Michiel Van Elk
Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Leiden University
Data updated
Research Footprint
Michiel Van Elk appears in 9 tracked papers (2020–2025), most studied alongside Psilocybin and Placebo, across Depressive Disorders, Microdosing and Anxiety Disorders.
Most-cited paper: Pharmacological, Neural, and Psychological Mechanisms underlying Psychedelics: A Critical Review (208 citations).
Frequent co-authors: Michal Kuchar, David Yaden and Ruben Laukkonen.
Background & Research
Michiel van Elk is a Dutch cognitive psychologist at Leiden University who studies religion, self-transcendent experiences, and psychedelics. His work in psychedelic science spans psilocybin microdosing, therapeutic mechanisms, methodological issues, and critical perspectives on hype in the field. He also leads psychedelic-related research within the broader cognitive psychology and consciousness research space at Leiden.
Key Impact
Michiel van Elk is a prominent psychedelic science researcher known for rigorous, skeptical work on psilocybin, microdosing, expectancy effects, and the psychological mechanisms and risks of psychedelic experiences.
Collaboration Network
8 collaborators· click a node to visit their profile
Full network →Compounds
Topics
Top Collaborators
Affiliations
Institutions, companies, and organisations Michiel Van Elk is associated with.
Leiden University
academicLeiden University doesn't have a dedicated research centre for psychedelics. However, several staff members from their medical centre and psychology faculty are working with psychedelics. Researchers here are working with other universities including Utrecht University as well as Compass Pathways.
View stakeholder →OPEN Foundation
Non-ProfitDutch nonprofit organizer in the psychedelic field, including stewardship of the ICPR conference series and related professional convenings.
View stakeholder →University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is one of the Netherlands' leading research universities, with its Amsterdam UMC Department of Psychiatry conducting clinical trials on psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapies for treatment-resistant mental health conditions.
View stakeholder →Radboud University
Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) is one of the Netherlands' leading academic medical centers, located in Nijmegen. It combines patient care, education, and scientific research under one roof, with a particular strength in neuroscience through its Donders Centre for Medical Neuroscience. Radboudumc is known for its translational research approach. The medical centre bridges fundamental science and clinical practice across areas including oncology, rare diseases, and psychiatry. In the field of psychedelic medicine, Radboudumc has been involved in ibogaine research, conducting studies through its Department of Pharmacology–Toxicology and Department of Psychiatry, examining ibogaine as a potential treatment for opioid use disorder. This work included a clinical study evaluating the cardiac, cerebellar, and psychomimetic safety of ibogaine in opioid-dependent patients, contributing important safety data to the broader scientific understanding of this compound.
View stakeholder →