Melanie Pincus, PhD

Dr. Melanie Blair Pincus is a neuroscientist, artist, and educator with a passion for crafting experiences that catalyze self-discovery and transformation. Melanie became interested in modalities that spur personal growth and rewire the brain during her PhD in neuroscience at Emory University, where she studied the legacy of early-life stress on the developing brain. She is compelled by both play and non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC) as powerful tools that promote flexible brain states for healing and flourishing. In her roles as chief scientific officer for two psychedelic startups, she has designed multi-omics psilocybin research programs with botanical mushrooms to explore the potential of NOSC for personal growth. Melanie’s new venture, Syncopy Design Lab (syncopydesignlab.com), is an experience design studio creating experiences that facilitate deeper states of connectedness to self, community, and the natural world. The lab weaves together transformative principles, biosensing technology, neuroaesthetic design, play, and NOSC to offer impactful art installations, workshops and retreats.

Previous Articles

From Taboo to Treatment: The Resurgence of Psychedelic Medicine
June 1, 2024 (Vol. 25, Issue 6)
Trending
Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM