Dr. Stephen Ross, co-director of NYU's Center for Psychedelic Medicine, has helped resurrect psychedelic research in psychiatry through landmark clinical trials showing that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy produces rapid, substantial, and sustained improvements in conditions previously resistant to conventional treatments.

Stanford PhD graduate Sophia Shi reveals groundbreaking research showing how protective sugar coatings on brain blood vessels deteriorate with age, contributing to cognitive decline. Her Nature publication demonstrates that restoring these critical molecules in aged mice significantly improves brain barrier function and cognitive performance, offering unprecedented hope for neurodegenerative disease treatment.

Distinguished psychiatrist John M. Oldham, MD, MS, discusses his pivotal role in developing the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders and creating assessment tools that bridge clinical practice with scientific rigor. His landmark work spans leadership positions at Columbia, Cornell, and Baylor, including serving as Chief Medical Officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health during 9/11.

IRCCS San Raffaele researcher Sara Poletti, PhD, demonstrates how childhood trauma fundamentally alters brain-immune interactions throughout life, contributing to mood disorders including depression and bipolar disorder. Her pioneering work combines neuroimaging, genetic analysis, and immunological assessments to map trauma's enduring neurobiological fingerprint, offering new therapeutic targets for psychiatric treatment.