Rachel Christie is a scientific analyst in the Action on new drugs area of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
She has been employed by the EMCDDA since 2014, with responsibility for the day to day running of the European Early Warning System (EWS) on new psychoactive substances.
An Irish national, she holds a BSc in Forensic and Environmental Analysis and a PhD in Forensic Chemistry. Her thesis "The analysis, synthesis and characterisation of new psychoactive substances of abuse" focused on the emergence of new psychoactive substances from 2010 to late 2013. She received her BSc and PhD from the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.
She has published research papers in the analysis and synthesis of new psychoactive substances and has also investigated the potential of Raman spectroscopy in their characterisation. She was involved in a team that conducted and published a comprehensive review of the "legal high" market in Ireland, conducting test-purchases and laboratory analysis of new psychoactive substances, on behalf of the Irish Government.
