Dr. Edward Kelly, Professor in the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) within the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, studies the scientific investigation of consciousness and unusual mental phenomena.

For more than a century, scientists have explored the edges of human consciousness, asking difficult questions about the relationship between the mind and the brain, and whether aspects of consciousness might persist beyond death. While research in areas such as near-death experiences, reincarnation cases, and experimental parapsychology has produced intriguing findings, these topics still sit uneasily at the margins of mainstream science.

Dr. Kelly discusses the long history of research into these phenomena and why studying the mysteries of consciousness continues to challenge conventional scientific thinking.