International Summit on Psychedelic Therapies for Mental Illness

Speakers

• Dr Adele Lafrance (USA/Canada)

  Clinical Psychologist, Research Scientist, Author

  Dr Adele Lafrance (USA/Canada)

  Clinical Psychologist, Research Scientist, Author

  Ph.D

  Adele Lafrance is a clinical psychologist, research scientist, and best-selling author. A frequent speaker at professional conferences worldwide, Dr. Lafrance has published extensively in the field of emotion and health, including a clinical manual to support intergenerational family healing published by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Lafrance is a leader in the research and practice of psychedelic medicine, with a focus on ayahuasca, psilocybin and MDMA. She studies mechanisms of change, including spirituality and emotion processing, as well as psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to support the treatment of eating disorders. Dr. Lafrance also has a keen interest in the application of psychedelic medicine in the context of family therapy.

• Professor David Nutt (UK)

  Head of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London

  Professor David Nutt (UK)

  Head of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London

  BA, MB BChir, MRCP, MA, DM, MRCPsych, FRCPsych, FMedSci, FRCP, FSB.

  Renowned researcher, policy advisor and author, Professor David Nutt, is currently Head of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

  Under the leadership of Professor Nutt, the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College is one of the world’s foremost psychedelic research laboratories, publishing landmark research on psychedelic therapies and neuroimaging studies of the psychedelic state.

  Professor Nutt has also held many leadership positions in both UK and European academic, scientific and clinical organisations, including presidencies of: the European Brain Council, the British Neuroscience Association, the British Association of Psychopharmacology, the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

  He was previously Chair of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

• John Skerritt

  Deputy Secretary, Health Products Regulation Group- TGA

  John Skerritt

  Deputy Secretary, Health Products Regulation Group- TGA

  Adjunct Professor John Skerritt joined the Australian Department of Health in 2012 as a Deputy Secretary. Apart from being part of the Executive team of Australia’s national Health Department, responsible for the Federal government’s $100 billion investment in health, aged care and sport he also has line responsibility for the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Office of Drug Control. He was formerly a Deputy Secretary in the Victorian Government, Deputy CEO of a Commonwealth Statutory Authority in the Australian overseas aid program, senior research manager in CSIRO and in industry joint venture partnerships. From 2009-2012, he was Chair of the Board of a global technical non-government organisation, and was a board member for two further years. John is an Adjunct Full Professor in medicine, pharmacy and agriculture at three Universities, has a PhD and a University Medal from the University of Sydney, and is a graduate of the Senior Executive Programs of London Business School and of the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia (Vic).

• Dr Rick Doblin (USA)

  Executive Director of MAPS

  Dr Rick Doblin (USA)

  Executive Director of MAPS

  Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

  He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment.

  Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist.

  He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife, dog, and empty rooms from three children, one of whom is in college and two have graduated.

• Wade Davis CM (Canada)

  Professor of Anthropology & BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia

  Wade Davis CM (Canada)

  Professor of Anthropology & BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia

  Wade Davis is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker whose work has taken him from the Amazon to Tibet, Africa to Australia, Polynesia to the Arctic. Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013, he is currently Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Author of 22 books, including One River, The Wayfinders and Into the Silence, winner of the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top nonfiction prize in the English language, he holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University.

  His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series written and produced for the NGS. Davis, one of 20 Honorary Members of the Explorers Club, is the recipient of 11 honorary degrees, as well as the 2009 Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the 2011 Explorers Medal, the 2012 David Fairchild Medal for botanical exploration, the 2015 Centennial Medal of Harvard University, the 2017 Roy Chapman Andrews Society’s Distinguished Explorer Award, the 2017 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration, and the 2018 Mungo Park Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. In 2016, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2018 he became an Honorary Citizen of Colombia.

• Dr Robin Carhart-Harris (UK)

  Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London

  Dr Robin Carhart-Harris (UK)

  Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London

  Robin Carhart-Harris moved to Imperial College London in 2008 after obtaining a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol and an MA in Psychoanalysis from Brunel University. At Imperial, he has run and overseen brain imaging studies involving LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, plus a clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and a current study comparing psilocybin with escitalopram for major depressive disorder. In 2019, he set-up the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial and he also an honorary position with the University of Oxford. Two of his most influential works include the ‘Entropic Brain Hypothesis’ and ‘REBUS and the anarchic brain’.

• Dr Kate Pate (USA)

  Neurophysiologist, Director of Research - Heroic Hearts Project, Research Scientist, Writer

  Dr Kate Pate (USA)

  Neurophysiologist, Director of Research - Heroic Hearts Project, Research Scientist, Writer

  Dr. Kate Pate is a neurophysiologist, downhill mountain bike junkie, entrepreneur, and yoga teacher. She is the CEO & Co-Founder of Coruna Medical, a military-specific (combat trauma) medical device company focused on solving the difficult problems facing the injured warfighter, especially as these problems pertain to administering medical care in austere environments. Kate comes from a military family and has always been passionate about finding ways to help military service members and veterans. This passion, coupled with her interest in plant-based medicines and her journey to find ways to heal from her own traumas, led her to cross paths with Heroic Hearts Project (HHP).

  Kate joined HHP as the Director of Research in early 2019 and has been working closely with the team to investigate the ways in which ayahuasca can benefit veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues, and how changes in the gut microbiome following ayahuasca consumption may be correlated with long-term behavioral changes. Kate is also the Director of Research for Unlimited Sciences, a psychedelic research nonprofit that combines the power of data and lived experiences to serve the community, educate the public, and inform common sense practices and policies. Prior to starting Coruna Medical, Dr. Pate was the Principal Scientist and Director of Combat Casualty Care at Roccor, LLC, where she worked since 2015.

  Dr. Pate was formerly the Director of Research and an Assistant Professor of Physiology at Rocky Vista University, College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU COM). Dr. Pate has been conducting research for nearly 15 years in a variety of different areas, including ocular trauma, burn trauma, neurotrauma, sensor development for health and performance optimization, respiratory neurobiology, cancer and radiation biology, nutrition as medicine, mental health and the gut microbiome, arthritis, and medical education.

• Dr Ben Sessa (UK)

  Psychiatrist, researcher and writer

  Dr Ben Sessa (UK)

  Psychiatrist, researcher and writer

  Dr Ben Sessa trained at UCL, London, graduating in Medicine in 1997.

  He works clinically as an adult and adolescent psychiatrist, and academically in Bristol and Imperial College London University, with an interest in the developmental trajectory from child maltreatment to adult mental health disorders.

  In the last ten years Ben has been a study doctor and a test subject administering and receiving legal doses of pure LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, DMT and Ketamine.

  He is currently conducting the world’s first clinical study using MDMA to treat addiction. Ben is the co-founder and past President of the UK’s premier psychedelic research conference, Breaking Convention.

  He has published dozens of peer reviewed papers on psychedelics and is the Author of several textbooks, including the influential book ‘The Psychedelic Renaissance‘.

• Professor Dan Ariely (USA/Israel)

  James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Economics at Duke University

  Professor Dan Ariely (USA/Israel)

  James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Economics at Duke University

  Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments in the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the department of Economics.

  As one of the foremost leaders in psychology and behavioral economics, Dr. Ariely has published his research in top economic, medical and psychology journals and is the author of Predictably Irrational (2008), The Upside of Irrationality (2010), and The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty (2012), three bestselling general audience books about research in behavioral economics. In addition, he is the founding member of The Center For Advanced Hindsight.

• Dr Reid Robison (USA)

  Psychedelic psychiatrist & researcher

  Dr Reid Robison (USA)

  Psychedelic psychiatrist & researcher

  Reid Robison, MD MBA, is a board-certified psychiatrist with fellowship training in neurodevelopmental genetics & clinical research. He has led over 100 clinical trials in neuropsychiatry and co-directed the molecular genetics laboratory at the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry. Reid is co-founder at Cedar Psychiatry, and serves as Medical Director of Center for Change, a top Eating Disorder treatment program. He is currently the coordinating investigator for the MAPS MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy study of Eating Disorders. He was one of the first clinicians to use ketamine off label for depression in Utah and obtained his first grant to study ketamine in 2011. He also led the Utah site for the pivotal IV ketamine study for treatment-resistant depression by Janssen, leading up to the company’s recent FDA-approval of Spravato (esketamine) via breakthrough therapy designation in 2019. Reid supervises & trains the ketamine-assisted psychotherapy practitioners at Cedar Psychiatry’s clinics across Utah, and to date has guided thousands of ketamine therapy journeys and, and hundreds of Spravato dosing sessions. As a social entrepreneur, Reid has built and sold a number of purpose-driven companies including Tute Genomics, a venture-backed personalized medicine startup that was acquired in 2016. Reid is adjunct faculty at the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Utah Valley University, has served on numerous non-profit boards. He founded the Polizzi Free Clinic, to bring mental health to Utah’s uninsured, and most recently co-founded SCPTR, a psychedelic therapy & research non-profit. He currently volunteers as medical support and a psychedelic therapist at Ayahuasca retreats abroad, and often provides medical safety consultations to shamans, therapists and researchers working in psychedelic medicine. Reid continues to share his vision for personalized medicine whenever he gets the chance as you can see in his TEDx talk entitled “The Genome Revolution Begins with You.”

• Professor Matthew Johnson (USA)

  Associate Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research

  Professor Matthew Johnson (USA)

  Associate Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research

  Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor at Johns Hopkins, is an expert on psychedelics, other drugs, and addiction. Working with psychedelics for >15 years, he has published >100 papers with 43 on psychedelics. Matt published psychedelic safety guidelines in 2008, helping to resurrect psychedelic research. He published the first research on psychedelic treatment of tobacco addiction in 2014, and the largest study of psilocybin in treating cancer distress in 2016. His recent psilocybin review recommended placement in Schedule-IV upon medical approval.

  He has personally guided >100 psychedelic sessions. Matt also conducts behavioral economic research on both addiction and sexual risk. He has published studies on nearly all psychoactive drugs classes, and is President of the Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Division of the American Psychological Association. Matt has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, Fox Business News, NPR, CBS News, and NBC News.

• Maria Papaspyrou (UK)

  Psychotherapist and writer, Founder TRIPP Network UK

  Maria Papaspyrou (UK)

  Psychotherapist and writer, Founder TRIPP Network UK

  Maria Papaspyrou is an integrative psychotherapist and systemic family constellations facilitator in private practice in Brighton, UK. She has almost twenty years of clinical experience and has worked in the fields of trauma, mental health, student counselling and psychedelic integration.

  In the last seven years she has given talks and published articles on the sacramental and healing properties of entheogens, supporting their re-introduction in psychotherapy and is currently co-editing an upcoming anthology on psychedelic psychotherapy and integration. Wanting to promote this work within the psychotherapeutic profession she actively supports the development of psychedelic integration as a field of specialism and has founded TRIPP Network, a U.K. based psychedelic psychotherapy integration database and continuous professional development training forum.

  Her more conceptual work focuses on the intersecions between feminine and altered states of consciousness and their capacity to re-awaken our collective ecological consciousness. She has co-edited the book “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine”.

  You can find out more about her work at towardswholeness.co.uk

• Adam Gazzaley M.D, PHD (USA)

  Founder & Executive Director - Neuroscape

  Adam Gazzaley M.D, PHD (USA)

  Founder & Executive Director - Neuroscape

  Dr. Adam Gazzaley obtained an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, completed Neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley. He is now the David Dolby Distinguished Professor in Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco and the Founder / Executive Director of Neuroscape, a translational neuroscience center engaged in technology creation and scientific research.

  He designs and develops novel brain assessment and optimization tools to impact education, wellness, and medicine practices. This novel approach involves the development of custom-designed, closed-loop video games integrated with the latest advancements in software (brain computer interfaces, GPU computing, cloud-based analytics) and hardware (virtual/augmented reality, motion capture, mobile physiological recording devices, transcranial electrical brain stimulation). These technologies are then advanced to rigorous research studies that evaluate their impact on multiple aspects of brain function and physiology. This utilizes a powerful combination of neurophysiological tools, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

• Shlomi Raz (USA)

  Chairman and CEO - Eleusis

  Shlomi Raz (USA)

  Chairman and CEO - Eleusis

  Shlomi is the chairman and founder of Eleusis. Since founding Eleusis in 2013, Shlomi has overseen the company’s corporate and clinical development effort. Prior to founding Eleusis, Shlomi was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, and began his corporate career at JPMorgan.

  Shlomi holds an MA from New York University and a BS from Georgetown University.

• Renee Harvey (UK)

  Clinical Psychologist; Honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London

  Renee Harvey (UK)

  Clinical Psychologist; Honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London

  Renee is a Clinical Psychologist has had a long career in the UK as a Consultant in the NHS and more recently as an Honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London in the study of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression. She has been responsible for leading in service development for people with complex emotional needs across Sussex (UK), establishing three specialist services, including staff appointments, training and supervision, and in clinical delivery in these services. She established various training courses and treatment programmes during this time, and regularly delivered lectures and courses at levels ranging from undergraduate and post-graduate trainees in psychology, medicine and psychiatry, various mental health multi-disciplinary teams as well as to members of the public, voluntary sector services and users of services.

  Renee specialised in training clinicians in skills for working with individuals with complex needs across the UK as well as internationally, including Europe, and Japan. She has been a regular presenter in this field at conferences nationally and internationally.

  Renee’s passion for finding ways to help those suffering with emotional difficulties has led to a keen interest in the resurgence of psychedelic medicine and the unfolding picture presented by the renaissance of research in the field in recent years. She believes it is vital for medical and psychological approaches to work together closely, and in the crucial role of psychological integration in helping participants benefit and consolidate long-term change. Renee was also a key member of developing psychedelic interest groups in Brighton, and in establishing and running a psychedelic Integration Circle in Brighton UK.

• Professor David Castle

  Chair of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Health & The University of Melbourne

  Professor David Castle

  Chair of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Health & The University of Melbourne

  David Castle is Chair of Psychiatry at St Vincent’s Health and The University of Melbourne. He has wide clinical and research interests, encompassing schizophrenia and related disorders, bipolar disorder, OCD spectrum disorders and disorders of body image.

  He has a longstanding interest in the impact of licit and illicit substances on the brain and body and is actively engaged in programmes addressing the physical health of the mentally ill and the mental health of the physically ill. He has published widely in the scientific literature and is a frequent speaker at scientific meetings. His broader interests include music, literature, theatre and art.

• Vince Polito

  Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University in Sydney

  Vince Polito

  Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University in Sydney

  Vince Polito is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia and a former Associate Investigator of the Australian Research Council
  Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders. His research investigates cognitive and neurological changes in altered states of consciousness. He has investigated attentional capacities in
  meditation, psychiatric symptoms of disturbed control, states of flow in expertise, hypnotic suggestions, and body representation alterations in virtual reality. He is particularly interested in how
  beliefs and expectations shape psychedelic experiences and conducted one of the first systematic observational studies of the effects of microdosing in healthy participants.

• Dr Lisa Reynolds (NZ)

  Health Psychologist and Director of the University of Auckland’s Health Psychology Practitioner Programme.

  Dr Lisa Reynolds (NZ)

  Health Psychologist and Director of the University of Auckland’s Health Psychology Practitioner Programme.

  Dr Lisa Reynolds is a Health Psychologist and Director of the University of Auckland’s Health Psychology Practitioner Programme. She has worked clinically as a psychologist for over a decade providing support to cancer patients and whānau. Her therapeutic approach draws on mindfulness-based practice, meaning-centred therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.

  Her academic research focusses on the experience of cancer patients and has investigated interventions that support patients in managing treatment, prognosis and palliative care. She has studied the impact of disfigurement, body image distress and challenging emotions (such as disgust), and looked at whether compassion and mindfulness might be helpful in these contexts.

  Her current research with advanced cancer patients includes trials investigating whether virtual reality nature experiences can improve quality of life and alleviate spiritual distress, and she is developing a clinical trial to investigate psychedelic microdosing-assisted psychological therapy with advanced cancer patients.

• Dr Simon Longstaff AO

  Executive Director of The Ethics Centre

  Dr Simon Longstaff AO

  Executive Director of The Ethics Centre

  Dr Simon Longstaff commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre in 1991. He undertook postgraduate studies in Philosophy as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

  Simon is a Fellow of CPA Australia and in June 2016, was appointed an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University – based at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Formerly serving as the inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics, Simon serves on a number of boards and committees across a broad spectrum of activities. He was formerly a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.

  Simon’s distinguished career includes being named as one of AFR Boss’ True Leaders for the 21st century. In 2013 Dr Longstaff was made an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to the community through the promotion of ethical standards in governance and business, to improving corporate responsibility, and to philosophy.”

• Tania de Jong AM

  Founder Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Creative Innovation Global and Mind Medicine Australia

  Tania de Jong AM

  Founder Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Creative Innovation Global and Mind Medicine Australia

  Tania is an acclaimed Australian soprano and one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators having developed 5 businesses and 3 charities over the past 3 decades.
  She is the Founder of Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Mind Medicine Australia, Creative Innovation Global, Dimension5 co-working hub, MTA Entertainment & Events, Pot-Pourri and The Song Room.

  Tania presents keynote speeches and performs around the world. She has released 10 albums. She works across the public, private, creative and community sectors. Tania’s TED Talk How Singing Together Changes The Brain has sparked international interest.

  She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2008. In 2018 Tania was named in the 100 Women of Influence and the 100 Australian Most Influential Entrepreneurs in Australia.

  Tania’s mission is to change the world, one voice at a time!

• Peter Hunt AM

  Investment Banker & engaged Philanthropist; Founder Women's Community Shelters and Mind Medicine Australia

  Peter Hunt AM

  Investment Banker & engaged Philanthropist; Founder Women's Community Shelters and Mind Medicine Australia

  Peter is Chairman and one of the original Founders of Greenhill Australia, a leading Australian corporate advisory firm that is now part of the global Greenhill advisory group. He has been advising local and multi-national companies and governments in Australia for over 25 years.

  In the NFP sector, Peter is Chairman, Grameen Australia; Chairman, So They Can, and Director and Founder, Women’s Community Shelters. Peter is also a member of the Advisory Councils of Mission Australia and the Centre for Social Impact. Previous roles in the sector have included Chairman, AMP Foundation; Chairman, Australian String Quartet; Trustee, St Vincent’s Clinic Foundation; a Director, Odyssey House and a Director, St James Ethics Centre.

  Peter was made a member of the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010 for services to the philanthropic sector.

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