Dr Guy Fincham, Researcher in Psychology in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), has been awarded a five-year research fellowship, funded by a $500,000 donation from the psychedelic nonprofit organisation DMT Quest and ResearchHub, a groundbreaking, decentralised scientific community promoting open science and innovation. The fellowship, known as the Decentralised Science Fellowship, marks a significant milestone in the field of breathwork research, offering long-term support to explore the role of breath in human health, wellbeing and performance.

Dr Fincham will join the lab of Dr Alessandro Colasanti, Reader in Psychiatry at BSMS, which studies brain metabolism and mitochondrial function in the pursuit of novel interventions for neuropsychiatric conditions. Dr Colasanti said: “This marks the world’s first postdoctoral DeSci Fellowship and represents a major step in his development as a future leader in the field. It will also allow him to scale up his innovative Breathwork Lab here at BSMS.

“Breathwork is a powerful yet natural tool for neuromodulation, working through the regulation of metabolism across the body and brain. It holds tremendous promise as a transformative therapeutic intervention for conditions that are often both distressing and disabling.”

Dr Fincham’s work, already gaining attention in the media, aims to build a new evidence base for breath-based interventions in clinical, educational and public health settings. Beyond the scientific opportunity, the fellowship highlights an exciting new model for research funding. 

ResearchHub’s decentralised approach to scientific collaboration and community-driven funding could prove both innovative and inspirational for researchers across BSMS and the wider Sussex research community.