Specialized Academic Departments and Institutes

Amsterdam UMC (AMC-UvA) is one of the leading academic medical centers in the Netherlands, uniting the medical faculties of the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with extensive clinical and translational research programs. The center has participated in psychedelic research including psilocybin microdosing studies, contributing to the Netherlands' growing academic investigation of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Alef Trust is a UK-based transpersonal psychology educational institute founded by Emeritus Professor Brian Les Lancaster, offering an MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality & Transpersonal Psychology validated by Liverpool John Moores University and a professional certificate in Psychedelics, Altered States & Transpersonal Psychology taught by Dr. David Luke (Imperial College) and other leading researchers. The institute also offers collaborative PhDs and open learning courses integrating consciousness studies, parapsychology, and integrative healing traditions.

Assiut University is a major public university in Upper Egypt whose Faculty of Medicine Department of Neurology and Psychiatry has contributed to ketamine research in treatment-resistant depression. The department conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial of ketamine for TRD with psychiatric comorbidities, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, establishing Assiut as a participant in the broader clinical research landscape relevant to psychedelic medicine.

Attikon University General Hospital is one of Greece's largest university hospitals, affiliated with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School and serving as a major center for specialist clinical care and research in the greater Athens region. The hospital has participated in clinical trials relevant to psychedelic medicine research, contributing to Greece's engagement with emerging psychiatric treatments including ketamine and esketamine for treatment-resistant depression.

Academic medical center in Houston affiliated with multiple Texas Medical Center hospitals. Conducts psilocybin and MDMA clinical trials for veteran PTSD in partnership with the Michael E. DeBakey VA, and houses the ELIPSIS program — a dedicated initiative on the ethical and legal implications of psychedelics in society.

Beijing Chaoyang District Third Hospital is a Second Class B psychiatric specialist public hospital and the Chaoyang District Mental Health Center, providing mental health services to approximately 3.8 million district residents through seven inpatient wards and 35 departments. It has participated in multi-centre psychiatric clinical trials in China, including studies on cognitive-behavioural therapy for schizophrenia and depression outcomes research.

Beijing Daxing District Xinkang Hospital (北京市大兴区心康医院), also designated as the Daxing District Mental Health Institute, is a Class II Public Welfare psychiatric institution under Beijing's Daxing District Health Commission. Its Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health has contributed to Chinese psychiatric research, including studies on perinatal depression and other mental health outcomes.

Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital (首都医科大学三博脑科医院) is a leading private specialised neurological hospital founded in 2004, affiliated with Capital Medical University as its Eleventh Clinical School, with 256 beds dedicated to neurosurgery, epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease, and functional neuroscience. Its anesthesiology department participates in multi-centre trials investigating ketamine and related anesthetic agents in neurosurgical settings.

Benha University is a public Egyptian university whose Faculty of Medicine and Psychiatry Department has contributed to research on ketamine and esketamine for treatment-resistant depression within the Egyptian academic and clinical context. As a key medical institution in the Nile Delta region, it participates in collaborative psychiatric research networks exploring novel pharmacological treatments for mood disorders.

UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP), founded in September 2020 by a multidisciplinary faculty group including neuroscientist Michael Silver and author Michael Pollan, conducting psilocybin research into cognition, perception, emotion, and their neural bases in the human brain. BCSP's four pillars of basic science, journalism, culture, and community have established it as a leading interdisciplinary hub for psychedelic research and public engagement, producing The Microdose newsletter and a global clinical trials map.

Bruyère Health Research Institute is the academic research arm of Bruyère Health in Ottawa, Canada, fully affiliated with the University of Ottawa and specializing in palliative care, aging, and rehabilitation research—areas with growing overlap with psychedelic-assisted therapy applications. The institute contributed to a major Ontario population study examining schizophrenia risk following hallucinogen-related emergency department visits, generating safety evidence informing screening protocols for psychedelic clinical trials.

The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) launched the world's first university-affiliated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research Certificate Program in 2015, establishing the gold standard for post-graduate psychedelic clinician training, with cohorts now also offered a B.S. in Psychedelic Studies and a KAP clinic. Based in San Francisco, CIIS is a non-profit graduate university pioneering integral approaches to consciousness, therapy, and psychedelic medicine.

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) is a California state-funded research program at UC San Diego that rigorously evaluates the medical efficacy and safety of cannabis and cannabinoids through placebo-controlled clinical trials, with regulatory expertise in Schedule I research that overlaps with psychedelic medicine. CMCR has been cited in psychedelic trial contexts for its methodological framework and experience navigating DEA/FDA processes for controlled-substance clinical research applicable to psilocybin and MDMA studies.

The Central Institute of Mental Health (ZI Mannheim) is a leading German psychiatric research institute affiliated with Heidelberg University, and under Prof. Dr. Gerhard Gründer is one of Europe’s foremost centers for psychedelic research—co-leading EPIsoDE, Germany’s first federal government-funded (BMBF, €2.2M) Phase II RCT of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and receiving one of the first compassionate-use approvals for psilocybin in Germany and the EU, with results published in Lancet Psychiatry in 2025. The institute also conducts molecular neuroimaging research on MDMA and psilocybin mechanisms, and has reported successful ketamine treatment outcomes in treatment-resistant depression.

The Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in Leiden, Netherlands is a world-class early-phase clinical research organization conducting approximately 60 trials per year, with a specialist psychiatry department that has become one of Europe’s leading sites for psychedelic compound research—including psilocybin, DMT, MDMA, and ketamine—using advanced tools such as the NeuroCart CNS battery and EEG to quantify pharmacodynamic endpoints. CHDR has conducted first-in-human studies with novel non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogens and intravenous DMT regimens, establishing it as a key early-phase partner for psychedelic drug development.

The Centre for Neurology Studies (CNS) is a private clinical research centre in Surrey, British Columbia, and one of Canada’s few dedicated neuroscience-focused clinical trial organizations, conducting Health Canada and FDA-approved studies in mental health, neurodegenerative disorders, and brain health. Operating within British Columbia’s growing clinical trials ecosystem, CNS has participated in research on novel psychiatric treatments relevant to the emerging psychedelic medicine field.

China Medical University (中国医科大学), based in Shenyang, Liaoning, is a leading Chinese medical institution conducting research on ketamine and esketamine for treatment-resistant depression and other psychiatric conditions. Its affiliated hospitals and departments participate in multi-centre esketamine trials and publish meta-analyses on ketamine's antidepressant mechanisms.

The Department of Psychiatry at UPK Basel (Universitäre Psychiatrische Kliniken Basel), led by Professor Stefan Borgwardt, is a leading academic centre for psychedelic neuroscience and clinical pharmacology. Borgwardt's group has conducted multiple placebo-controlled neuroimaging and pharmacokinetic trials with LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA, generating foundational findings on thalamic connectivity and hallucinogenic mechanisms that underpin contemporary psychedelic-assisted psychiatry.

The Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) is a bilingual public university at the Foz do Iguaçu tri-national border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, focused on regional integration sciences. UNILA's clinical neuropharmacology laboratory, led by Francisney Nascimento, is conducting ayahuasca trials for prolonged grief disorder and developing a randomized placebo-controlled psilocybin clinical trial.

Miami public research university where Dr. Jerry B. Brown has taught interdisciplinary psychedelics courses since 1975, and Professor Joseph Lichter runs an Honors College Psychedelic Renaissance course covering therapeutic applications of psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine. FIU also serves as one of 21 sites in a major national psychedelic clinical trial and hosts the Cannadelic conference — the first cannabis and psychedelics conference focused on next-generation research.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) is a major Dutch research university where neuroscientist Marco Aqil conducted the first psilocybin brain research in Amsterdam, demonstrating that psilocybin fundamentally alters visual processing by reducing cortical surround suppression. The university also hosts the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA) and offers an interdisciplinary honors course on the neuroscience, history, and therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

Harvard University hosts multiple psychedelic research initiatives including the Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture (a $16M program), the MGH Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, and the Harvard Law School POPLAR project addressing psychedelic policy reform. These programs span neuroscience, cultural studies, and legal advocacy to advance scientific and societal understanding of psychedelics.

Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) is one of China’s leading research universities in Wuhan, with Tongji Medical College and Union Hospital as major clinical research hubs. HUST researchers have conducted multiple esketamine trials — including studies on esketamine for ICU emergency intubation, postoperative neurocognitive dysfunction in elderly patients, and novel nanocarrier delivery systems to improve ketamine’s antidepressant precision.

IESE Business School is a global graduate business school at the University of Navarra, based in Barcelona, that contributes to psychedelic research through the PsyPal consortium. As part of the first EU-funded psychedelic clinical study (€6.5M, 19 partners), IESE hosts design thinking workshops and brings expertise in health economics, organizational implementation, and stakeholder strategy to support the psilocybin palliative care trial.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a leading US academic medical institution home to the Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing, which runs rigorous clinical trials of MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapies for PTSD and trauma in veteran and civilian populations.

İnönü University is a Turkish state research university in Malatya, with a medical faculty conducting clinical investigations across anesthesiology, psychiatry, and surgery. The university's departments have studied ketamine in obstetric anesthesia, ketamine augmentation of electroconvulsive therapy for psychiatric conditions, and cardiac safety during ECT.

The Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) at UT Health San Antonio is the institution's NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award hub, supporting multi-disciplinary translational research across South Texas. The institute has been involved in a clinical trial combining esketamine with prolonged exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Karolinska Institutet is Sweden's largest medical university and a leading European hub for psychedelic research, with the Centre for Psychiatry Research led by Prof. Johan Lundberg conducting PSIPET — Sweden's first RCT of psilocybin for major depressive disorder. The institute participates in the Nordic Network for Psychedelic Science and launched a doctoral course in psychedelic science in 2025.

Khyber Medical University (KMU) is a public medical research university in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, operating multiple affiliated teaching hospitals and health sciences colleges across the region. The university's medical faculty has contributed to clinical research on anesthetic and sedative agents including ketamine in perioperative and psychiatric contexts.

A Seventh-day Adventist university and academic health system in Loma Linda, California with a medical school, research hospital, and multiple health sciences schools; Loma Linda University researchers have investigated the neurophysiological mechanisms of ketamine in the prefrontal cortex and conducted a clinical trial of low-dose ketamine infusion for treatment-resistant depression.

A leading medical research university in Lviv, western Ukraine, founded in 1784 and one of the oldest medical schools in Eastern Europe; Lviv National Medical University researchers have studied ketamine, stellate ganglion block (SGB), and combination approaches for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI)—research carrying particular relevance given Ukraine’s frontline experience with combat-related neurotrauma.

Thailand’s highest-ranked research university, comprising 17 faculties including the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital and Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok; Mahidol University researchers have conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial of three consecutive daily IV ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression and published multiple studies and reviews on ketamine and esketamine efficacy and safety in major depressive disorder.

A leading Canadian research university in Montreal, Quebec, McGill pioneered the “Montreal Model”—an integrative biomedical-psychedelic approach to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for severe treatment-resistant depression developed over 6 years and 500+ ketamine treatments. The team’s MUSIK randomized trial demonstrated that emotional and mystical ketamine experiences within a structured therapeutic environment drive more sustained antidepressant improvements, including in ketamine vs. ECT comparison trials.

A Canadian research university in Hamilton, Ontario, McMaster University houses the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research and an expanding psychedelic science program including the McMaster Psychedelic Research Society; the university is sponsoring the PSI_CUD trial—a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (two 25mg doses within an 8-week Motivational Enhancement Therapy framework) for cannabis use disorder.

Home to the Michigan Psychedelic Center (M-PsyC), a multidisciplinary initiative launched in 2022 by the University of Michigan to advance psychedelic science with rigor and responsibility. M-PsyC conducts clinical trials on psilocybin for fibromyalgia and depression, and DMT research, spanning neuroscience, psychiatry, pharmacology, and nursing.

Public university in St. Joseph, Missouri, home to Dr. Christine Ziemer's pioneering undergraduate courses in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and transpersonal psychology covering psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, and ayahuasca research and therapeutic applications. Dr. Ziemer founded the Psychedelic Educators Network, serves as executive director of the Psychedelic Society of Kansas City, and supports harm reduction through the Fireside Project and Zendo Project, making Missouri Western a notable hub for Midwestern psychedelic education.

Naropa University is a Boulder, Colorado Buddhist-inspired private university founded in 1974 that emerged as a national leader in psychedelic education through its Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies (NCPS) and undergraduate Psychedelic Studies Minor. The NCPS separated in late 2024 to become the independent Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts, while Naropa continues to offer its contemplative-approach psychedelic studies minor and transpersonal psychology graduate programs.

The National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) is a Portland, Oregon-based accredited institution offering graduate programmes in naturopathic medicine, integrative medicine, and classical Chinese medicine, with a research focus on evidence-based natural health approaches. NUNM co-sponsored the Optimizing Microdosing and Meditation (OMM) trial, studying whether combining psilocybin microdosing with structured mindfulness meditation practice produces synergistic improvements in psychological wellbeing.

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών) is Greece’s oldest and largest university, founded in 1837, with one of Southern Europe’s largest medical schools conducting both basic science and clinical research. NKUA researchers have investigated the co-administration of lidocaine and ketamine as an analgesic protocol for opioid-refractory chronic cancer-related pain, exploring combination approaches as alternatives to escalating opioid therapy.

State-funded psychiatric research institute affiliated with Columbia University, located in New York City. A key site for psilocybin clinical trials including the landmark COMP360 study for treatment-resistant depression, and conducts broader research on LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, and ketamine through Columbia's Depression Evaluation Service.

Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences conducts ketamine research including trials for TBI-associated symptoms and perioperative depression, and has begun preclinical psilocybin studies examining psychedelic and psychotomimetic mechanisms. The department also offers clinical trials in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, with the Osher Center for Integrative Health incorporating psychedelic-assisted therapy education.

The Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research (PBCAR) is a joint addiction research centre of McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton in Canada, directed by Dr. James MacKillop. PBCAR is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy — two 25 mg psilocybin sessions combined with an 8-week Motivational Enhancement Therapy program — for cannabis use disorder.

Pontificia Universidad Catholica de Chile (UC Chile) is one of Chile's most prestigious research universities, whose Division of Anesthesiology in Santiago has conducted ketamine pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic research including the Keta-ANI study, which characterized the temporal antinociceptive profile of IV ketamine bolus using the Analgesia Nociception Index and developed an effect-site TCI model for analgesic dosing.

The Section of Psychiatry at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, led by Professor Roger Gibson within the Faculty of Medical Sciences' Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, is conducting a clinical trial assessing the efficacy of microdosed psilocybin on reducing anxiety and depression levels in adults in Jamaica.

Qinghai University (青海大学) is a public comprehensive research university in Xining, Qinghai Province, China; its affiliated hospital and medical faculty are involved in clinical research investigating intraoperative esketamine as a preventive treatment for postpartum depression in women undergoing cesarean section.

The Section for Affective Disorders at Norra Stockholms Psykiatri (Northern Stockholm Psychiatry) is a specialist psychiatric unit within Region Stockholm, Sweden, led by Associate Professor Johan Lundberg of Karolinska Institutet; it sponsors two active psilocybin trials — the CAPSI randomized trial investigating a single oral dose of psilocybin 25 mg for cancer-related major depressive disorder in 100 patients, and the PSIPET Phase 2b PET imaging study measuring psilocybin's effect on synaptic density as a biomarker for MDD treatment response.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private research university in Dallas, Texas, offering the course "Plants of the Gods: Religion and Psychedelics" through its Religious Studies department, taught by University Distinguished Teaching Professor Dr. G. William Barnard. The course examines the historical and cultural significance of entheogenic plants — including peyote, ayahuasca, and psilocybin mushrooms — across diverse religious traditions.

The University of Groningen's medical center (UMCG) is a leading European hub for psychedelic research, coordinating the EU-funded €6.5M PsyPal clinical trial studying psilocybin for psychological distress in palliative care patients. UMCG also hosts an annual interdisciplinary summer school in psychedelic research in collaboration with the OPEN Foundation and partner universities.

Major research university and academic medical center in Birmingham, Alabama. A key site in the first federally funded psilocybin trial in 50 years — a NIH/NIDA-funded multisite study on psilocybin for smoking cessation led by Dr. Peter Hendricks, alongside Johns Hopkins and NYU.

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.

Pioneer in modern American psychedelic research through Rick Strassman's DMT and psilocybin studies in the 1990s — among the first human psychedelic research since the 1970s. Today, UNM Health Sciences conducts active trials of psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine for depression, PTSD, alcohol use disorder, and methamphetamine addiction.

The University of Ottawa launched a groundbreaking one-year MA in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies in 2024, jointly offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Arts under co-directors Dr. Monnica Williams and Dr. Anne Vallely. The program builds on earlier microprograms in Psychedelic Science and Psychedelics & Spirituality Studies established since 2020, training licensed professionals, clergy, and researchers in therapeutic, spiritual, and academic dimensions of psychedelics.

The Penn Psychedelics Collaborative at the University of Pennsylvania is a multi-school consortium of researchers, clinicians, and faculty advancing transdisciplinary psychedelic science across Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing, including clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy and psilocybin research. Penn researchers are also leading the development of bioethical guidelines for psychedelic-assisted therapy and community implementation frameworks.