Elisabetta Burchi

MD · MBA · Clinical Psychiatrist · Neuromodulation Researcher · Science Communicator

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I. A Florentine Education

A generalist by inclination and motivated both by intellectual curiosity and, maybe most profoundly, by a deep sense of connection that draws me to others, I have always identified with the humanistic cultural legacy of my hometown, Florence. Resonating with the echoes of my homeland, I have indeed always favored a well-around eclectic education as a means to better approach our multifaceted reality and contribute to a society that serves human fluorishing.

While inclined to abstract thinking for its power of generalization, as well as to practical knowledge, for its transformative power on real-world challenges, I would not define myself as an intellectual, nor as an entrepreneur.. but as a deeply passionate person.
Passion (and compassion, too) have always been my driving forces.

Considered indifference as the most unacceptable attitude and contributor to the “banality of evil”, I decided to study medicine and become a physician moved by the desire to realize the ideal of a job in which self-fulfillment and professional achievement are intrinsically somehow subordinated to a direct benefit to other human beings. Fascinated by complex systems and philosophy, I chose to study the mind-brain entity, the subtrate of being human, and then to become a Psychiatrist.

II. Medicine, Neuroscience and Beyond

During and after my residency, I devoted myself to clinical research, spending some years at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Through both research and psychiatric practice, I found a way to recover my transdisciplinary aspirations, seeing in neuroscience what physics had been for the previous century: a foundational science capable of informing the development of many other disciplines, far beyond the field of medicine itself. Driven by the ambition to expand the impact of my work from the individual to the systemic level, I later pursued an MBA at INSEAD, which exposed me to an amazingly diverse and stimulating community and provided me with new tools to pursue systemic change. Alongside my clinical practice, I then went on to work in biotechnology and health innovation, first in the United States and later in Europe. Today, I serve as Head of Research at Parasym, a neurotechnology company focused on advancing non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation through clinical innovation, I practice as a Psychiatrist and medical director and I am adjunt professor at the The Salesian Pontifical University. Still seeing neuroscience as one of the privileged cutting-edge framework for approaching complex challenges at the cross-roads of multiple fields, and keeping the understanding of human motivations and scopes always as my main object of interest, I still aim to magnify the impact of my practice investigating the potential for lasting improvements in human health and society.

III. The Renaissance Doctor

From an early age, I have been deeply moved by human suffering and drawn to questions of responsibility and the common good. Convinced that human beings cannot be reduced to their circumstances, yet equally aware that the systems in which we live profoundly shape our opportunities and choices, I have always been fascinated by the interplay between individual uniqueness and societal dynamics.

Today, we can no longer afford to ignore the importance of systemic understanding. Scientific and technological progress is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, transforming how we live, think, and relate to one another, often faster than our capacity to comprehend these changes and integrate them into a coherent vision of human flourishing.

As increasingly powerful technologies blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood, and attention capacity, critical thinking, and social trust have become increasingly fragile, the need for a renewed humanism has therefore become urgent.

Against the backdrop of democratic fragility, the rise of populism, and the growing simplification of narratives about reality, my aspiration to contribute to public life has only grown stronger.
In response to this challenging landscape, I believe we need a new human-centred Renaissance: one capable of placing the human being back at the centre of scientific, technological, and social progress. A Renaissance that helps reconnect mechanism and meaning, scientific and technological advancement with individual and collective human flourishing.

This conviction inspired me to create The Renaissance Doctor.Through conversations with clinicians, scientists, philosophers, sociologists and innovators, I hope to help listeners move beyond information toward more critical and systemic understanding. Not simply to learn more about health, but to think more deeply about ourselves, our communities, and the future we are collectively building.

Because health is different from the absence of disease. It is the foundation that enables human beings to connect, create meaning, exercise agency, and ultimately flourish.

Training & Research

MD — University of Florence, 2007- 2013
Residency in Psychiatry — University of Florence, 2014-2019
MBA — INSEAD Business School, 2020-2021
Post-Doctoral Research fellowship in neuromodulation Montefiore Medical Center, Einstein College of Medicine, 2017-2020

Researcher in transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS). Co-author on peer-reviewed work in vagus nerve stimulation, autonomic regulation, and neuromodulation across psychiatric conditions.

Proietti F., Burchi E et al Vagus nerve stimulation in movement disorders, from principles to a systematic review of evidence. Brain Stimulation Journal. 2025
Luykx JJ, Burchi E. A Call for the Scientific Community to Adopt Environmental, Social and Governance Principles. Anthropocene Science. 2025
E Burchi, M Fava. Optimal dose of antidepressants: validity of a dose-response meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2019
Eskandar EN, Burchi E et al. Neurologic Syndromes Predict Higher In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19. Neurology. 2020 Dec
E Burchi, N Makris, M Lee, S Pallanti, E Hollander. Compulsivity in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD): implications for neuromodulation. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2019
E Burchi, M Diamond, E Shanahan, D Stein, E Hollander. APA Textbook Chapter 20: The Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum of Disorders. APP. 2019
E Burchi, E Hollander, S Pallanti. From Treatment Response to Recovery – a Realistic Goal in OCD - . The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019
G Uzunova, E Burchi, E Hollander. Oxytocin, Empathy, Relatedness, and Attachment in Psychotherapy. The American Psychoanalyst. 2019
E Burchi, S Pallanti. Diagnostic issues in early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder and their treatment implications. Current neuropharmacology. 2019
E Burchi, S Pallanti. Antibiotics for PANDAS? Limited

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