
Randy Buckner, PhD
Co-Scientific Director
Aligning Discoveries Across Psychedelic Therapies (ADAPT) brings together a consortium of researchers to establish validated tools and methods that reliably measure the behavioral and biological effects of psychedelics.
Why Now?
Much attention has been given to the potential of psychedelics to treat a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and addiction. However, much remains unknown about how these substances work and how to measure behavioral and biological effects.
Our Plan of Action
Aligning Discoveries Across Psychedelic Therapies (ADAPT) brings together a consortium of researchers to establish validated tools and methods that reliably measure the behavioral and biological effects of psychedelics. By establishing robust and independently validated research methods, we aim to understand when and for whom psychedelics have therapeutic benefits, uncover psychedelics’ mechanisms, and lay the groundwork for responsible, evidence-based therapies.
ADAPT’s research program is structured around two workstreams that will develop validated tools and methods to reliably measure the effects of psychedelics, initially focusing on psilocybin in both preclinical and human studies. By designing and testing rigorous methods, ADAPT’s consortium of researchers is creating standardized protocols to serve as a foundation for current and future research.
Using a consortium model, multiple independent groups will replicate and expand upon findings underpinning commonly cited psychedelic studies. The purpose is to determine whether the methods and their results can be verified, validated, and successfully replicated.
This work will establish new and better ways to measure the effects of psychedelics including behavioral measures (e.g., creative thinking, rumination, empathy), biological and neural measures (e.g., brain activity), and clinical trial design (e.g., blinding, placebos).
ADAPT’s work is managed by the Coalition for Aligning Science, an organization that designs and implements large-scale research programs to address unmet needs and to maximize impact in biomedical research.
The ADAPT leadership team has extensive experience starting and leading large-scale research initiatives that support rigorous evidence-based science.
Co-Scientific Director
Co-Scientific Director
Managing Director
Deputy Director