John A. Gray, M.D. Ph.D.

Dr. Gray earned his MD and PhD at Case Western Reserve University where he studied the cellular mechanisms underlying the desensitization and downregulation of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, the primary target of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin. He then completed a psychiatry residency at the University of California, San Francisco, where he became interested in the synaptic basis of neuropsychiatric disorders and pursued postdoctoral research examining synapse development and the role of a key glutamate receptor, the NMDA receptor, which is also the primary target of the dissociative anesthetic and rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine. As a board-certified psychiatrist and synaptic biologist, Dr. Gray ‘s laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in synapse development and plasticity throughout the brain. In addition to his work on the NMDA receptor, a master regulator of synaptic plasticity, Dr. Gray’s lab has also shown that psychedelics rapidly promote long-lasting synaptic plasticity and thus have to potential for facilitating a robust strengthening or resetting of dysfunctional brain circuits in psychiatric disorders.

Education and Degree(s)

• University of California, San Francisco - Postdoc, Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology (2013)
• University of California, San Francisco - Residency, Psychiatry (2009)
• Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine - M.D. (2005)
• Case Western Reserve University - Ph.D., Biochemistry (2003)
• Case Western Reserve University - B.S., Biochemistry (1997

Research Interests & Expertise

• Molecular pharmacology
• Cellular and molecular neuroscience
• Synaptic physiology and plasticity
• Psychiatric therapeutics
• NMDA Receptors
• Serotonin receptors

Selected Publications