Andrew Robert Gallimore (b. 1980 or 1981; age ~45–46 years), also known by his handle Alien Insect, is a British neurobiologist, chemist, and pharmacologist who studies psychedelic drugs, particularly dimethyltryptamine (DMT).[5][1][2] He is also a historical scholar of DMT.[5][3][6] Gallimore resides in Japan and works at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.[3][4]

Andrew Robert Gallimore
Born (1980-02-25) 25 February 1980 (age 46)
Other nameAlien Insect
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
OccupationsNeurobiologist, chemist, pharmacologist[1][2]
Years active2005–present
Organization(s)Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology;[3][4] Alien Insect, Eleusis, Noonautics
Known forResearch on psychedelic drugs like DMT; DMTx
Notable workVarious books; DMTx
Websitebuildingalienworlds.com
alieninsect.substack.com
noonautics.org

Gallimore and Rick Strassman, author of the 2001 book DMT: The Spirit Molecule, have developed a method of continuous intravenous infusion of DMT that they call "extended-state DMT" or "DMTx".[7][5][1][3][2][4][8] It can extend the duration of a DMT experience from a few minutes to several hours.[1][3][2][4][8] They intend to use it to study the phenomenology of DMT.[1][3][2][4][8] Other researchers, such as David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, and Matthias Liechti, are also studying DMT by continuous intravenous infusion.[9][10][11]

Gallimore believes that DMT experiences are not simply hallucinations.[7][5] Instead, he suggests that DMT allows the human brain to interface and interact with a deeper level of reality beyond the physical world.[5][12] Relatedly, Gallimore believes that entity encounters experienced with DMT are real and genuine interactions with beings that he refers to as discarnate intelligent agents.[7][5][12] Conversely, other researchers, such as Carhart-Harris among others, believe that DMT entities are merely illusions.[7][13][14]

Gallimore and others launched a retreat and research center called Eleusis on the island of Bequia in the Caribbean in March 2026.[7] Its aim is to study DMTx and DMT entities and to attempt to communicate with these entities.[7] The research arm of Eleusis is overseen by Gallimore's non-profit Noonautics.[7]

Selected publications

edit

Books

edit

Book chapters

edit

Journal articles

edit

Thesis

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Haas, Sarah (19 July 2017). "DMT: Living in an alien world and we don't even know it". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jarow, Oshan (4 November 2024). "The world's most mysterious psychedelic is already inside your brain". Vox. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jarnow, Jesse (9 August 2016). "Scientists Developed a Way to Make DMT Trips Last Longer Than Ever". VICE. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 John, Graham St (20 March 2018). "Could the brain produce its own psychedelic compound?". Aeon Essays. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hebbert, Sacha (9 May 2023). "Researchers Are Mapping DMT Dimensions Through DMTx Tech". Psychedelic Spotlight. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  6. Andrew R. Gallimore; David P. Luke (3 July 2015). "DMT Research from 1956 to the Edge of Time" (PDF). In Luke, David; King, Dave (eds.). Neurotransmissions: Essays on Psychedelics from Breaking Convention. London: Strange Attractor Press. pp. 291–316. ISBN 978-1-907222-43-6.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wright, Webb (4 March 2026). "Some People See Aliens While on DMT. Researchers Want to Find Out What They Can Teach Us". WIRED. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Gallimore AR, Strassman RJ (2016). "A Model for the Application of Target-Controlled Intravenous Infusion for a Prolonged Immersive DMT Psychedelic Experience" (PDF). Front Pharmacol. 7: 211. doi:10.3389/fphar.2016.00211. PMC 4944667. PMID 27471468.
  9. Vogt SB, Ley L, Erne L, Straumann I, Becker AM, Klaiber A, Holze F, Vandersmissen A, Mueller L, Duthaler U, Rudin D, Luethi D, Varghese N, Eckert A, Liechti ME (May 2023). "Acute effects of intravenous DMT in a randomized placebo-controlled study in healthy participants". Transl Psychiatry. 13 (1) 172. doi:10.1038/s41398-023-02477-4. PMC 10206108. PMID 37221177.
  10. Luan LX, Eckernäs E, Ashton M, Rosas FE, Uthaug MV, Bartha A, Jagger S, Gascon-Perai K, Gomes L, Nutt DJ, Erritzøe D, Carhart-Harris RL, Timmermann C (January 2024). "Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT". J Psychopharmacol. 38 (1): 56–67. doi:10.1177/02698811231196877. PMC 10851633. PMID 37897244.
  11. Erne L, Vogt SB, Müller L, Nuraj A, Becker A, Klaiber A, Zuparic M, Varghese N, Eckert A, Rudin D, Luethi D, Liechti ME (May 2025). "Acute dose-dependent effects and self-guided titration of continuous N,N-dimethyltryptamine infusions in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in healthy participants". Neuropsychopharmacology. 50 (6): 1008–1016. doi:10.1038/s41386-024-02041-8. PMC 12032411. PMID 39702577.
  12. 1 2 Gallimore, Andrew R. (1 July 2025). Death by Astonishment: Confronting the Mystery of the World's Strangest Drug (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-1250357755.
  13. "The Alchemist: Reflections on a Lifetime of Psychedelic Chemistry". McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy. 14 February 2024. [Dave Nichols:] Yeah, the most logical thing would be is that they're inventions from your unconscious. They're representations of something that theoretically, I guess if you took a psychedelic and you queried one of these entities, you could say, who are you to it? Or what do you want? And they might just dissolve, or they might say. Might tell you something about yourself that you had been wondering. But I think you're right. I mean, the most logical scientific explanation is that they're products of your unconscious that are popped up by these amazing effects of psychedelics.
  14. Brown, D.J.; Huntley, S.P. (2025). The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities: Machine Elves, Tricksters, Teachers, and Other Interdimensional Beings. Inner Traditions/Bear. pp. 32–33, 35, 44–45, 108, 110, 113. ISBN 978-1-64411-920-4. Retrieved 3 February 2026. According to DMT researcher Josie Kins, whom I interviewed for this book: [...] However, when I interviewed Josie Kins and asked her about this, she replied: I'm very much a materialist, despite all the psychedelics I've tried. In fact, the more I've tripped, the more certain I've become that these things are produced by the mind. That doesn't reduce the significance of it for me. [...]
edit