Jacob S Aday, PhD

Jacob Aday
Research Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Research Fellow, Internal Medicine
Medical School
[email protected]
Available to mentor
Jacob S Aday, PhD
Jacob Aday
Research Assistant Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
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  • About

    Jacob S. Aday, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, with appointments in the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC) as well as the Michigan Psychedelic Center (M-PsyC). He completed his undergraduate and master's degrees in Psychology at Northern Michigan University, where he worked in Dr. Adam Prus’s Neuropsychopharmacology Lab and Dr. Joshua Carlson’s Cognitive Affective Behavior and Integrative Neuroscience (CABIN) Lab. During his doctoral training, Jake was mentored by Drs. Christopher Davoli and Emily Bloesch at Central Michigan University, where they established a productive program of research centered on the emerging field of ‘psychedelic science’. During this time, he was also recruited by Drug Science, the leading independent scientific body on drugs in the UK, to be an honorary research assistant and study under Professor David Nutt. Jake then joined the Translational Psychedelic Research Program (TrPR) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as a postdoctoral researcher in 2021. There, he was mentored by Dr. Joshua Woolley on how to design, implement, and interpret complex psychedelic clinical trials. As a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Dr. Aday is interested in the cognitive and social effects of psychedelics, improving research methodology and safety with the drugs, and examining the potential applications of psychedelic therapy for chronic pain.

    Qualifications

    • Fellow
      University of Michigan Medical School, T-32 Scientist Training in Rheumatology Research, Ann Arbor, United States
      2023 - 2025
      Postdoctoral Fellowship
    • Postdoctoral Researcher
      University of California, Translational Psychedelic Research (TrPR) Program, United States
      2021 - 2023
      Postdoctoral Research
    • PhD, Applied Experimental Psychology
      Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA
      2017 - 2021
    • MS, General Psychology
      Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
      2015 - 2017
    • BS, Psychology/Graduate Prep
      Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
      2011 - 2015

    Research Overview

    • Psychedelics
    • Social Cognition
    • Trial Design
    • Chronic Pain

    Recent Publications

    See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Major life changes following psychedelic use: A retrospective survey among people using psychedelics naturalistically.
      Aday JS, Glynos NG, Baker AK, Pouyan N, Smith T, Barron J, Herberholz M, Kruger DJ, Woolley JD, Boehnke KF. Sci Rep, 2026 Apr 15; DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-48084-3
      PMID: 41986543
    • Journal Article
      Disengaged: A systematic review of community engagement in psychedelic-assisted therapy research
      Reid MR, Song J, Boehnke KF, Buchanan NT, Aday JS. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2025 Dec 9; 181: 106516 - 106516. DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106516
    • Journal Article
      Blunted psychedelic drug effects in older adults
      Aday JS, Carhart-Harris RL, Boehnke KF. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2026 Jan 13; DOI:10.1016/j.jagp.2026.01.007
    • Journal Article
      Preliminary effects of ayahuasca on mental and physical health: A systematic review of prospective studies
      Haupt MJ, Carra S, Boehnke KF, Aday JS. Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2026 Jan 1; DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2026.111634
      PMID: 41667049
    • Journal Article
      Best practices for first psychedelic experiences: harm reduction advice from the psychedelic community
      Kruger DJ, Mersereau G, Sullivan A, Barron J, Herberholz M, Pouyan N, Aday JS, Boehnke KF. Harm Reduction Journal, 2025 Dec 1; 22 (1): DOI:10.1186/s12954-025-01337-2
      PMID: 41291774
    • Journal Article
      A meta-analytic analysis of the acute effects of MDMA on empathy and emotion recognition in humans.
      Peled-Avron L, Aday JS, Pantoni MM, Hamilton HK, Woolley JD. Sci Rep, 2025 Nov 29; 15 (1): 42955 DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-25610-3
      PMID: PMC12672592
    • Journal Article
      The Relationship Between Psychedelic Use and Positive Adult Development in Emerging Adulthood: An Integrative Review
      Payne J, Robinson O, Arnaud KS, Aday JS, Warner M, Ludlow C, Murray G. Brain and Behavior, 2025 Nov 1; 15 (11): DOI:10.1002/brb3.71043
      PMID: 41236391
    • Journal Article
      A lexicon for psychedelic research and treatment
      Nutt DJ, Erritzoe D, Schlag A, Luke D, Mash DC, Uchida H, Aday JS, Rucker J, Galindo L, Sweeney M, Lowe MX, Davis O, Ferreira P, Zafar R, Carhart-Harris R, Hawrot T, Neill J. Drug Science Policy and Law, 2025 Sep 24; 11: DOI:10.1177/20503245251380511

    Featured News & Stories

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