The scientists proving psilocybin works.

Rael Cahn

MD, PhD

University of California, San Diego

Dr. Rael Cahn is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at UC San Diego whose research sits at the intersection of meditation, psychedelics, and consciousness. His work has illuminated how contemplative practices and psychedelic compounds produce overlapping changes in neural oscillations and subjective experience. Cahn has published extensively on EEG correlates of meditative states and is investigating how combined meditation-psychedelic protocols may enhance therapeutic outcomes. His integrative approach bridges Eastern contemplative traditions with Western neuroscience methodology.

Robin Carhart-Harris

PhD

University of California, San Francisco

Robin Carhart-Harris is a neuroscientist and psychologist who pioneered the use of modern neuroimaging to study the brain under psychedelics. At Imperial College London, he conducted the first fMRI studies of LSD and psilocybin in healthy volunteers, revealing that psychedelics reduce activity in the default mode network. He led the first modern clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression and developed the influential entropic brain hypothesis. Now directing the Neuroscape Psychedelics Division at UCSF, he continues to shape the field's theoretical and clinical foundations.

Roland Griffiths

PhD (1946–2023)

Johns Hopkins University

Roland Griffiths was a pioneering psychopharmacologist who spent over five decades at Johns Hopkins University studying the behavioral and subjective effects of mood-altering substances. In 2006, he published the landmark study demonstrating that psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with lasting positive effects on well-being, reigniting modern psychedelic research. He founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, the first institution of its kind at a major U.S. university. His work provided the scientific rigor that helped legitimize psychedelic medicine as a field.

Matthew Johnson

PhD

Sheppard Pratt (formerly Johns Hopkins University)

Matthew Johnson is a psychopharmacologist and behavioral pharmacologist who has been at the forefront of psychedelic clinical research for over two decades. At Johns Hopkins, he led the groundbreaking pilot study demonstrating that psilocybin-assisted therapy could help long-term smokers quit with remarkable success rates far exceeding conventional treatments. His research spans addiction, risk assessment of psychedelics, and the nature of mystical experiences as therapeutic mechanisms. He now leads psychedelic research initiatives at Sheppard Pratt while continuing to publish prolifically on psychedelic safety and efficacy.

David Nutt

DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FMedSci

Imperial College London

David Nutt is a neuropsychopharmacologist and the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. He is one of the most cited psychopharmacologists in the world, known for his evidence-based approach to drug classification and his advocacy for rational drug policy reform. As chair of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, his controversial dismissal for comparing the harms of ecstasy to horse riding brought international attention to the gap between drug scheduling and scientific evidence. He cofounded Drug Science and has been instrumental in building Imperial's psychedelic research program.

Frederick Barrett

PhD

Johns Hopkins University

Frederick Barrett is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, where he leads neuroimaging studies examining how psychedelics alter brain function and emotional processing. His research has revealed how psilocybin modulates amygdala responses to emotional stimuli, providing mechanistic insights into why psychedelics may be effective for mood disorders. Barrett has also contributed significantly to understanding the neural correlates of awe and mystical experience under psilocybin. His work combines functional neuroimaging, psychophysics, and behavioral pharmacology.

Rosalind Watts

DClinPsy

Formerly Imperial College London

Rosalind Watts is a clinical psychologist who served as clinical lead for the landmark Imperial College psilocybin for depression trial, one of the first modern studies to demonstrate psilocybin's potential for treatment-resistant depression. Drawing on qualitative interviews with trial participants, she developed the ACE (Accept, Connect, Embody) model, a therapeutic framework for understanding how psychedelic experiences translate into lasting psychological change. Watts has been a thoughtful voice on the ethical and relational dimensions of psychedelic therapy. She founded the ACER Integration community to support long-term wellbeing after psychedelic experiences.

Stephen Ross

MD

NYU Langone Health

Stephen Ross is an associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health and director of the NYU Langone Psychedelic Medicine Research Group. He led the pivotal 2016 randomized controlled trial demonstrating that a single dose of psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, rapidly and enduringly reduced anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer diagnoses. His work has been instrumental in establishing psychedelic-assisted therapy as a viable approach for existential and end-of-life distress. Ross continues to advance clinical research on psychedelic medicine at one of the country's leading academic medical centers.