The Science of Consciousness Online Conference - Livestream & On Demand   

September 14-18, 2020 MST 

TSC 2020 - PROGRAM  

 

"PSYCHEDELICS SYMPOSIUM"

 

Day 1   

Monday Evening, September 14, 2020   LIVESTREAM                                                                          

7:00 PM - 10:00 PM MST 

PSYCHEDELICS:  EXPERIENCE, THERAPY AND SCIENCE  

Moderated by Andrew Weil and Stuart Hameroff  

 

Short talks:

Stuart Hameroff “Introduction”;

Andrew Weil “History and overview of psychedelic usage”;    

Robin Carhart-Harris “Psychedelics and brain imaging”;  

Julie Holland “Connection through chemistry”;  

Michael Pollan “How to change your mind”;

Mellody Hayes “Consciousness medicine”   

Louis Schwartzberg “Psychedelics, consciousness and film”   

 

Panel:     

Selen Atasoy “Psychedelics and brain harmonics”; 

Christopher Timmermann-Slater “DMT and human EEG”;

Ede Frecksa “Cellular effects of DMT”;   

Mark Rasenick “Psychedelics and neuronal signaling”;

Gül Dölen “MDMA effects in octopus”;

Katja Ehrman “Psilocybin in depression 1;  

Francisco Moreno “Psilocybin in depression 2”; 

Luis Eduardo Luna “Inner paths to outer space”;  

Dennis McKenna “Psilocybin mushrooms”; 

Paul Stamets “Medicinal fungi”;

Sue Blackmore “Psychedelic Insights?”

 

Short Talk Bios

Andrew Weil, M.D., is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing-oriented approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit.  Combining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Dr. Weil is the founder and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he also holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Rheumatology, and is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health. The Center is the leading effort in the world to develop a comprehensive curriculum in integrative medicine. Graduates serve as directors of integrative medicine programs throughout the United States, and through its fellowship, the Center is now training doctors and nurse practitioners around the world.  Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert for his views on leading a healthy lifestyle, his philosophy of healthy aging, and his critique of the future of medicine and health care.

 

Stuart Hameroff, M.D., joined the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Arizona in 1975.  Aside from his full-time clinical role, Dr. Hameroff’s academic and research interests have related to the study of consciousness, how the brain produces conscious experience, and how anesthetics erase it.  He has written or edited 5 books, more than one hundred articles, and discussed the science of consciousness in numerous TV shows on BBC, Discover Channel, History Channel, PBS, OWN, and in the film “What the Bleep?” As Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona, Hameroff co-chairs the conference series The Science of Consciousness, since 1994.  Following an interest which began in medical school in the computational capacity of microtubules inside neurons, Dr. Hameroff teamed up with the eminent British physicist Sir Roger Penrose in the early 90's and is co-developer with Penrose of the highly controversial theory of consciousness called ‘orchestrated objective reduction’ (Orch OR), based on quantum computations in microtubules.

Link to PubMed research-Hameroff

 

Michael Pollan is currently the Lewis K. Chan Arts Lecturer and Professor of the Practice of NonFiction at Harvard University. Since 2003, Pollan has held the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. For more than thirty years, Michael Kevin Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. He is the author of the new book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence and five New York Times bestsellers: Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (2013), Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (2010); In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008); The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001).

 

Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD  

Dr Robin Carhart-Harris moved to Imperial College London in 2008 after obtaining a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol and an MA in Psychoanalysis from Brunel University. At Imperial, he has designed and/or carried out human brain imaging studies with a variety of psychedelic compounds, plus a clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and a current study comparing psilocybin with escitalopram for major depressive disorder.  In 2019, he set up the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and serves as its Director and Head of Centre.

 

Julie Holland, M.D. is a psychiatrist specializing in psychopharmacology with a private practice in New York City. Her book “Weekends at Bellevue” chronicles her nine years running the psychiatric emergency room as an attending physician on the faculty of NYU School of Medicine. Frequently featured on the Today show and CNN’s  documentary series “Weed,” Holland is the editor of "The Pot Book" and "Ecstasy: The Complete Guide."  (Both books are non-profit projects that help to fund clinical therapeutic research.)  Dr. Holland is the medical monitor for several MAPS PTSD studies utilizing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy or testing strains of cannabis with varying CBD/THC ratios. She has worked for decades on US drug policy reform based on harm reduction principles. Her 2016 book, “MoodyBitches: The Truth About The Drugs You're Taking, the Sleep You're Missing, the Sex You're Not Having, and What's Really Making You Crazy” has been translated into eleven languages. Her most recent book, Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, From Soul to Psychedelics was published in June 2020.

 

Mellody Hayes, M.D., is a graduate of Harvard College and UCSF Medical School. A UCSF trained-anesthesiologist, she experienced her own journey to personal empowerment, and is passionate about helping others transform experiences of suffering into self-knowledge and personal power.    She lectures on use of psychedelic medicine and is co-founder of Ceremony Health.

 

Louis Schwartzberg 

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who has spent his notable career providing breathtaking imagery using his time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography techniques. Schwartzberg is a visual artist who breaks barriers, connects with audiences, and tells stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people, and places.

Louie’s recent theatrical releases include the 3D IMAX film Mysteries of the Unseen World, Wings of Life for Disney Nature, narrated by Meryl Streep, and Fantastic Fungi, now available online at Fantasticfungi.com. The film achieved a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes as well as the #1 documentary on iTunes! His TED talks have over 60 million views on YouTube and his Moving art series on Netflix is in season three. Schwartzberg’s Visual Healing is an offering of unique high-definition, immersive films that seamlessly bring nature and technology together to deliver positive physical, emotional and psychological benefits. The Visual Healing program is used to transform spaces in spas, lobbies, private suites, conference spaces, hospitals, and sports and recreation facilities into life-like natural environments. Visual Healing programs are currently being used in healthcare at UCSD, The Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas, as well as numerous luxury hotels, spas, and galleries. For Schwartzberg, the greatest satisfaction is creating works that inspire audiences to celebrate Life and protect what we love. 

 

Gül Dölen, M.D., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, Brain Science Institute, Wendy Klag Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities, Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute.  Dr. Dölen is the recipient of several prestigious awards including: the Joukowsky Family Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award, the Conquer Fragile X Rising Star Award, the Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, theSociety for Social Neuroscience Early Career Award, the Searle Scholars Award, and the Johns Hopkins University President’s Frontier Award.   She joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 2014.

 

9:30 PM - 10:00 PM MST Psychedelics Symposium Discussion / Audience Q & A 

 

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