2025 ACMT Psychedelics Seminar

Dr. Maryann Amirshahi is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine and practices clinically at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where she specializes in toxicology, addiction care, and emergency medicine. She holds a PharmD and medical degree, alongside an MPH focusing on environmental and occupational health, and a PhD in pharmacology and public health. Dr. Amirshahi is board-certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, addiction medicine, and clinical pharmacology, and is a registered pharmacist with over a decade of practice. Nationally recognized, she serves on the Board of Directors for the American College of Medical Toxicology and as co-medical director of the National Capital Poison Center. With nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications, her research spans medication safety, drug shortages, addiction treatment, and prescription drug misuse.

Dr. Walter Dunn is a staff psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA. He directs the Neuromodulation Clinic at the VA and co-directs the Trauma Recovery Services clinic, specializing in the treatment of PTSD. He also serves as the psychiatrist for the UCLA Operation Mend program, which provides care to returning veterans and their families. His research focuses on developing novel neuromodulation therapies for psychiatric conditions including psychosis, mood disorders, and PTSD. Dr. Dunn earned a BA in molecular biology and a PhD in biochemistry from UC Berkeley, followed by an MD from UC Davis and psychiatry residency at the UCLA Semel Institute. He completed a MIRECC research fellowship before joining the VA and UCLA faculty. He has also served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee, contributing to national policy on psychiatric medications.

Albert Garcia-Romeu, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction. His current research interests include clinical applications of psychedelics, real-world drug use patterns, diversity in science, and the role of spirituality in mental health. He is a founding member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and the International Society for Research on Psychedelics. He serves on the Board of Directors for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) and is an Associate Editor for the journal Psychedelic Medicine.

Dr. Graham is double board-certified (adult and child/adolescent) psychiatrist with expertise in young adult mental health, emergency mental health, consultation-liaison psychiatry, medical education/training, clinical informatics and medical writing/editing. She completed her psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UMass Chan Medical School, following which she worked as an attending psychiatrist at UMass Memorial Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School. She is currently an Associate Psychiatrist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Graham works as a board-certified medical toxicologist and an emergency medicine physician at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, MA. There, he is also the director of the outpatient toxicology clinic. He acts as an educator, clinician, and researcher in these capacities. He completed his toxicology fellowship in 2022 at UMass after completing his residency in emergency medicine also at UMass. His current academic and research interests include psychedelics, addiction medicine, cannabinoids, and harm reduction.

Dr. Ben Hatten is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, with a primary appointment in the Section of Medical Toxicology. He is also an attending physician at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center and serves as faculty for the Emergency Medicine Residency, Occupational Medicine Residency, and Medical Toxicology Fellowship programs in Denver. Board certified in both emergency medicine and medical toxicology, Dr. Hatten actively practices in both fields. He earned his M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and completed his emergency medicine residency at Denver Health Medical Center. He went on to complete a Medical Toxicology Fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University, where he also earned an M.P.H. in epidemiology and biostatistics. Since returning to Denver in 2013, he has been a key contributor to toxicology education, research, and clinical care across multiple institutions.

Dr. Rob Hendrickson graduated from the State University of New York, Downstate College of Medicine, and completed training in Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University where he is Chief of the Section of Medical Toxicology, Program Director for the fellowship in medical toxicology, and the Medical Director of the Oregon Poison Center.

Dr. Shana Kusin is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where she has served as full-time faculty since 2013 following her fellowship in Medical Toxicology at OHSU and the Oregon Poison Center. She sees patients in both the OHSU and Doernbecher Emergency Departments. Dr. Kusin’s academic interests center on medical toxicology—particularly drugs of abuse and plant- and animal-based toxins—as well as leveraging electronic health records to improve community-wide healthcare through information sharing and clinical decision support. 

Dr. Alex Kwan is a neuroscientist and Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he leads a research lab focused on uncovering how psychiatric drugs affect brain function and behavior. He earned his Ph.D. in applied physics from Cornell and completed postdoctoral training in neuroscience at UC Berkeley. Before returning to Cornell in 2022, he was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Kwan’s lab combines systems neuroscience, optical imaging, and behavioral paradigms in animal models to study how compounds like ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics alter neural circuits to produce therapeutic effects. His long-term goal is to develop effective and safe treatments for depression by leveraging neurobiological insights into drug action.

Jeffrey Lai, MD, is an emergency physician and medical toxicologist. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley; medical school at the University of Pittsburgh; and emergency medicine residency and medical toxicology fellowship at the University of Massachusetts. He is the program director of the medical toxicology fellowship at UMass Chan Medical School, and his academic interests include medical education, the application of novel technologies to the treatment of substance use disorders, and the surveillance of impairing substances in patients with severe traumatic injurie

Dr. Sandeep Nayak is a psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his medical degree from Brown University and completed his psychiatry residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His research focuses on the use of psychedelics to treat psychiatric conditions, particularly substance use and mood disorders, with additional interests in psychedelic-induced belief change and the application of Bayesian statistics to clinical trials. In addition to his research, Dr. Nayak provides clinical care at Addiction Treatment Services (ATS) and the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy (CAP) at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Dr. Mason Marks is the Florida Bar Health Law Section Professor at Florida State University College of Law and a leading expert on drug policy, health law, and the regulation of psychedelics. He is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center, where he co-founded and directs the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR), and a Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. With dual degrees in medicine and law, Dr. Marks publishes widely on drug regulation, constitutional rights, and the intersection of AI, health, and free thought, with scholarship appearing in top law reviews and medical journals such as JAMA, Nature Medicine, and The New England Journal of Medicine. His work has been cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Senate, the WHO, and the FTC, and featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, and The Economist. A sought-after speaker and advisor, Dr. Marks regularly briefs state and federal agencies on controlled substances policy and teaches courses on constitutional, administrative, health, and psychedelic law. He holds degrees from Amherst College (BA), Tufts University (MD), and Vanderbilt University (JD).

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Pizon received his medical degree from the University of Toledo School of Medicine in 2001.  He then completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2004 and his Medical Toxicology Fellowship at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona in 2006. Dr. Pizon is currently a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Medical Toxicology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine. He serves as Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology and Director of the Medical Toxicology Fellowship at UPMC. He is also Assistant Medical Director of both the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Poison Centers. Yet, most importantly, he is blessed with amazing wife, Caryn, and four wonderful children (Benjamin, Elizabeth, Gabriela, and Seraphina).

Dr. Evan Schwarz attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, before completing a residency in Emergency Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri.  After residency, he completed a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas, Texas, before returning to Missouri where he was an Advisory Dean and the Medical Toxicology Division Chief and Fellowship Director at Washington University. In 2023, he took a position in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for ACMT.

Dr. Josh Woolley is a nationally recognized leader in psychedelic science and psychiatric research. He serves as Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF and Director of the Translational Psychedelic Research (TrPR) Program, where he leads groundbreaking studies on the safety, efficacy, and therapeutic mechanisms of compounds such as psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. A board-certified psychiatrist and staff physician at the San Francisco VA, Dr. Woolley also serves as Associate Director of its Psychosis Clinic and has played a key role in training the next generation of clinicians and researchers. He has mentored over 30 postdocs and 8 junior faculty, co-directed UCSF’s foundational psychiatry course, and earned multiple accolades for his excellence in teaching and research. His work is supported by the VA, Department of Defense, philanthropic foundations, and industry, and has been published in top-tier journals including JAMA, Nature Neuroscience, and Biological Psychiatry.