Episode 12: Jon Dean - DMT Research | Neural Imaging | Psychedelic Neuroscience

Curious to Serious

In this episode, we talk with Jon Dean.
He is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Brain Mechanisms of Pain & Health Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego.
Jon obtained his Bachelor’s in Chemistry at Youngstown State University, and his Master’s and Ph.D. in Molecular & Integrative Physiology from the University of Michigan, where he studied the role of the prefrontal cortex in anesthesia and biosynthesis and secretion of endogenous N,N,-dimethyltryptamine in rodent models.
To translate his basic science skillset to human and clinical populations, Jon is now conducting neural imaging studies on the neuropsychological effects of meditation, cannabis, and psilocybin on acute and chronic pain and stress as well as for the promotion of empathy and compassion.
Time Stamps:
1:54 Welcome Jon Dean! An overview of his past and current research
5:47 Co-founding the Psychedelic Neuroscience and Therapy Group at University of Michigan
9:10 From musician to neuroscience researcher
11:30 Embodying Curious to Serious, the curiosity of neurochemistry and neuropsychology. “Brain as a receptor and receiver for chemicals and altering consciousness.”
15:46 Meat and Potatoes: How did Jon get here (and was getting a master's and Ph.D. worth it)?
26:50 Slight digression about Wim Hoff. And self-identifying bias as a mindfulness or meditation researcher. Advice on limiting bias in research from Jon’s PI, “let’s find out the truth, if we find out it’s not true, great, we did our job.”
30:00 Getting along with the person you work with, philosophical alignment with your advisor, and finding “your fit.”
34:46 DMT clinical research for the future. Translating Jon’s prior rodent research to investigate clinical and therapeutic outcomes related to DMT and the human brain.
39:45 Rodent research, the invasive and ethical conservation of all life.
42:32 You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Slightly altering existing techniques (like fMRI) to answer new research questions. And Jon’s long term goals as a clinical neuroscientist
47:10 Reaching out to people whose work you are interested in, clinical neuroscientists [generally] are interested in helping new researchers navigate the field.
49:00 [Brief Redbull tangent] and summarizing how we can stay ethical in research with humans and all life forms
53:37 Closing thoughts, and some info about Jon’s new hobby: surfing. “Take care of yourself and each other.”
Contact information Jon Dean: [e-mail]
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Music by: https://www.alexkahnmusic.com/
Presented by Psychedelic Grad.