Etheridge Foundation Awards $45,000 Grant to University of Pennsylvania for Psilocybin Research

The Etheridge Foundation is pleased to announce a $45,000 grant to the University of Pennsylvania in support of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder: Restoring Cognitive and Emotional Flexibility to Support Recovery.

Led by Drs. Anna Rose Childress, Kyle Kampman, and Paul Regier at UPenn’s Center for Studies of Addiction, the pilot study is investigating whether psilocybin-assisted therapy can improve clinical outcomes as well as the cognitive and emotional processes that play an important role in recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD). 

The study goes beyond traditional measures of opioid use to explore how psilocybin-assisted therapy may affect changes in areas including cognitive flexibility, decision-making, craving, mood, quality of life, and brain function. Using a patient-centered approach, participants set their own recovery and wellness goals, from substance use and medication to employment, education, and social connection. 

The Etheridge Foundation’s support will help advance enrollment and participant completion during this active pilot study, generating early data that could inform larger-scale research and future approaches to OUD treatment.

We are proud to support this research as part of our commitment to advancing the understanding of psychedelic-assisted therapies and their potential to create new pathways for addiction recovery.