# Baland Jalal Associate Richard McNally's Lab ![J Baland](/sites/g/files/omnuum9601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/psych/files/rsz_1baland_jalal.jpg?itok=xwrZTdJ9) email [baland\_jalal@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:baland_jalal@fas.harvard.edu) laptop\_windows [McNally lab](https://www.mcnallylab.com/) Dr. Baland Jalal is a researcher at Harvard's Department of Psychology and formerly a visiting researcher at Cambridge University's Department of Psychiatry. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine (Trinity College) and was a Fellow at Harvard in 2016 and 2018. He has collaborated closely with renowned [V.S. Ramachandran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._S._Ramachandran) (TIME Magazine’s “100 most influential people in the world” in 2011), and his Ph.D. mentors were Barbara Sahakian and Trevor Robbins (ranked “the 4th most influential brain scientist of the modern era” by Semantic Scholar and [the leading neuroscientist in the world by research.com](https://research.com/u/trevor-w-robbins)). He has published over 50 scientific papers and co-authored with Devon Hinton, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, the book: [“Transdiagnostic Multiplex CBT for Muslim Cultural Groups: Treating Emotional Disorders”](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/transdiagnostic-multiplex-cbt-for-muslim-cultural-groups/2BD51DFBFE5F288FD88516B0FACAADB0) (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Dr. Jalal has lectured at places like Harvard, Oxford, and the London School of Economics, and was recently invited to speak at Oxford’s Sherrington Society – one of the oldest and most prestigious medical societies in the world. Additionally, he has given two TEDx talks. The Daily Telegraph described Dr. Jalal as [“one of the world’s leading experts on sleep paralysis”](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/suffering-sleep-paralysis/). He was ranked the [“top-rated expert in sleep paralysis in the world”](https://expertscape.com/ex/sleep%20paralysis) on Expertscape based on scientific impact in the past 10 years; and one of the [“15 Most Interesting People in Sleep”](http://web.archive.org/web/20170826191830/http:/vanwinkles.com/the-most-interesting-people-in-sleep) by Van Winkle (“sleep blog” by Casper Sleep, a list of researchers, writers, and cultural figures). His work has been featured in major media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Today, The BBC, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, NBC News, New York Magazine, The Times, Forbes, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Fox News, Vox Media, Der Spiegel, Discovery, New Scientist, Discover Magazine, VICE, and PBS (NOVA). He has appeared on TV and radio like BBC one and two, and the Pulse (NPR); and the BBC documentary “Uncanny”. He writes for [TIME Magazine](https://time.com/6259846/sleep-paralysis-ghosts/), [Big Think](https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/sleep-paralysis-terrifying-encounter-mind), [Scientific American](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-new-way-to-understand-and-possibly-treat-ocd/), and his 2022 Op-Ed featured on the cover of [the Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/06/opinion/seeing-ghosts-wake-up/). Dr. Jalal’s research focuses on neuropsychiatry including anxiety and mood disorders and OCD. He has conducted studies on sleep paralysis globally (spanning across countries such as the USA, Denmark, Egypt, South Africa, Italy, Turkey, and Poland). He designed one of the earliest treatments for sleep paralysis dubbed "Meditation-Relaxation Therapy" (extensively covered in [New York Magazine](https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/a-neuroscientist-tried-to-help-me-overcome-my-sleep-paralysis.html)). Alongside VS Ramachandran, Richard J. McNally and colleagues, he proposed the use of the “rubber hand illusion” to treat OCD. - ## Alphabetical Fellows and Associates [F - J](/alphabetical-fellows-and-researchers/f-j) - ## By Lab Fellows and Associates [R. McNally](/lab-fellows-and-researchers/r-mcnally) - ## Role/Affiliation [Fellows and Associates](/roleaffiliation/fellows-and-associates)