Translational Psychedelic Research Program
The Translational Psychedelic Research (TrPR) Program brings together scientists and care providers across disciplines to understand how psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, and related compounds impact the brain and other organ systems.
in collaboration with:
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Who we are
Psychedelics, which have been part of Indigenous/traditional healing practices for centuries, have enormous potential to address medical needs in the community and improve health outcomes.
We combine innovative basic and clinical research approaches to answer key questions about the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of psychedelics for specific health conditions. Our goal is to accelerate progress towards impactful and accessible psychedelic treatments.
We’re committed to building a collaborative culture and applying open science principles to maximize the integrity and transparency of our work.
Studies
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder with growing impact worldwide. Depression and anxiety are common in PD and linked to poor quality of life and high health care costs. Unfortunately, treatment options for patients are limited. Though previous studies have found that psilocybin may be helpful for people with depression and anxiety, all of these studies have excluded patients with PD or any other neurodegenerative disorder. As a result, we lack critical information about the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of this treatment for people living with PD. In this study, our goal is to fill that gap. If successful, this project will lay the groundwork for a larger randomized placebo-controlled study of psilocybin therapy for treating PD-associated depression and anxiety.
- Are between the ages of 40-75
- Have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease
- Are currently experiencing anxiety and/or depression
- Taking psilocybin, a naturally-occurring compound found in “magic mushrooms,” at our clinical research unit
- Attending a series of in-person and video visits over ~4 months
- Completing interviews, questionnaires, and physical exams
- Receiving compensation for your time and effort
The purpose of this study is to determine if psychedelic assisted therapy sessions using psilocin (the metabolite, or active ingredient, in psilocybin) may prove to provide more consistent dosing than psilocybin. Additionally, we hope to determine if the incidence of nausea and/or other side effects of psilocybin are decreased with psilocin use. The study will recruit healthy participants to complete four dosing sessions, which will be split between oral and sublingual doses of either psilocybin or psilocin.
- Are between the ages of 25-50
- Are able to commit to the study for at least 5 months and attend multiple in-person and virtual sessions at UCSF
- Have taken a psychedelic at least once previously
- Agree to abstain from psychoactive substances, including THC, CBD, and nicotine products during a portion of their participation
- Up to four(4) dosing sessions of psychedelic-assisted therapy (~1 per month)
- Preparation and integration appointments for each session
- Non-invasive brain imaging (MRI) before and after each dosing session and psychological assessments during sessions
Check to see if you might be a good fit for this study by taking this survey
Depression in bipolar disorder is associated with significant functional impairment, psychosocial disability, and risk for suicide. Despite this morbidity, there are very few effective treatments for depression in this population. While psilocybin has been shown to be a promising treatment for unipolar depression, all modern clinical trials have excluded people with bipolar disorder. We plan to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin therapy for the treatment of depression in individuals with bipolar 2 disorder using an open-label study design.
- Are between the ages of 30-65
- Have been diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder
- Are currently experiencing depression
- Taking psilocybin, a naturally-occurring compound found in “magic mushrooms,” at our clinical research unit
- Attending a series of in-person and video visits over ~4 months
- Completing interviews, questionnaires, and physical exams
- Receiving compensation for your time and effort
Check to see if you might be a good fit for this study by taking this survey
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential efficacy of a single 25 mg oral dose of psilocybin for MDD compared to the active placebo in otherwise medically healthy participants, assessed as the difference between groups in changes in depressive symptoms from Baseline to Day 8 post-dose. Eighty participants, ages 21 to 65, who meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) will be stratified by study site and randomized with a 1-to-1 allocation under double-blind conditions to receive a single 25 mg oral dose of psilocybin or a single 100 mg oral dose of niacin. Niacin will serve as an active placebo.
The primary purpose of this study is to examine the preliminary efficacy of psilocybin therapy for people with chronic low back pain. Chronic low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal problem and is a leading cause of years lived with disability. There is an urgent need for safe and effective treatments for chronic low back pain. This study examines the effects of a single dose of psilocybin in combination with therapeutic preparation and integration sessions. We hope psilocybin therapy will lead to improvements in pain interference and other cognitive and affective symptoms related to chronic low back pain. This study is estimated to begin in April 2022.
We are looking at the effects of psilocybin therapy on two aspects of physiological function: 1) sleep, and 2) thermoregulation. These functions can be disrupted in multiple disorders that involve mood symptoms (including depression, chronic pain, and Parkinson's Disease). For example, people with depressed mood can have impaired thermoregulatory cooling capacity, meaning that they are not as able to sweat in order to cool their bodies down. People with chronic pain can experience disruptions in their sleep after pain-induced awakenings. Participants in our clinical psilocybin trials will have the option of using the Oura Ring, a wearable technology that measures heart rate, skin temperature, respiratory rate, physical activity, and sleep throughout the day and night. Data gathered with the device can help us understand whether psilocybin therapy impacts sleep and/or thermoregulatory capacity. By quantifying changes in key metrics over the course of multiple trials, we hope to gain insights about the physiological dysregulations that underlie mood symptoms as well as the mechanisms of psilocybin's effects on those symptoms. This study is currently active.
Despite a desperate clinical need for new effective treatments for depression in bipolar disorder, this population has been excluded from all modern clinical psychedelic therapy trials. To assess the relative safety and feasibility of future clinical psilocybin trials in this group, our team is conducting a mixed-methods study of historical psilocybin use patterns among adults with bipolar affective disorder. Our aim is to learn this population’s reasons for using psilocybin mushrooms, the circumstances in which they are using psilocybin mushrooms, their risk management strategies (e.g., medication management, sleep hygiene) surrounding psilocybin mushroom use, and the outcomes (both positive and negative) of using psilocybin-containing mushrooms. After completing the international survey portion of this study in January 2021, our team is expected to complete the follow-up qualitative interview portion by May 2021. Data from these studies should be ready for publication in early 2022.
Our Team
We’re a network of researchers with expertise spanning neuroscience, multiple medical specialties, nursing, and psychology.
Faculty
Dr. Josh Woolley is an Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as well as a staff psychiatrist in Mental Health at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC). He is Board Certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is the Director of the Bonding and Attunement in Neuropsychiatric Disorders (BAND) lab at UCSF that focuses on understanding and treating social deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, substance use disorders, and mood disorders. He is also the Director of the Translational Psychedelic Research (TrPR) Program at UCSF, which brings together scientists and care providers across disciplines to understand how psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, and related compounds impact the brain and other organ systems.
In addition to his work as a researcher, Dr. Woolley is also a dedicated mentor, clinician, and educator who enjoys training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. Over the course of his career, Dr. Woolley has mentored over 80 research assistants, over 20 postdoctoral fellows and several junior faculty members. He is the Associate Director of the Psychosis Clinic at the SFVA where he supervises and trains medical students, psychiatry residents, and clinical and research fellows. He has also served as the Co-Director of the first-year medical school psychiatry course Brain Mind and Behavior, and has been given several awards for his dedication to teaching.
Dr. Woolley has received numerous intramural and extramural awards including the NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the Young Investigator Award, as well as travel awards from the California Society for Addiction Medicine, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. He is an Associate Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. His work is supported by the Department of Veteran Affairs as well as the Department of Defense, philanthropy, and industry. He has also published his work widely in high-impact journals including Schizophrenia Bulletin, Biological Psychiatry, and American Journal of Psychiatry, among others.
People who experience traumatic or enduring psychological stress are more likely to develop psychiatric disorders as well as cardiovascular, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. Our research is focused on revealing how psychological stress drives the development of mental and physical disorders. Specifically, we aim to identify the psychological and biological factors that account for the adverse effects of psychological stress, and ultimately to drive the development of targeted interventions to reduce such negative effects of stress. To this end, we are currently focused on uncovering stress-related changes in immune system functioning and on examining how such changes impact brain function and structure.
Dr. Joseph A. Zamaria, Psy.D., ABPP, is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, where he provides clinical, educational, research, and consultative services for the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
As an attending psychologist at Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital & Clinics (LPPHC), Dr. Zamaria maintains an individual and group psychotherapy practice. His clinical interests include psychotherapy integration, psychodynamic therapy, and third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies such as ACT. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California. In addition to his California psychology licensure, Dr. Zamaria is board-certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology (FAACP). Additionally, he is a member of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) and is a Founding Member of the American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association (AMENA-Psy).
Dr. Zamaria is the Associate Program Director for Psychotherapy for the Psychiatry Residency Training Program at UCSF. He is responsible for overseeing residents’ clinical rotations and didactic training in psychotherapy. He also supervises the psychotherapy practices of psychiatry residents and psychology fellows at LPPHC and provides educational leadership and didactic teaching in psychotherapy, having developed and serving as course leader for a curriculum for advanced psychotherapy training.
The focus of Dr. Zamaria's research and scholarly efforts is psychedelic-assisted therapy. He is the principal investigator of a study examining the harm-reduction efficacy of a psychedelic peer-support hotline. Dr. Zamaria also serves as a clinician and researcher in clinical trials examining the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to treat a range of conditions. In addition to his research activities, he is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs and is on the Advisory Board of the Fireside Project.
Facilitators
Anna Fiskin is a psychiatrist with training in medical anthropology who specializes in cultural psychiatry and global mental health. She is a currently the assistant medical director at Chinatown North Beach Mental Health Services, where she works with a diverse patient population from China, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. She is the one of the directors of the Cultural Psychiatry Area of Distinction for UCSF Psychiatry residency and the faculty lead in Cultural Psychiatry for UCSF Psychiatry HEAL Fellowship in Global Mental Health. She is the Education co-chair for the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture.
Dr. Joseph A. Zamaria, Psy.D., ABPP, is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, where he provides clinical, educational, research, and consultative services for the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
As an attending psychologist at Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital & Clinics (LPPHC), Dr. Zamaria maintains an individual and group psychotherapy practice. His clinical interests include psychotherapy integration, psychodynamic therapy, and third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies such as ACT. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California. In addition to his California psychology licensure, Dr. Zamaria is board-certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology (FAACP). Additionally, he is a member of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) and is a Founding Member of the American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association (AMENA-Psy).
Core Collaborators
David Gard is a Professor of Psychology, Director of the Motivation and Emotion Research Lab, and the Coordinator of the Clinical Psychology Master’s Program. He received his Master's degree in clinical psychology from San Francisco State University in 1996 and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 2005. He has been lecturing at San Francisco State University since 1997 and was hired full-time as an assistant professor at SFSU in the fall of 2005. His research interests are broadly in the area of emotion and motivation dysfunction in various mental health disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. He also researches novel treatments in severe mental illness.
Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD, is a board certified anesthesiologist who specializes in providing anesthesia for neurological surgery. He has practiced at Stanford since 2010.
After completing residency training at Stanford, Dr. Heifets completed fellowship training in neuroanesthesiology, also at Stanford. In addition to treating patients, Dr. Heifets also directs both clinical research and basic neuroscience. His research group studies how new rapid acting psychiatric therapies, like ketamine, MDMA and psilocybin, produce lasting changes in nervous system function, behavior, and therapeutic outcomes.
Dr. Erin Michalak is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, Program Director for the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health and the Patient Engagement Methods Clusters Lead for the BC SUPPORT Unit. Her background is in psychology, with a PhD awarded from the University of Wales College of Medicine in the United Kingdom. Her research expertise lies in mood disorders, digital mental health, patient engagement in research, knowledge translation, quality of life, and global mental health. She has published over 100 scientific articles and several books and book chapters. She has been awarded the 2018 CIHR Gold Leaf Prize for Transformation in Patient Engagement, Canada’s most prestigious recognition for patient engagement in research across all health disciplines. She has also been awarded the 2019 Douglas Utting Prize, made annually for significant accomplishments in promoting the awareness and treatment of depression in Canada.
Dr. Mizumori’s research focuses on decision making and memory mechanisms of the brain. Understanding the mechanisms of neuroplasticity as related to learning and memory is fundamental to the understanding of the causes of a variety of cognitive disorders as well as the developmental changes in learning that occur across the lifespan. Current efforts address the role of neuromodulators such as dopamine in flexible memory function. Of special interest is the dynamic nature of the neural codes that compute information relevant to adaptive decisions, both at the single cell level and in terms of interactions across brain areas such as the hippocampus, frontal cortex, striatum, and midbrain structures such as the ventral tegmental area. Mizumori and her group seek converging evidence from multiple levels of analysis; from behavioral to brain structure to cellular to genetic.
Dr. Ashley Mason’s primary research interests focus on sleep, eating, and affect. Her National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded K23 research focuses on the role of the endogenous opioid system in overeating behavior. Her MZHF-funded research focuses on non-pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of insomnia and depression.
Her National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health-funded research uses ecological momentary assessment methodologies to assess food-craving experiences and uses ecological momentary intervention components to de-couple the experience of craving from the action of indulging cravings.
She is also interested in investigating the psychosocial factors that shape metabolic risk among individuals who are caregivers for a loved one. These individuals are at increased risk for physical and psychological health problems and are a growing sector of the U.S. population.
Her doctoral work focused on (1) predictors and correlates of psychological adjustment and physical health following divorce; and (2) interpersonal perceptions of psychological distress in the contexts of post-divorce recovery and social evaluative threat.
Dr. Andrew Krystal is a psychiatrist who cares for adults with all types of sleep disorders, with particular expertise in insomnia. He also treats patients who have mood and anxiety spectrum disorders in addition to sleep disorders. An internationally renowned expert on sleep and mood disorders, he has more than 25 years of experience in patient care and research.
Krystal's research focuses on understanding insomnia's causes and how insomnia may be related to psychiatric or other medical conditions. He also studies new treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders, as well as how sleep maintains and restores normal human functions.
After completing a master's degree in biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Krystal earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in psychiatry at Duke, followed by fellowships in sleep medicine and clinical neurophysiology (studying the nervous system through recording the body's electrical activity). In addition to holding various leadership positions, he served as a faculty member and physician at Duke Health for more than two decades before joining UCSF in 2016.
Krystal is president of the Sleep Research Society and a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Psychiatric Association and American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He serves on the examination committee of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, which allows medical professionals to pursue certification in sleep medicine.
Dr. Jill Ostrem is a neurologist with a special interest in treating movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, dystonia and essential tremor. She is medical director and division chief of the UCSF Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation Center.
Ostrem's research focuses on improving diagnosis, experimental therapeutics and technical innovations in surgery treatments for movement disorders. She works to develop improved deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems – implanted devices that deliver electrical impulses to treat movement disorders– and investigates optimal DBS brain targets. She also studies innovations in patient care, including telehealth – providing health care through advanced technologies – and new models for palliative care.
Ostrem earned her medical degree from the George Washington University. She completed a residency in neurology and a fellowship in movement disorders at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
After joining UCSF in 2003, Ostrem helped establish its internationally recognized clinical, research and training center for the treatment of movement disorders. The center has a long history and expertise in treating Parkinson's disease and dystonia with DBS. Ostrem is a member of the American Neurological Association, American Academy of Neurology and International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Postdocs
Dr. Morton completed her PhD and clinical training as a psychologist at Swinburne University in 2018, where she was awarded the Iain Wallace Research for the Most Outstanding Doctorate Student. In 2019, Dr. Morton was awarded an Institute of Mental Health Marshall Fellowship and moved to join the CREST.BD team at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Dr. Morton’s research interests include improving the understanding and treatment of quality of life, digital health tools supporting self-management, and recovery-oriented psychosocial interventions. In both her clinical and research work, Dr. Morton has particular interest in approaches that focus on strengths, promote self-compassion, incorporate peer support, and holistically address a person’s quality of life.
Graduate Students
Staff & Research Assistants
Work with us
Developing psychedelic treatments is an interdisciplinary challenge. We welcome a wide range of people with expertise in science and health care, knowing that different perspectives create a stronger and more creative team. We aim to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in line with this statement.
Want to learn more or participate in a study?
Contact us at psilocybinstudies@ucsf.edu
Interested in serving as a TrPR co-therapist or research intern?
Please complete our TrPR Volunteer Application.
Seeking paid work at TrPR?
See our current job listings (search: band lab or TrPR).