Dr. Sporn is a Board Certified Psychiatrist educated and trained at Duke, Univ of Miami, Tufts, The Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, and Harvard University. After practicing psychiatry in Boston and doing research at Mass General Hospital, Dr. Sporn worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIMH) where he was Chief of the OCD Clinic and helped to start up the Mood and Anxiety Program, which progressed research on ketamine and glutamate in depression. Dr. Sporn left the NIMH for Johnson and Johnson where he worked on drug development in psychiatry and neurology. He then moved to Pfizer where he worked on the development of Lyrica and was the Clinical Disease Area Expert in Neuroscience focused on Psychiatry and Addictions and the Neuroscience External R&D (business development) Leader before exiting Pfizer to Found the Biotech company, Perception Neuroscience, which is developing arketamine in neuropsychiatry. Dr. Sporn Exited Perception Neuroscience to ATAI Life Science and was the Chief Science Officer. He has subsequently left Perception Neuroscience to Co-Found another Biotech company, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, that is a collaboration with Columbia University developing novel psychedelic- inspired therapies as the next generation of therapies. Gilgamesh Pharma includes many medicinal chemists as well as experienced drug developers.

Maya is a writer and operations expert who has experience in several industries. Before diving into the psychedelic space, she spent many years at the top of the coffee industry, her work earning her print coverage in publications such as Time Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.

Maya was first author of a 200+ page compressive report on psychedelics, covering history, policy, science, and investment landscape. Her book on the subject will be published early 2024. She leads the organization of a yearly psychedelic conference, which has run for four consecutive years. In 2022, she hosted the first ever Medical Psychedelic House of Davos, and returned in 2023 with the House of Health. Maya helps several other organizations through her operations consulting, including the Heroic Hearts Project and Synthesis Institute. In 2021, she participated in the medicalization of psychedelics as a patient in a clinical trial for safety and efficacy of psilocybin.

Rachel Yehuda, PhD, is an Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Trauma. She is also Director of Mental Health at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yehuda is a recognized leader in the field of traumatic stress studies, PTSD, and intergenerational trauma. In 2019, Dr. Yehuda was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her seminal contributions to understanding the psychological and biological impact of traumatic stress. In 2020, Dr. Yehuda established and now directs the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research.

Hamilton Morris is a chemist, documentarian, and science journalist. He currently conducts chemistry research at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia that is focused on the synthesis of new psychedelic drugs. He was the writer and director of the documentary series Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia where he explored the chemistry and traditions surrounding psychoactive drugs. His research has allowed him to study psychoactive plants, fungi, and chemicals as well as the culture that surrounds them in more than thirty countries using an interdisciplinary approach. His recent republishing of a book on Bufo alvarius raised more than $250,000 for basic research on Parkinson’s disease.