Charlotte Martial PhD

She is a Neuroscientist and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Coma Science Group within the GIGA-Consciousness research unit at the University of Liège (Belgium), where she leads projects exploring the phenomenon of near-death experience (NDE). She investigates conditions in which individuals are unresponsive —such as during general anesthesia or cardiac arrest— yet later report an episode of consciousness, as reflected in their detailed subjective accounts upon awakening. She also examines the neural correlates of other altered or modified states of consciousness, including disorders of consciousness and trance, using behavioral assessments, MRI, and EEG techniques. She has published more than 95 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, such as Nature Reviews Neurology, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Critical Care, and Science Advances, as well as several book chapters. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with awards, including the prestigious International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) Young Investigator Award.

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Psychological Sciences and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceutics from the University of Liège (Belgium).

In 2019, she joined the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London (UK) to explore the relationship between the phenomenology of classical psychedelic experiences and NDEs.