Question 1

10.30 - 11.45     Synaitken Innovation Brunch

Accepted Answer

Hosted by Synaitken.

Question 2

12.00 - 12.15     Psychedelic Day: Welcoming

Accepted Answer

Opening speech by Trudy Di Pippo and Khaliya Aga Khan

Question 3

12.15 - 12.35     The Effect of Trauma on the Next Generation

Accepted Answer

Speaker: Rachel Yehuda, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine

There has been much interest in trying to understand whether the effects of trauma are passed down to the next generation, or even subsequent generations. Recent advances in molecular biology and epigenetics have provided paradigms for understanding long term effects of stress. Epigenetic research in animals has provided models for how such effects might be transmitted and there has been great speculation regarding whether and to what extent such mechanisms can be applied towards understanding some of the enduring effects of trauma in offspring of survivors. This presentation will focus on the consequences of parental trauma and will examine the question of whether such effects are biologically ‘transmitted.” Most of the research has been conducted on adult children of Holocaust survivors but is supported by observations in children born to pregnant women who survived the world trade center attack on 9/11. Findings demonstrating epigenetic marks associated with parental trauma effects of PTSD will be reviewed, and discussed in the context of whether they represent generational “damage” resulting from adversity or indicate attempts to adapt to environmental challenge to achieve resilience..There has been much interest in trying to understand whether the effects of trauma are passed down to the next generation, or even subsequent generations. Recent advances in molecular biology and epigenetics have provided paradigms for understanding long term effects of stress. Epigenetic research in animals has provided models for how such effects might be transmitted and there has been great speculation regarding whether and to what extent such mechanisms can be applied towards understanding some of the enduring effects of trauma in offspring of survivors. This presentation will focus on the consequences of parental trauma and will examine the question of whether such effects are biologically ‘transmitted.” Most of the research has been conducted on adult children of Holocaust survivors but is supported by observations in children born to pregnant women who survived the world trade center attack on 9/11. Findings demonstrating epigenetic marks associated with parental trauma effects of PTSD will be reviewed, and discussed in the context of whether they represent generational “damage” resulting from adversity or indicate attempts to adapt to environmental challenge to achieve resilience..

Question 4

12.40 - 13.00     From Tinkering to Impact at Scale

Accepted Answer

Speaker: Tyler Norris, CEO of Well Being Trust
Tyler Norris, CEO of Well Being Trust, a US impact philanthropy, is leading a broad alliance of partners across sectors to reverse the “deaths of despair” (alcohol, opioids and suicide) and declines in lifespan. By leveraging clinical and technology innovations, WBT is advancing whole person care systems that integrate behavioral and physical care with social needs -- from clinic to community. They are also leading federal and state policy alliances to increase affordable access to integrated care, while assuring the vital conditions for intergenerational well-being in the first place.  The Trust is building US ‘movement infrastructure’ by investing in new narratives, standards, metrics and measurement systems, financing engines and co-benefit alliances that catalyze change to organizational practices, public policies and uses of investment capital for population-level impact.s how these different approaches can be reconciled with a view to work towards having these substances fully tested and integrated into modern psychiatry. Imperial psychedelic brain imaging as well as lab-based and survey clinical data – with a focus on depression - will be presented.

Question 5

13.05 - 13.25     Psychedelics for Mental Health: Efficacy and Mechanisms

Accepted Answer

Speaker: David Erritzoe, MD, PhD, NIHR  Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Adult Psychiatry. Clinical Director of Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.
 
Over the last two decades clinical research into the effects classic serotonergic psychedelic compounds has re-emerged and suggested substantial and sustained therapeutic effects for a range of mental health conditions. This resurrection has been occasioned by several factors, including studies at John Hopkins University demonstrating that a single dose of psilocybin could produce long term changes in wellbeing. A resurgence of neuroscience-based research is now shedding light on the mechanisms of actions of these drugs, such as the work pursued by our team at Imperial, that of scientists in Zurich, and more lately also via pharmacological imaging studies in Copenhagen. Dr Erritzoe's talk will discuss how these diﬀerent approaches can be reconciled with a view to work towards having these substances fully tested and integrated into modern psychiatry. Imperial psychedelic brain imaging as well as lab-based and survey clinical data – with a focus on depression - will be presented.

Question 6

13.30 - 13.50     The Future of Psychedelic assisted Therapies

Accepted Answer

Speaker: Rick Doblin, PhD, Founder and Executive Director MAPS

Could psychedelics help us heal from trauma and mental illnesses? Researcher Rick Doblin has spent the past three decades investigating this question, and the results are promising. In this fascinating dive into the science of psychedelics, he explains how drugs like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA affect your brain -- and shows how, when paired with psychotherapy, they could change the way we treat PTSD, depression, substance abuse and more.

Question 7

13.55 - 14.45     PTSD: Breakthroughs in Understanding and Treatment

Accepted Answer

Moderator: Khaliya Aga Khan 
Participants: Rick Doblin, Rachel Yehuda 
 
In the United States alone, 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Not just limited to those in active conflict zones, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts refugees, victims of sexual violence, and many others. Furthermore, epigenetic trauma, the passing of trauma and PTSD across generations, is a mental health problem in need of remedy. 
Dr. Rachel Yehuda, a pioneer in understanding and treating epigenetic trauma and PTSD through her work at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, will speak to key learnings about the nature of these issues as well as potential therapies being advanced by Rick Doblin, Founder and Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS.) MAPS was FOUNDED 1986 to pursue Ricks’ for psychedelic assisted therapy, a vision which is now very close to being realized with FDA Phase 3 clinical trials as Breakthrough Therapy and similar trials concurrently with the European Medical Association. Rick will speak to the opportunities and challenges ahead in bringing psychedelic-assisted therapies through regulatory trials, and the prospect of these therapies impact PTSD, trauma, and mental health issues more broadly.

Question 8

14.50 - 15.40     The Brave New World of the Brain: Investing in an Ecosystem. Overcoming the Stigma and Stalemate of Tackling the Mental Health Crisis

Accepted Answer

Moderator: Dick Simon
Participants: Sonia Weiss Pick, Daniel Weiss Pick, David Erritzoe, Garen Staglin, William Tyler Norris
 
Description:
Despite the crisis at hand, there has been very little innovation in the psychiatric medical space in almost three decades. New technological and regulatory developments are laying the foundation for a wholesale shift in how our global society tackles mental health issues.
 
Important advancements including the use of AI and machine learning algorithms, improved computing power, use of organoid research, advances in psychiatric biomarker research and the renewed scientific and regulatory openness to conduct psychedelics research are reframing the approach to treating a wide variety of problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, addiction and more.
 
For example,  Dr. Amit Etkin at Stanford University is developing a novel EEG-based algorithm that allows for better segmentation of diseases. If successful, his technology will simultaneously allow for a more precise diagnostic and treatment and for improved clinical-trial design. Similarly, researchers out of Columbia are at the forefront of organoid research,  growing mini-brains out of the stem cells of diseased patients. They are subsequently using these organoid mini-brain to test the effectivity of various medical compounds to identify best treatment. This technology will also prove invaluable for development of new compounds. 
 
Additionally, the psychiatric drug development process has dramatically changed, opening space for researchers, enterprises, investors and NGO’s to participate in the space. Come learn from investors and funders at the forefront of these innovations.

Question 9

15.45 - 16.25     Exponential Gene Editing & Opportunities for Psychedelic Therapies

Accepted Answer

Speaker: David Preiner, PhD
 
About Xenomics: Exponential Genomics Inc. (Xenomics) has built a team of scientists trained at Harvard and MIT working on a competing gene-editing technology to CRISPER. Current projects for commercialization are centered on utilizing genetically modified microorganisms to manufacture compounds identical to those found in nature. Our projects include bio-synthesizing psychedelics, cannabinoids, breast milk, water desalination, cultured meats, and tobacco alternatives. 
Research suggests psychedelic compounds hold high therapeutic potential to treat an array of chronic mental health conditions via glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) pathway and by activating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production. Exponential gene editing techniques will likely create an opportunity for the creation of new psychedelic therapies for: depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction and other neurological conditions.

Question 10

16.30 - 17.30     Synaitken Panel

Accepted Answer

Panel discussion exploring global opportunities in blockchain and data infrastructure. Hosted by Prof. Marcus Vinicius de Freitas.

Question 11

17.35 - 19.00     Black Sea: Capitalizing on Blockchain

Accepted Answer

Invite-only

Question 12

19.00 - 19.10     Together for the Americas

Accepted Answer

Speaker: Francisco Lozano, Global Strategic Financier

Question 13

19.10 - 21.30     Synaitken Evening Reception

Accepted Answer

Invite-only

Question 14

21:30     WEF Closing Party

Accepted Answer

The legendary post-WEF gathering at the Seehof Chalet.

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