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and drug policies. She is also a scientific advisor and one of the founding members of the Greek Psychedelic Society, whose mission is to disseminate scientific information, education, and community building in Greece.