School of Pharmacy Assistant Professor Cody Wenthur and his team explore how psychedelics can improve mental health disorders. Here’s how they do it.
By Nicole Etter
On any given day, research in the Wenthur Lab might involve everything from rodents skittering through a chambered box in the vivarium to human patients settling onto a comfy couch for a session in the psychedelic-assisted therapy room. Overseeing it all is Cody Wenthur, an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy’s Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research Division. Wenthur serves on the executive board of the UW Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances and directs the School’s master’s program in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation.
There is no shortage of research questions to explore in this fast-growing area, where UW–Madison has long been a pioneer. The Wenthur Lab is working on nine projects across three key areas: clinical uses and applications, psychoactive drug mechanisms, and tool development and synthesis.
“It’s fantastic to be housed in a building and engaged with colleagues where that breadth of work can be done,” Wenthur says. “We have a really incredible and rare set of resources.”
Wenthur’s research team of 15 draws from several programs on campus, including public policy, as research explores the ways in which society accepts or rejects certain uses of psychoactive drugs.
“I think ultimately what makes the lab such a vibrant and active place is we’re cross-pollinating between different programs and perspectives,” says Wenthur.
Here’s a peek at the inner-workings of the Wenthur Lab.