Fadel Zeidan, PhD

Fadel is a Co-Founder and Neuroscience Director of the newly formed UCSD Center for Psychedelic Research. He is also an Endowed Professor of Compassion Research at the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion. Fadel is also a Co-Founder and Executive Committee member of the International Society for Contemplative Research. His research is focused on determining the active mechanisms that mediate the relationship between self-regulatory practices and health. In particular, Fadel’s research examines the neural mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain and health by mindfulness meditation and placebo. He is also dedicated to understanding how psychedelics like psilocybin, DMT and cannabis impact pain-related behavioral and neural processes. His research program has recently expanded to appreciate how empathy and compassion can be cultivated through self-regulatory practices and psychedelic therapies.

His work has also been featured in traditional media outreach (CNN; NPR; Time Magazine, CBS and others), Tedx and personally presented his work to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama in Mongolia. Fadel was also awarded the 2014 National Institutes of Health Mitchell Max Award for Research Excellence.