IOANA ALINA CRISTEA

Ioana Alina Cristea is an Associate Professor at the Department of General Psychology, University of Padova. Her research focuses on methodological rigor in psychotherapy evaluation, evidence-based treatment protocols, and meta-research into publication practices. She critically examines topics like the brain disease model of addiction, psychedelic therapies, and advocacy biases in mental health.

Her work emphasizes transparency in clinical trials and open science practices. Recent projects include analyzing suicide risk in psychotherapy outcomes, evaluating digital interventions for depression, and assessing accessibility of evidence-based treatment manuals. She critiques overhyped claims in emerging treatments like MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and advocates for robust comparative effectiveness research.

Cristea's research spans neuroimaging meta-analyses in autism spectrum disorder, cognitive therapy efficacy comparisons, and challenges in psychedelic medicine research. Her work often highlights discrepancies between published findings and original trial protocols, advocating for improved reporting standards in biomedical journals.

Her lab focuses on meta-research studies that address systemic issues in psychological and psychiatric research, including publication bias, panel stacking in consensus statements, and the validity of editorial processes. She has contributed to initiatives promoting preregistration of neuroimaging analyses and improved benchmarking in clinical trials.