Translational Psychedelic Research Program

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.