Summary
MD, PhD, MRCPsych, Clinical Senior Lecturer in General Psychiatry in Centres for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research at Imperial and Consultant Psychiatrist at St Charles Hospital, CNWL Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. From early 2021 heading a new NHS-based research clinic at St Charles Hospital, the CIPPRes Clinic.
David conducts psychopharmacological research, using brain-imaging techniques such as PET and MRI. He was trained in PET imaging at Columbia University in New York and later undertook a PhD at University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. Since 2009 he has been involved in post-doc imaging research into the neurobiology of addictions and major depression at Imperial. David has been investigating dopaminergic neurotransmission with measurements of the dopamine D3 receptor in alcohol addiction, studies of opioid neurotransmission in pathological gambling, and functional imaging studies looking at the role of dopamine D3 and mu-opiate receptors in cocaine, alcohol, and heroin addiction.
Currently, he runs lab-based multi-modal brain imaging studies [often using pharmacological challenges] focusing on serotonin/dopamine/opiate neurotransmission as well as larger-scale prospective, naturalistic studies with online assessments and/or field-based data collection. Specifically, in the Centre for Psychedelic Research [where David is Clinical Director and Deputy Head], the team is investigating brain mechanisms and therapeutic potential of MDMA, ketamine and classic psychedelics.
Publications
Journals
Wall MB, Harding R, Zafar R, et al., 2023, Neuroimaging in psychedelic drug development: past, present, and future., Mol Psychiatry
Bremler R, Katati N, Shergill P, et al., 2023, Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics, Scientific Reports, ISSN:2045-2322
Simonsson O, Carlbring P, Carhart-Harris R, et al., 2023, Assessing the risk of symptom worsening in psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis., Psychiatry Res, Vol:327
Zeifman RJ, Kettner H, Pagni BA, et al., 2023, Co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences, Scientific Reports, Vol:13, ISSN:2045-2322, Pages:1-11
Weiss B, Erritzoe D, Giribaldi B, et al., 2023, A critical evaluation of QIDS-SR-16 using data from a trial of psilocybin therapy versus escitalopram treatment for depression., J Psychopharmacol, Vol:37, Pages:717-732