Christopher Nicholas
Position title: Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Department:
Family Medicine and Community Health
Education:
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center/Minneapolis VA Health Care System, USA
VA Fellowship in Advanced Geriatrics, Aging, and Multi-modal Imaging, Madison VA/University of Wisconsin Department
of Medicine, USA
Research Description:
Trained as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Nicholas’s research focuses on the clinical efficacy and therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelic (psilocybin, MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT) and other psychoactive compounds (ketamine) for addiction, PTSD, chronic pain, and depression. He is currently investigating psilocybin-assisted therapy for methamphetamine and opioid use disorders, ketamine-assisted therapy for adolescent PTSD, and the therapeutic role of memory salience and neuroplasticity post-psilocybin. Dr. Nicholas also integrates fMRI as a biomarker in his clinical trials and is interested in the application of predictive processing as a transdiagnostic mechanistic framework.
In addition to research, Dr. Nicholas is faculty on the UW Addiction Fellowship Program and provides clinical services for individuals living with chronic pain and HIV and supervision on psychedelic facilitation, implementation, and harm reduction. Dr. Nicholas earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and neuroscience at the University of Tennessee; and completed his post-doctoral fellowship in aging and multi-modal neuroimaging at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and William S. Middelton VA.
Key Words:
Psychedelics, Neuroimaging, Clinical Trials, Memory, Substance Use Disorders, PTSD, Depression, Pain