Psychedelics and Contemplation Lab

The Psychedelics and Contemplation Lab at McGill University investigates non-ordinary states of consciousness, spiritual practices, and novel clinical interventions. Co-directed by Dr. Kyle Greenway and Dr. Michael Lifshitz, the lab takes a relational and interpersonal approach, examining how extra-pharmacological factors such as set, setting, and therapeutic relationships shape psychedelic experiences and outcomes. The lab is part of a broader psychedelic research ecosystem at McGill that includes the Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit led by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, which conducts preclinical and animal model studies on LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT to uncover their mechanisms of action at the neuronal and circuit level, as well as computational neuroscience work at The Neuro mapping psychedelic experiences to neurotransmitter systems using large-scale data analysis.