Alessandra Borsini is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

Her research interest focuses on the role of inflammation and stress on brain neurogenic alterations, particularly in the context of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, and on the ability of psychotropic, anti-inflammatory, neuromodulatory, and nutrition-based treatments to prevent such alterations.

She has been a member of the MRC Immunopsychiatry Consortium, of the AMBROSIAC ERA-NET/MRC consortium, and of the ECNP Immuno-Neuropsychiatry and Perinatal Psychiatry Networks.

She has received various awards, including the Psychoneuroimmunology Award, from the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRs), the Senior Preclinical Psychopharmacology Award from the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), and has been nominated for the IoPPN Collaborative Research Excellence Award.

She has published over 70 papers, with a current H-index of 30, and has been recipient of both national and international research grants from the MRC, Wellcome Trust, NIHR BRC, European Commission and Rosetrees Trust.

She is part of the Editorial Board of several journals, including Brain Behaviour and Immunity, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and Scientific Reports, and Associate Editor for Translational Psychiatry, Brain Behaviour and Immunity-Health and Nutritional Psychiatry. She has been formal supervisor of eight PhD students.

Teaching 

2022 – present

Course leader of MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mind-Body Interface

2018 – present

Module leader of Women’s Mental Health, MSc in Mental Health Studies

2018 – present

Lecturer for the module Specialized Topics in Nutrition, BSc in Nutrition

2015 – present

Lecturer for the module Causes and Correlates in Affective Disorders, MSc in Affective Disorders

2015 – present

Lecturer for the module Cell Biology and Neuroscience, BSc in Biomedical Sciences

Her sustained excellence in teaching and student support has been recognised through several nominations and awards, including the King’s Education Award, the IoPPN Innovation in Postgraduate Education Award.

Expertise and Public Engagement 

She was interviewed by The Sunday Times to discuss her review published in The British Medical Journal (2020) on the relationship between diet and mental health, and by The Guardian and The Independent regarding her study in Molecular Psychiatry (2022) examining the impact of COVID-19 on delirium symptoms. She also participated in interviews for the BBC Radio 4 programmes Today and All in the Mind to discuss her Molecular Psychiatry (2021) study investigating the effects of inflammation and omega-3 treatment on hippocampal neurogenesis and depressive symptoms.

She is part of the organizing committees for scientific conferences including the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology and the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society.

Media Coverage

• The Guardian: Immune reactions to severe Covid may trigger brain problems, study finds
• The Times: Why comfort food does not make you happy
• BBC All In the Mind: Sibling rivalry, Prisoner of war diaries, Inflammation and depression
• BBC All in the Mind: Fish Oils for depression, Pain pleasure and a good life, Kindness, Comedy memory
• BBC The Food Programme: Feeding Your Brain: A Users Guide