Sophie Woodruff is a researcher with a strong focus on and passion for the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in psychiatry, particularly psilocybin. They recently earned their Research Master’s in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience with a specialization in drug development and neurohealth from Maastricht University, which included a nine-month internship at LSU Health in New Orleans under the supervision of Dr. Charles Nichols. Following this, they completed a three-month fellowship at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, supported by a stipend from the university. Under the guidance of Betina Elfving, they investigated the rapid and sustained effects on mRNA levels in brain tissue from male and female rodents after a single injection of saline, LPH-5, DOI, 25CN-NBOH, or psilocybin. Sophie is currently seeking funding through grants and stipends to begin a PhD. They aim to investigate novel antidepressant treatments, structural and functional biomarkers of depression, and the molecular mechanisms underlying treatment efficacy, with a particular focus on sex differences and variations in treatment responses across the menstrual cycle.

My research has recently been accepted for publication and is now in press at Psychedelic Medicine.

A draft of the accepted manuscript can be found here: Pre-Administration of Lorazepam Negates the Antidepressant-like Effects of Psilocybin in Male Wistar Kyoto Rats

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