NYU Langone Health Establishes Center for Psychedelic Medicine

Philanthropic support of more than $10 million is helping NYU Langone Health advance its already world-renowned reputation in the study of psychedelic medicine. This is being achieved through the establishment of a one-of-a-kind center that will expand research and physician training in this exciting and resurging field.

When fully developed, the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine, under the auspices of NYU Langone’s Department of Psychiatry, will support health-focused research across the translational spectrum, from basic science to phase III clinical trials. Principally, it will have three transdisciplinary areas of focus: psychiatry, medicine, and preclinical research. 

In addition, a robust training program, the Psychedelic Medicine Research Training Program—which differentiates this center from others—will support the development of early career faculty members and postdoctoral fellows to become independent investigators in the field of psychedelic medicine. 

“These initiatives will provide an environment in which scientists, clinicians, trainees, and other staff contribute in meaningful ways to ensure that the momentum created by the modern psychedelic renaissance is sustained and continues to yield medical breakthroughs backed by sound science,” says Michael P. Bogenschutz, MD, professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and an acknowledged leader in the field of psychedelic medicine who will serve as the center’s director.

Leading the way is funding support of $5 million from MindMed, a neuropharmaceutical company pioneering new ways to treat mental health disorders through the advancement of both non-hallucinogenic and hallucinogenic compounds. Specifically, it will help to establish a psychedelic-based training program for clinical investigators skilled in the study of psychedelic-inspired treatments for serious mental health needs. This gift will provide salary support, training, and pilot research funds for four positions (two junior faculty and two postdoctoral fellows) over the course of five years. 

The remainder of support to establish the center will come from a $1 million gift from business leader and philanthropist Carey Turnbull, as well as from several seven-figure gifts that he galvanized from his network. He is president of the Heffter Research Institute, one of the country’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting studies on hallucinogens like psilocybin for treatment of mental health and other disorders. NYU Langone and the Heffter Institute, through Turnbull’s support, enjoy a long and successful partnership in psychedelic research. 

The NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine will serve as the hub for NYU Langone’s continuing efforts in psychedelics—work that already has garnered international acclaim, and which has been a major force in the field’s successful resurgence. Past and current research focuses principally on the treatment of…