Dr. Bruce Damer is a scientist who had a major breakthrough, catalyzed by his ayahuasca and other psychedelic experiences, in which he saw how life might have originated. Presented to colleagues and appearing in published journal articles, the vision has crystallized into solid science that grapples with one of the greatest mysteries in human inquiry. Two years ago Dr. Damer took the reputational risk to reveal his methods in the hope that it would inspire others in science, tech, design, and leadership to come forward and share their psychedelic stories. The Center for MINDS was born as a result, a new research and community organization pursuing this next path for psychedelic studies and practice. Dr. Damer will describe his journey and share how the new organization could catalyze not only innovation but top-to-bottom societal change for a brilliant and long future.
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Dr. Bruce Damer is Canadian-American multidisciplinary scientist, designer, and author. In his role as a world-renowned Astrobiologist at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Dr. Damer collaborates with colleagues developing and testing a new scenario for the origin of life on Earth and where it might arise in the universe. As a designer he has provided innovative spacecraft architectures to NASA and others which might provide a viable path for the expansion of life and human civilization beyond the Earth. Dr. Damer has recently gone on public record that throughout his career he has used a combination of mindfulness practices and psychedelics to achieve some of his key scientific and technical breakthroughs. His hope in co-founding MINDS is to provide others with special capacities in these realms to have access to scientifically validated protocols, community and mentorship, and pathways to transform their own novel insights into solutions to bring about a brilliant future for all of us.
Along with his role at MINDS, Dr. Damer also serves as Chief Scientist at the BIOTA Institute. His work has been featured in high-level scientific journals, popular science publications, news outlets, documentaries and on numerous podcasts. He collaborates with a wide range of scientists and thinkers in fields as diverse as evolutionary biology, philosophy, spirituality, and AI. He is a frequent speaker on topics in science, space, and the philosophical and spiritual implications of the scientific quest to discover the solution to the mystery of our deepest origins.
Dr. Manesh Girn is a postdoctoral neuroscientist specializing in psychedelic drugs at the University of California, San Francisco. Working closely with psychedelic research pioneer Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, he conducts research on the neural mechanisms underlying the psychedelic experience and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. He has been lead or co-author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications to date on topics including psychedelics, the default mode network, abstract cognitive processes, and brain network organization. Manesh also runs a popular digital platform on Instagram and YouTube called "The Psychedelic Scientist”, where he disseminates the latest findings and developments in psychedelic science in a layperson friendly manner. Finally, Manesh serves as the Chief Research Officer at EntheoTech Bioscience, a pioneering Canadian bioscience company focused on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and multidisciplinary mental health solutions.
https://www.maneshgirn.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thepsychedelicscientist
