{"id":74383,"date":"2026-07-29T08:13:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T12:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=74383"},"modified":"2026-07-29T08:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T12:13:29","slug":"kwan-psychedelics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/kwan-psychedelics\/","title":{"rendered":"Alum Is a Pioneer in Research on Psychedelics and the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As hallucinogens gain acceptance as psychiatric treatments, Cornell engineering prof Alex Kwan, PhD \u201909, is studying how they work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story was adapted from <\/em>a feature<\/em><\/a> in the<\/em> Cornell Chronicle. A 2024 <\/em>Cornellians story about Kwan’s collaboration with a fellow alum whose artwork addresses psychedelic themes can be found here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By David Nutt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomers rarely attempt space travel. Marine biologists are not necessarily certified SCUBA divers. Yet Alex Kwan, PhD \u201909<\/a>, is often asked if he takes psychedelic drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a sector of people who feel strongly that, as a researcher in this topic, you should have the subjective experience and try some of the compounds,\u201d says Kwan, a professor of biomedical engineering in the Duffield College and a driving force in Cornell\u2019s growing multidisciplinary investigation into the relationship between psychedelics and the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are other people who think that could cloud your judgment. So there are arguments on both sides. But it\u2019s not something I\u2019ve tried myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Timothy Leary\u2019s provocative experiments with LSD to the CIA\u2019s infamous MKUltra program, the early attempts to research psychedelic drugs were not exactly models of scientific rigor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Timothy Leary\u2019s provocative experiments with LSD to the CIA\u2019s infamous MKUltra program, the early attempts to research psychedelic drugs were not exactly models of scientific rigor.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But as hallucinogens gain more support from the medical community as a potential treatment for severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder\u2014and with the U.S. government relaxing its regulatory constraints\u2014there remains a vast gap in understanding how the drugs work on the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Kwan and other Big Red researchers have made crucial discoveries about the basic neurobiology and mechanics behind psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ve shown how psychedelics rewire the brain\u2019s neural pathways and affect its blood flow and how the compounds influence animal behavior, and have developed minimally invasive electrodes that record long-term changes in neural activity in mice\u2014and potentially humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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