David E. Olson, Ph.D.

Professor David E. Olson studied chemistry and neuroscience at Stanford University and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.  His academic lab at the University of California, Davis discovered that psychedelics from multiple chemical classes promote structural and functional neuroplasticity in the cortex.  They coined the term “psychoplastogen” to describe small molecules that produce rapid and long-lasting psychedelic- and ketamine-like effects on neuronal structure after a single dose, and they invented the first non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens capable of producing sustained therapeutic effects in preclinical models after a single dose.  Professor Olson's expertise spans central nervous system medicinal chemistry, molecular/cellular neurobiology, and behavioral neuropharmacology.  He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry, the Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences (MINS) Rising Star Award, the Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award, the Life Young Investigator Award, and the Sacramento Business Journal's 40 Under 40, among many others.  He is the founding director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics and is a co-founder and the Chief Innovation Officer of Delix Therapeutics.