Ask the field your questions

Bridging Traditional Knowledge Systems with Psychedelic Science

Rebekah Senanayake

Rebekah, a cultural psychologist and anthropologist, shared work that bridges traditional knowledge systems, psychedelic science and human development. It draws on 27 months of fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, where she began a formal apprenticeship in 2019, and on experimental studies of how plant medicine and ritual shape identity, cognition and wellbeing.

The Dark Side of Psychedelics

Mattha Busby

Journalist and author

Mattha, a journalist whose work has appeared in VICE, WIRED, Rolling Stone and The Guardian, walked through his reporting on the dark side of psychedelics and the media's role in confronting it, with honest views on the current state of psychedelic medicine and culture. This seminar was followed by the first IPN Labs Integration Circle.

Sex and Psychedelics

Dr. Alex Dymock

Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr. Dymock, a senior lecturer in law at Goldsmiths, University of London, discussed her paper "Sex and Psychedelics: a wide-lens look at a burgeoning field" in Medical Humanities. Her research looks at drugs, bodies and sexuality, including an interview project on underground psychedelic use in relation to sexual trauma.

Developing an Ethics and Policy Framework for Psychedelic Clinical Care

Dr. Amy Lynn McGuire, J.D., Ph.D.

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. McGuire discussed her paper "Developing an Ethics and Policy Framework for Psychedelic Clinical Care: A Consensus Statement." She studies ethical and policy issues around emerging therapies and founded the ELIPSIS program (Ethical Legal Implications of Psychedelics in Society), which researches how to translate psychedelic medicine into responsible policy.

Psychedelics, Anesthesia and Dreaming

Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD

Stanford School of Medicine

Dr. Heifets, an associate professor of anesthesiology at Stanford, joined us for an online seminar. His lab studies the neural mechanisms behind rapid-acting psychiatric treatments such as ketamine, MDMA and psilocybin, including their effects on neuroplasticity, with the goal of developing treatments that are precise, safe and scalable.

How the Psychedelic DOI Relieves Anxiety

Dr. Praachi Tiwari

Johns Hopkins CPCR

Dr. Tiwari, a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, presented her Neuron study showing that ventral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons gate the anti-anxiety effect of the psychedelic DOI, pointing to a possible mechanism for psychedelic treatment of anxiety.

Magic Microbes

Dr. Andrew Jones

Hallucinations

by Oliver Sacks

A member discussion of Oliver Sacks's "Hallucinations" (2013), facilitated by IPN Labs.

Grad School Applications

Cameron Smith

PhD candidate, Baylor College of Medicine

Office hours with current graduate students for anyone applying to graduate school. The session opened with a short presentation on the key parts of a strong application, followed by one-on-one conversations for personal advice.

Mysticism, Phenomenology, and Psychedelics

Dr. John Dunne

University of Wisconsin–Madison

An IPN Labs seminar with Dr. John Dunne on mysticism, phenomenology and psychedelics. It opened IPN's June 2024 events, the month of PsychedelX 2024.

Reality Switch Technologies

Psychedelics as Tools for the Discovery and Exploration of New Worlds, by Andrew Gallimore

A member discussion of Andrew Gallimore's "Reality Switch Technologies: Psychedelics as Tools for the Discovery and Exploration of New Worlds" (2022).

Methods in Systems Neuroscience

Cameron Smith

Neuroscience PhD candidate, Baylor College of Medicine

An overview of common neuroscience research methods, to help you read papers and choose research paths. The workshop focused on methods that record and manipulate the brain using light, and on designer drugs used to study systems like serotonin.

Contemporary Perspectives on Psychedelics from the Legal Discourse

Prof. Victoria Litman, M.Div., J.D., LL.M.

Roger Williams University School of Law; POPLAR, Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School

Prof. Litman, a nonprofit tax lawyer and adjunct law professor, shared how the legal conversation around psychedelics is developing. Her scholarship sits where constitutional, tax and drug law meet, with a focus on religious freedom, and she has researched how religious communities that use psychedelics are taxed.

Evolving Dharma

Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment, by Jay Michaelson

A member discussion of Jay Michaelson's "Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment" (2013).

Psychedelic Patents

Porta Sophia

Nonprofit library of psychedelic prior art

Porta Sophia presented its work protecting the public domain and supporting good patents in psychedelics. Porta Sophia is a nonprofit online library of scientific, historical and cultural information (prior art) that helps keep already-public knowledge from being patented.

How Anthropologists Study Psychedelics

Kai River Blevins

PhD candidate, Anthropology, George Washington University

An overview of how sociocultural anthropologists study psychedelics, especially within medical anthropology and science and technology studies. Kai's research looks at the effects of psychedelic decriminalization in the United States. Facilitated by Dr. Carli Domenico.

Trends, Training, Challenges, and Opportunities for Law in Psychedelics

Matthew Brockmeier, JD

McAllister Law

Matthew shared routes into law in the psychedelic space, the regulations you may run into in different fields, and current and future legal trends. His practice covers the law, business, policy and politics of psychedelics, cannabis and other controlled substances.

The Psychedelic Universe: Global Perspectives on Higher Consciousness

A study abroad opportunity

Dr. J. Christian Greer and Dr. Erik Davis

Dr. Greer and Dr. Davis introduced their two-week summer course at the University of Amsterdam. The course follows psychedelics across history and culture, from ancient mystery cults and Indigenous societies to world religions, postwar counterculture and today's "psychedelic renaissance," and fills in history that psychedelic science often leaves out.

Kratom and Drug Policy

Soren Shade

The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss

My Life with Terence McKenna, with author Dennis McKenna

Dennis McKenna

Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota

A discussion of Dennis McKenna's newly re-released memoir, with the author. Dennis has studied Amazonian ethnopharmacology and plant hallucinogens for more than 30 years, is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute and helped organize the Hoasca Project, the first biomedical study of ayahuasca.

Clinicians and Psychedelics

Taylor Andrews Flatt, PMHNP-BC; Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD; Dr. Kelan Thomas, PharmD, MS

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Dell Medical School, UT Austin; Touro University California

A panel of clinicians on where psychedelics meet clinical practice: clinical efficacy, safety and ethics, and the challenges practitioners may face as the field grows.

Exploring the Mind: Understanding Neuroscience Methods in Psychedelics

Cameron Smith

Neuroscience PhD candidate, Baylor College of Medicine

An overview of common neuroscience research methods, to help you read papers and choose research paths. It covered human-scale recordings such as fMRI and animal-model methods such as in vivo electrophysiology and behavior assays used to study anxiety and depression.

Exile & Ecstasy

Growing Up with Ram Dass and Coming of Age in the Jewish Psychedelic Underground, with author Madison Margolin

Madison Margolin

Our first Book Club of 2024: a discussion of "Exile & Ecstasy" (2023) with the author, Madison Margolin.

Academic Programming from Scratch

A starter workshop in computer programming

Cameron Smith

Neuroscience PhD candidate, Baylor College of Medicine

An introduction to programming in Python for research and academia. The workshop covered how to think in a coding framework and where to keep learning, for uses from statistics to building websites.

Developing Ethical Frameworks for Psychedelic Education in Indigenous Communities

Marlena Robbins

DrPH student, UC Berkeley School of Public Health; UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics Fellow

Marlena presented her research on how urban Indigenous communities, across generations, view psychedelic use. The talk covered harm reduction, educational frameworks that connect traditional Indigenous understanding with modern use, and principles for ethical, culturally sensitive engagement.

Navigating the Psychedelic Research Frontier

Dr. Rick Strassman

Clinical research psychiatrist and author

Dr. Strassman shared the successes and setbacks of getting clinical psychedelic research approved, funded and through regulation, with firsthand advice for students who want to run clinical studies.

Your Brain on Psychedelics

by Genís Ona

Our final Book Club of 2023: a discussion of Genís Ona's "Your Brain on Psychedelics: How Do Psychedelics Work?", on the pharmacology and neuroscience of psilocybin, DMT, LSD, MDMA and mescaline.

Trends, Training, and the Future of the Psychedelic Workforce

David Drapkin, LCSW

Director of Education and Training, Psychedelics Today

David shared data from the Psychedelics Today report "The Emerging Psychedelic Workforce," based on surveys of 130 students and graduates of the Vital certificate program: who will make up the field, how diverse it will be, and how workers will serve clients and communities. He also introduced the Vital program and took questions on education, training and careers.

The Doors of Perception

by Aldous Huxley

A member discussion of Aldous Huxley's "The Doors of Perception."

Psynautics

Citizen Science in the Psychedelic Wave

Dr. Conor Murray, PhD

UCLA Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Founder, Psynautics

Dr. Murray talked about his work in academia and at Psynautics, a company that uses citizen neuroscience and Muse EEG devices to give participants data on psychedelic-related protocols. He also shared paid, internship-style roles analyzing data, as a way to build skills for graduate school and beyond.

Personal Statement Workshop

Get support crafting your personal statement for graduate program applications

Uma R. Chatterjee, MS, MHPS, and Dr. Carli Domenico, PhD

A workshop on approaches and structures for a strong personal statement. It covered STEM, non-STEM and multidisciplinary applicants, traditional and non-traditional students, program-specific tips, and how to write about disability as a source of strength.

Poisoner in Chief

by Stephen Kinzer

A member discussion of Stephen Kinzer's "Poisoner in Chief" (2019).

How to Change Your Mind

by Michael Pollan

A member discussion of Michael Pollan's "How to Change Your Mind" (2018).

Data Clinic and Statistics Support

Cameron Smith

Neuroscience PhD candidate, Baylor College of Medicine

Drop-in office hours for students and early-career researchers doing quantitative and mixed-methods research. Whether you were designing a study, collecting data or running analyses, Cameron answered statistics questions.

The Wrathful Deities: Shame, Guilt, and the Psychedelic Experience

Dr. David Mathai

Dr. Mathai reported on a large longitudinal study of adults who planned to use psilocybin in naturalistic settings, measured before and after use, focusing on state and trait shame. He had recently finished a psychiatry research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.

CV Workshop for Academic Programs

Kai River Blevins, Jocelyn Wensel and Cameron Smith

A workshop on building an effective CV, especially for academic programs, in STEM, clinical and non-STEM fields. Facilitators shared example sections, formatting that is easy to read, how to strengthen a CV without publications, and how to phrase skills and accomplishments.

What Episodic Memory Can Tell Us About Mechanisms of Psychedelic Drug Action

The FLUX model

Dr. Manoj Doss

University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Doss introduced his proposed model of how psychedelics act and the recent data behind it. He also shared his view of the psychedelic research landscape and answered questions from IPN members.

The Immortality Key

The Secret History of the Religion with No Name, with author Brian C. Muraresku

Brian C. Muraresku

A discussion of "The Immortality Key" (2020) with the author, Brian Muraresku.

Queering Psychedelics

From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine

A member discussion of selections from "Queering Psychedelics" (2022), edited by Alex Belser, Clancy Cavnar and Beatriz C. Labate.

Psychedelic Pathways: Navigating Mentorship in Sciences and Humanities

Uma Chatterjee, Victor Pablo Acero, Alex (@theoretic.al.ex) and Connor James Storck

IPN leaders

IPN leaders shared how to find academic and professional mentors, do background research, write introductory emails and communicate well for productive collaborations.

Liquid Light

Ayahuasca Spirituality and the Santo Daime Tradition, with author Dr. William Barnard

Dr. William Barnard

A discussion of "Liquid Light: Ayahuasca Spirituality and the Santo Daime Tradition" (2022) with the author, Dr. Bill Barnard.

The Varieties of Spiritual Experience

21st Century Research and Perspectives

A member discussion of selections from "The Varieties of Spiritual Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives" (2022) by Dr. David B. Yaden and Dr. Andrew Newberg.

Psychedelics & Neuroplasticity

Dr. David Olson

UC Davis; Delix Therapeutics

Dr. Olson, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis and co-founder of Delix Therapeutics, discussed psychedelics and neuroplasticity, including his research on psychoplastogens.

The Rose of Paracelsus

On Secrets & Sacraments, with author William Leonard Pickard and Dr. Neşe Devenot

William Leonard Pickard and Dr. Neşe Devenot

A discussion of "The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets & Sacraments" (2022) with the author, William Leonard Pickard, and special guest Dr. Neşe Devenot. This session was opened to the whole community.

Serotonin in the Brain & Intracellular Psychedelic Signalling

Cameron Smith

Graduate student

A live seminar and discussion on the neuroscience of serotonin signalling in the brain, and a new paper arguing that psychedelics change neural plasticity through intracellular signalling.

Psychedelic Pharmacology: The Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor

Dr. Charles Nichols

Louisiana State University

Dr. Nichols, a professor of pharmacology at LSU and co-editor of the journal Psychedelic Medicine, spoke on the role of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor in psychedelic pharmacology.

Psychedelic Justice

Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture

A member discussion of selections from "Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture" (2021), edited by Beatriz C. Labate.

Navigating IRBs for Psychedelic Studies

Dr. Peter Hendricks, PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

A live Q&A on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), which protect human research participants, and how they apply to psychedelic research. Dr. Hendricks studies psilocybin for cocaine addiction and co-edits the journal Psychedelic Medicine.

The Psychedelic Handbook

A Practical Guide to Psilocybin, LSD, Ketamine, MDMA, and DMT/Ayahuasca, with author Dr. Rick Strassman

Dr. Rick Strassman

A discussion of "The Psychedelic Handbook" (2022) with the author, Dr. Rick Strassman.

Philosophy and Psychedelics

Psychedelics and Emerging Discourses on Philosophy and Psychiatry

A member discussion of selections from "Philosophy and Psychedelics" (2022), edited by Christine Hauskeller and Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes.

Self-Entropic Broadening Theory

Haley Dourron

IPN

Haley presented Self-Entropic Broadening Theory, a framework for understanding the broad therapeutic potential of psychedelics by looking at the overlap between high-entropy states of consciousness such as mystical experiences and psychosis.

Psychedelics & Psychosis

The history of the psychotomimetic model

Haley Dourron

IPN (PsychedelX Chief Programming Coordinator)

Haley traced the history of the psychotomimetic model of psychedelics and how it shaped theories in psychedelic science. The lecture set up her Self-Entropic Broadening Theory seminar later that month.

Set, Setting & Culture

Discussion of "American Trip" (2020) and "Modalities of the psychedelic experience" (2022), by Dr. Ido Hartogsohn

The first IPN Labs Book Club: a discussion of Ido Hartogsohn's "American Trip" (2020) and the article "Modalities of the psychedelic experience: Microclimates of set and setting in hallucinogen research and culture" (2022).

Race, Set, & Setting

Race as a component of set and setting: How experiences of race can influence psychedelic experiences

Logan Neitzke-Spruill

PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Delaware

Logan discussed how race interacts with set and setting to shape how psychedelic experiences are framed and interpreted.

Set, Setting & Placebo

Overview and discussion of Olson et al.'s (2020) paper "Tripping on Nothing: Placebo Psychedelics and Contextual Factors"

An overview and discussion of Olson et al.'s (2020) paper. It asks how much of a psychedelic experience comes from the drug and how much from non-drug factors, and how to read the data through set and setting.