Emory University has been named a national research site in a landmark $21 million National Institutes of Health-funded initiative—among the largest federal investments to date in psychedelic research—to evaluate the safety and therapeutic potential of psychedelics for older adults. The project, known as the INSPIRE Network (INnovative Science of Psychedelic Inclusive Research in Elders), is the first federally funded clinical research program dedicated specifically to studying psychedelics in adults age 65 and older.

As part of this national effort, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Emory University School of Medicine will receive $4 million in NIH funding to support its role within the INSPIRE Network. This establishes one of the largest federally funded psychedelic research efforts ever awarded to Emory and positions the Department of Psychiatry and the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality as leading contributors to rigorous evidence-based psychedelic science for aging populations

Funded by the NIA and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, both branches of NIH, the INSPIRE Network is led by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus with multi–principal investigators at New York University and the University of California San Francisco. Emory joins the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Harvard Medical School affiliate) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center as additional national sites.

The project will span five years, with the first phase evaluating safety and efficacy of psilocybin and LSD in healthy volunteers, followed by a second phase looking at psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating chronic pain (psilocybin for lower back pain and LSD for cancer-related bone pain).

While early studies suggest psychedelics may offer promising pathways for treating chronic pain, older adults have been significantly underrepresented in prior trials. The INSPIRE Network aims to close this gap by generating essential safety and clinical data for adults ages 65 and older who are disproportionately affected by chronic pain. 

“Chronic pain becomes more common and more debilitating as people age, yet current treatment options are often limited and come with significant risks,” says Ali John Zarrabi, MD, director of psychedelic research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and INSPIRE site-principal investigator at Emory. “This research offers an important opportunity to evaluate non-opioid alternatives that could transform the way we care for older adults. With this level of NIH support, we are helping lead a new era of rigorous patient-centered psychedelic science.” 

To address these challenges, Emory researchers will contribute to both phases of the five-year program. During Phase I, which spans years one and two, the network will study physiological and cognitive safety indicators in healthy adults ages 65-85 who receive psilocybin or LSD combined with psychological support to enhance meaning and purpose in later life. Measures will include heart rate, blood pressure, cognition, mobility, balance and risk for delirium.

Alongside these clinical assessments, participants will complete daily voice diaries throughout the trial using Fabla, a voice diary smartphone app created at Emory University for clinical research.

Fabla was developed at Emory’s AppHatchery, part of the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (CTSA), a coalition of technology leaders creating patient-centered mobile health care apps. The app was created by Deanna Kaplan, PhD, director of the Human Experience and Ambulatory Technologies (HEAT) Lab at Emory University School of Medicine, in collaboration with Santiago Arconada Alvarez, MS, co-director of apps and digital platforms at the NIH-funded AppHatchery.

“We built Fabla so that participants could tell researchers about their daily experiences throughout the study in their own words, just as naturally as sending a voice memo to a friend,” explains Kaplan a co-investigator on the Emory INSPIRE team and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory.

During Phase II, conducted in years three through five, two multi-site clinical trials will test psychedelic-assisted therapies for chronic pain. One will assess psilocybin combined with pain reprocessing therapy for chronic low back pain. The second will study LSD-assisted therapy for cancer-related bone pain in patients with breast, prostate and lung cancers. Emory’s contributions will include participant enrollment, trial conduction, data interpretation and application of clinical insights from palliative medicine, geriatric medicine, neurology, psychiatry and pain management.

The INSPIRE Network represents a turning point in federally supported psychedelic research, moving the field beyond early proof-of-concept studies toward large-scale, multisite clinical evaluation in aging populations. The NIH investment, including the $4 million supporting Emory’s role, reflects a growing national commitment to advancing psychedelic science safely and responsibly.

“The data we generate will be crucial for determining whether these therapies are not only effective but also safe and accessible for the populations that may benefit most,” says Zarrabi.

Participant enrollment for Emory’s Phase I study is currently scheduled to begin May 2026. Emory investigators will continue collaborating with national partners as the INSPIRE Network advances its early clinical studies. For more information, visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07516405.

Emory University School of Medicine is a national leader in psychedelic research, with multiple studies exploring potential treatments for a variety of conditions including PTSD, depression and chronic pain.