David E. Olson is an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

. He is an associate professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

and

molecular medicine Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological, bioinformatics and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop ...

at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. Olson is best known for his work investigating

neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of Neural circuit, neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that diffe ...

promoting compounds, especially the potential of

psychedelic drugs Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

, including

ketamine Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...

and

serotonergic psychedelics Psychedelics are a subclass of Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the ...

, to alter brain structure and function. Olson also coined a term to refer to small molecules that are fast acting, durable neuroplasticity promoting compounds: psychoplastogens. Psychoplastogens are being developed to treat a wide variety of

neuropsychiatric Neuropsychiatry or Organic Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neurop ...

and

neurodegenerative diseases A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...

, including depression,

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

, and

substance use disorders Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs (including alcohol) despite substantial harm and adverse consequences as a result of their use. Substance use disorders are characterized by an array of mental/emotional, physical, and b ...

, among many others.

Early life

Olson received his B.S. from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 2006 with a major in chemistry and a minor in biology. He then worked briefly at Albany Molecular Research Inc. before completing a Ph.D. in chemistry at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 2011, where he worked in the laboratory of Justin Du Bois, developing a variety of methods for synthesizing nitrogen-containing compounds. Olson undertook postdoctoral research in neuroscience at the

Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research The Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is a multi-disciplinary biomedical research program located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that studies the biological basis of psychiatric disease. The center was fou ...

at the

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly navi ...

where he focused on the therapeutic potential of

HDAC inhibitors Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC inhibitors, HDACi, HDIs) are chemical compounds that inhibit histone deacetylases. HDIs have a long history of use in psychiatry and neurology as mood stabilizers and anti-epileptics. More recently they are bei ...

Career

In 2015 Olson started his independent career at the University of California, Davis with a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry (College of Letters and Science) and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (School of Medicine). He is also an affiliate member of the Center for Neuroscience and the UC Davis Memory and

Plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

Program. In 2021, Olson was promoted to associate professor with tenure. In 2019, Olson co-founded

Delix Therapeutics Delix Therapeutics is an American biotech company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company develops novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder ...

—a biotech company focused on developing novel

-promoting therapeutics for central nervous system diseases (CNS). Olson served as the company's Chief Scientific Officer until 2021, when he transitioned to the roles of Chief Innovation Officer and Head of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Other activities

Currently, he serves on the editorial advisory boards of the journals ACS Chemical Neuroscience and ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.

Published works

Olson has published numerous scientific publications. Several of his key contributions to the field are cited below: * Dong, C.; Ly, C.; Dunlap, L. E.; Vargas, M. V.; Sun, J.; Hwang, I.-W.; Azinfar, A.; Oh, W. C.; Wetsel, W. C.; Olson, D. E.; Tian, L. Psychedelic-Inspired Drug Discovery Using an Engineered Biosensor. ''Cell'', 2021, 184, 2779–2792. * Cameron, L. P.; Tombari, R. J.; Lu, J.; Pell, A. J.; Hurley, Z. Q.; Ehinger, Y.; Vargas, M. V.; McCarroll, M. N.; Taylor, J. C.; Myers-Turnbull, D.; Liu, T.; Yaghoobi, B.; Laskowski, L. J.; Anderson, E. I.; Zhang, G.; Viswanathan, J.; Brown, B. M.; Tjia, M.; Dunlap, L. E.; Rabow, Z. T.; Fiehn, O.; Wulff, H.; McCorvy, J. D.; Lein, P. J.; Kokel, D.; Ron, D.; Peters, J.; Zuo, Y.; Olson, D. E. A Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Analogue with Therapeutic Potential. ''Nature'', 2021, 589, 474–479. * Dunlap, L. E.; Azinfar, A.; Ly, C.; Cameron, L. P.; Viswanathan, J.; Tombari, R. J.; Myers-Turnbull, D.; Taylor, J. C.; Grodzki, A. C.; Lein, P. J.; Kokel, D.; Olson, D. E. Identification of Psychoplastogenic N,N-Dimethylaminoisotryptamine (isoDMT) Analogs Through Structure-Activity Relationship Studies. ''J. Med. Chem.'', 2020, 63, 1142–1155. * Cameron, L. P.; Benson, C. J.; DeFelice, B. C.; Fiehn, O.; Olson, D. E. Chronic, Intermittent Microdoses of the Psychedelic N,N‐Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Produce Positive Effects on Mood and Anxiety in Rodents. ''ACS Chem. Neurosci.'', 2019, 10, 3261−3270. * Ly, C.; Greb, A. C.; Cameron, L. P.; Wong, J.; Barragan, E.; Wilson, P.; Burbach, K. F.; Dunlap, L. E.; Soltanzadeh Zarandi, S.; Sood, A.; Duim, W. C.; Paddy, M. R.; Dennis, M.; McAllister, A. K.; Ori-McKenney, K. M.; Gray, J. A.; Olson, D. E. Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity. ''Cell Rep.'' 2018, 23, 3170–3182.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, David E. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American neuroscientists American chemists University of California, Davis faculty