Ailsa is a scientist and former NHS doctor. Having graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1997 with a degree in Neuroscience, she completed her PhD in 2000 at the University of Cambridge, where her thesis explored the impact of glycogen metabolism on the outcome of stroke and brain injury. Following postdoctoral research at GlaxoSmithKline, Ailsa began to focus on Evidence Based Medicine, first as a systematic reviewer on NICE Guidelines and subsequently as an Evidence Based Medicine Manager for Mental Health with Pfizer. A change in circumstances then afforded Ailsa the opportunity to return to academic study, completing her Medicine degree at the University of Aberdeen in 2009, whilst also working part-time as a systematic reviewer on clinical guidelines and health technology assessments. After graduating, she trained as a hospital doctor in Oxford, completing an Academic Clinical Fellowship with research on gastrointestinal cancer. More recently, Ailsa has travelled abroad for six years with her military husband, first to the Middle East and subsequently to Cyprus, during which time her focus returned to current mental health strategies and an interest in the potential benefits of psychedelics. Latterly, she has been working with military veterans in crisis with Icarus Charity and has started collaborating in creative projects; it is through this work that her passion for facilitating access to psychedelics has grown and led to her embarking on a Psychology Masters with the University of Highlands and Islands. Ailsa’s belief is that a country may be judged by the services available for those most in need; her vision is to set up a research and therapy centre in the Highlands devoted to creating a nature-based space for recovery and ongoing safety net for those with addictions or suicidality.