Interested in learning from Canadian researchers at the forefront of psychedelic science? Consider this your invitation to join the Research Room, our monthly online expert-led series. Register for free today!
The MAPS Canada Research Room is a monthly webinar series dedicated to showcasing cutting-edge Canadian research across diverse disciplines within the burgeoning field of psychedelic studies. Our mission is to democratize access to psychedelic science, and fostering inclusivity through knowledge translation and dissemination of academic knowledge in a more accessible manner.
Each research room session is an hour long, and provides researchers a platform through which they can dynamically engage with the audience about their current research.
Interested in presenting or would like to see someone present? Click here for to sign up.
For more information email us at: researchroom@mapscanada.org
- Meetings are held on Zoom
- One Thursday, every month, 7 PM ET (4 PM PT) (see note)
- Anyone with an interest in psychedelic science and research, anywhere in the world, is welcome to attend.
UPCOMING SESSIONS
PAST SESSIONS
May 14, 2026
MAPS Canada Research Room presents:
The Canadian Network for Psychedelic Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT): Research Overview
Speaker Bio—Dr. Linda Carlson: Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and is a Full Professor in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She directs the Alberta Complementary Therapy and Integrative Oncology (ACTION) Centre and has provided clinical care at Cancer Care Alberta since 1997. A globally recognized leader in mindfulness-based cancer recovery and integrative oncology, Dr. Carlson has published over 250 peer-reviewed works, co-authored influential books, and received numerous prestigious awards, including the 2023 Dr. Rogers Prize in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, is Past-President of the Society for Integrative Oncology and Treasurer for the International Society for Contemplative Research.
Linda Carlson’s LinkedIn
Speaker Bio—Dr. Ron Shore: Dr. Ron Shore is a psychedelic scientist based out of Kingston Ontario and Co-Investigator of the Canadian Network for Psychedelic Assisted Cancer Therapy. Ron began his career as a community organizer at the height of the AIDS movement, helping start the Keep Six! Needle Exchange in 1991 and founding the Street Health Centre in 1996. Ron taught drug studies at Queen’s for 17 years and has taught in both the University of Ottawa psychedelics and consciousness program and in the UHN Foundations of Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy program.
Talk Abstract:
Background: Psychedelic-assisted therapy shows promise for psychological and existential distress in advanced cancer, with psilocybin producing rapid, sustained reductions in depression, anxiety, and demoralization. Mindfulness-based interventions, including MBCR, improve adaptation and quality of life. CAN-PACT integrates these approaches in a multi-site trial network.
Knowledge Gap: Prior trials have used individual dosing and have not integrated mindfulness-based oncology interventions. Evidence is limited for scalable, group-based models and optimizing shared mechanisms (e.g., relationality, meaning-making, attentional training).
Aim: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a group-based psilocybin-assisted therapy model integrated with mindfulness-based care.
Methods: CAN-PACT is a multi-site Canadian trial soon to enroll patients with advanced cancer and demoralization. A factorial design compares 25 mg vs. 5 mg psilocybin (with supports), with and without adapted MBCR. Group dosing occurs within a shared therapeutic container. Outcomes include demoralization, existential well-being, biometrics, microbiome, safety, and feasibility.
Results: Study initiation is planned for fall 2026. Outcomes will assess acceptability, safety, and preliminary psychological improvement.
Conclusions: CAN-PACT advances a scalable model integrating psilocybin and mindfulness in a group format, informing future trials in psychosocial oncology and palliative care.
April 16, 2026
MAPS Canada Research Room presents:
Psychedelic microdosing: A primer on real-world practices and evidence from a randomized controlled trial for MDD
Talk Abstract:
Background: There is clinical interest in psychedelic microdosing and studying the practice in real-world settings can inform ecologically valid clinical study designs.
Aim: Provide an update on real-world microdosing practices using a recent global survey and share safety and efficacy results from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on weekly psilocybin microdosing for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
Methods: The Global Psychedelic Survey 2025 was an online survey conducted in May 2025. The phase 2 RCT took place from July 2022 to December 2024. Participants were randomized 1:1 to first receive either 4 doses of double-blinded placebo or 4 doses of psilocybin. After the double-blind phase, all participants received 4 doses of open-label psilocybin. The primary outcome for depressive symptoms was change in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score.
Results: Across 5399 real-world consumers, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA were most commonly microdosed. The ‘Fadiman protocol’ was the most endorsed dosing regimen. In the RCT, 39 participants with MDD first received either psilocybin (n=21) or placebo (n=18). There were significant reductions in PHQ-9 scores for both groups, and the difference between groups was not significant. There were no severe or serious treatment-emergent adverse events.
Conclusions: Microdosing is a popular practice. While safe and well tolerated, our trial found that weekly psilocybin microdosing was not more effective than placebo.
Omer Syed’s LinkedIn
March 19, 2026
MAPS Canada Research Room presents:
Psilocybin for comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder: presentation of study protocol
February 19, 2026
MAPS Canada Research Room presents:
Psychedelic-Assisted Couples Therapy: Trauma-focus and beyond
January 29, 2026
MAPS Canada Research Room presents:
AtaiBeckley portfolio update: taking DMT and MDMA derivatives through the FDA pathway
Speaker Bio: Hailey is a Master’s level biostatistician with over 16 years of experience in clinical research oversight. She has contributed to the lifecycle of more than 60 clinical trials, and is a co/author on 30+ publications and talks spanning several therapeutic areas. The nexus of health, justice, and impact is the ethos for the work she chooses. After spending 11 years managing NIH-funded HIV clinical trials in the U.S., South America, and Africa, including multiple regulatory approvals of drugs and devices, Hailey came to psychedelics. Since 2020 Hailey has worked at the intersection of Clin Ops and Med Affairs for MAPS PBC/Lykos Therapeutics, as a private consultant, and for AtaiBeckley, managing programs in the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and Australia. She was an SSDP Pipeline Mentor for 3 years, and her work has been featured on Psychedelic Alpha and The Trip Report podcast. Talk Abstract – AtaiBeckley is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative mental health treatments, primarily utilizing psychedelic compounds. Our pipeline targets conditions with significant unmet needs like treatment-resistant depression (TRD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and alcohol use disorder (AUD).Key candidates include BPL-003 (intranasal 5-MeO-DMT), which has shown rapid and durable antidepressant effects in Phase 2a-b studies for TRD. VLS-01 (buccal film DMT) is in Phase 2 for TRD, targeting a short in-clinic treatment time and EMP-01 (oral R-MDMA) has completed a Phase 2 study for SAD.
Talk Abstract: AtaiBeckley is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative mental health treatments, primarily utilizing psychedelic compounds. Our pipeline targets conditions with significant unmet needs like treatment-resistant depression (TRD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and alcohol use disorder (AUD).Key candidates include BPL-003 (intranasal 5-MeO-DMT), which has shown rapid and durable antidepressant effects in Phase 2a-b studies for TRD. VLS-01 (buccal film DMT) is in Phase 2 for TRD, targeting a short in-clinic treatment time and EMP-01 (oral R-MDMA) has completed a Phase 2 study for SAD.
Research Room Team
Aakanksha Sahu
Team Lead
