Andrew Newberg, M.D.
Director, Marcus Institute of Integrative Health
Myrna Brind Center, Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Andrew Newberg is the director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and a physician at Jefferson University Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine and nuclear medicine.
Dr. Newberg’s research now largely focuses on how brain function is associated with various mental states—in particular, religious and mystical experiences. In fact, he has written several highly acclaimed books on this subject. His research has included brain scans of people in prayer, meditation, rituals, and trance states, as well as surveys of people’s spiritual experiences and attitudes. Dr. Newberg has also evaluated the relationship between religious or spiritual phenomena and health and the effect of meditation on memory. He believes that it is important to keep science rigorous and religion religious.
Dr. Newberg has also used neuroimaging research projects to study aging and dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, depression, and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. He is a pioneer in the neurological study of religious and spiritual experiences, a field known as “neurotheology.”