Read about the BEAR Lab in the News
- Psychedelics Meet Psychology at ASU’s BEAR Lab (2025)
- Red Light Holland Partners with Arizona State University to Support Groundbreaking Psychedelic Genome Project (PGP) Research Study (2025)
- ASU professor wins NIH Director’s New Innovator Award for research linking gene function to brain structure (2024)
- Pilot study shows first molecular links behind successful PTSD treatment (2023)
- Arizona bill aims to expand research on whole psilocybin mushrooms (2023)
- From molecules to mental health: ASU professor studies how stress can change children’s gene expression and, later, behavior (2022)
- Socio-economic status of children can influence microorganisms in their digestive tract (2021)
- Brain morphology may help explain differing psilocybin experiences (2020)
- Episode 11: TGen Talks – Outside Influence: Stimuli, Epigenomics, and Changing Cell Behavior (2015)
- Pinpointing factors that influence who we are at core of ASU alum’s post-doctoral research (2015)
- TGen post-doctoral fellow wins $200,000 Bisgrove Scholars award (2015)
Watch or listen to us present our research!
Use the links below to watch presentations and listen to interviews with Drs. Lewis and Mennenga about their research.
Dr. Lewis presents on her recently-completed brain-epigenome-wide association study (BEWAS) that shows widespread, overlapping DNA methylation changes in genes linked to neuroplasticity, immune regulation, and mental function, across three psychedelics: ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA/ecstasy.
Dr. Mennenga discusses brand-new results from a preclinical study of psilocybin in aging mice, showing that psilocybin enhances cognition and affective behavior, and alters DNA methylation at thousands of genes related to neuroplasticity and immune regulation.
And Dr. Lewis sits on a panel of experts to discuss the potential mechanisms that might be underlying the transdiagnostic potential of pharmacologically distinct psychedelics, like psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA.
ASU College of Health Solutions Health Talks – Psychedelics as Therapeutics: Current Science and Clinical Applications
Dr. Lewis and Dr. Mennenga are joined by moderator Frank LoVecchio; discussing evidence-backed science behind the use of psychedelics in health care.
Watch Dr. Lewis use her experience at the University Hospital of Psychiatry in Zurich, Switzerland, along with her genomics expertise, to connect two divergent fields and propose a new approach to healing common mental health disorders.
Everything Epigenetics Podcast
Dr. Lewis shares her insights into epigenetics, discussing how early life stress can affect gene regulation and how attachment and societal influences shape our biology. The conversation then turns to psychedelics, with Candace outlining the history and ongoing research into their potential as a therapeutic tool for mental health disorders.
Psychedelic Healing Summit
Dr. Lewis discusses the interplay between epigenetics and psychedelic science in context of mental health and her recent publication on MDMA-assisted therapy in patients with PTSD.
Shroom Society at Arizona State University
Dr. Lewis shares a presentation about the BEAR Lab as well as the current research on epigenetics in the context of psychdelic-assisted therapy and mental health conditions.
The Psychedelic Report Podcast
Dr. Lewis discusses her research on early-life stress and its impact on addiction vulnerability as well as her research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. Dr. Lewis also dives into the role of genetics and epigenetics in mental health.
The NYU Psilocybin Project
Sarah Mennenga joins her former colleagues at NYU School of Medicine at the 2016 Annual Horizons Conference in New York City to discuss potential psychedelic mechanisms.