The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is a well-known mental health and substance use health care provider in Ontario with a strong capacity for neuroscience, clinical and public health research. I have a 46 year history with the organization as a health services researcher and although officially “retired” in 2013 I have retained an Emeritus Scientist position which affords me access to resources and capacity to continue to leverage this relationship among academic and government policy networks. I am also a Full Professor at the University of Toronto in the Dept. of Public Health Sciences where I remain active in graduate student supervision, including those working in the psychedelic science space. Since leaving my salaried position at CAMH I have grown my consulting business which affords other opportunities as well as some research and evaluation independence. The work of VIRGO Consulting is in the area of mental health and substance use health system planning and evaluation with broad experience in Canada and internationally. I am also a Collaborating Scientist at the Homewood research Institute. which I mention as they have been very supportive of my work in the psychedelic space, as has CAMH, including publishing our major research synthesis in 2022.
I am currently the Project Leader for the Ayahuasca Treatment Outcome Project (ATOP) and Co-Principal Investigator for the spin-off Entheogen Treatment Outcome Project (ENTOP) currently focused on outcomes for Indigenous populations in Central and North America. I am also active in facilitating the collaboration among Canadian researchers, clinicians, students, and policy makers interested in psychedelic science, including traditional plant-based medicine. My various organizational affiliations support this work as needed.