Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsAlex Kwan, PhD
Associate Professor Adjunct of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Associate Professor Adjunct of Psychiatry
Biography
Alex Kwan is an Associate Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Before moving to Cornell in 2022, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
He received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he developed nonlinear optical microscopes in the laboratory of Watt Webb. In 2009, he went to the University of California, Berkeley to work in the laboratory of Yang Dan, where he studied cortical microcircuits.
Research in the Kwan lab focuses on the mouse medial frontal cortex. We are interested in how dendritic plasticity may underlie the actions of psychiatric drugs and how cortical circuits enable flexible decision-making. Our expertise lies in developing and applying optical methods to record and control neural activity in behaving mice.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities
- Division of Neurocognition, Neurocomputation & Neurogenetics
- Kwan Lab
- Psychiatry
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral
- University of California, Berkeley (2009 - 2013) (2013)
- PhD
- Cornell University (2009)
- MS
- Cornell University (2007)
- BS
- Simon Fraser University (2003)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Antidepressive Agents; Decision Making; Dendrites; Depressive Disorder; Electrophysiology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Optogenetics; Prefrontal Cortex
ORCID
0000-0003-2169-1667
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Alex Kwan's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Alex Kwan's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Alex Kwan is interested in exploring.
Pasha Davoudian
Clara Liao, BA
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD
Neil K. Savalia
Alicia Che, PhD
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
27Publications
1,499Citations
Decision Making
Dendrites
Prefrontal Cortex
Optogenetics
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Antidepressive Agents
Publications
2025
Psilocybin triggers an activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks
Jiang Q, Shao L, Yao S, Savalia N, Gilbert A, Davoudian P, Nothnagel J, Tian G, Hung T, Lai H, Beier K, Zeng H, Kwan A. Psilocybin triggers an activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks. Cell 2025 PMID: 41352354, PMCID: PMC12695013, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.11.009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsLarge-scale cortical networksBrain-wide distributionCortical networksDose of psilocybinImpact of psilocybinMedial frontal cortexDendritic spinesPsilocybin administrationPsilocybin effectsFrontal cortexRemodeling of dendritic spinesMonosynaptic rabies tracingCortical pyramidal neuronsPsilocybinStructural remodeling of dendritic spinesMental illnessNeural plasticityNeural activity modulationSubcortical targetsRabies tracingStructural remodelingPyramidal neuronsSynaptic reorganizationMedial regionPresynaptic neuronsAutism-associated Scn2a haploinsufficiency disrupts in vivo dendritic signaling and impairs flexible decision-making
Wu H, Shen L, Indajang J, Savalia N, Johnson T, Qu J, Bender K, Kwan A. Autism-associated Scn2a haploinsufficiency disrupts in vivo dendritic signaling and impairs flexible decision-making. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2025, 122: e2508836122. PMID: 41264237, PMCID: PMC12646510, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2508836122.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsFlexible decision-makingMouse medial frontal cortexDeep layer pyramidal cellsMedial frontal cortexIntratelencephalic neuronsPyramidal cellsAutism spectrum disorderCompartment-specific alterationsHigh-confidence risk genesDendritic calcium transientsApical dendritic tuftNeocortical pyramidal cellsFrontal cortexTask-specific representationsSpectrum disorderLoss-of-function mutationsTask variablesCalcium transientsDendritic excitabilityPyramidal tract neuronsDendritic tuftsProximal dendritic compartmentsSignaling in vivoDendritic signalsIntegration in vivoPublisher Correction: Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors
Shao L, Liao C, Davoudian P, Savalia N, Jiang Q, Wojtasiewicz C, Tan D, Nothnagel J, Liu R, Woodburn S, Bilash O, Kim H, Che A, Kwan A. Publisher Correction: Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors. Nature 2025, 646: e33-e33. PMID: 41023408, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09671-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricPsychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future
Masthay J, Kwan A, Chang S. Psychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future. Molecular Psychiatry 2025, 31: 514-525. PMID: 40940559, PMCID: PMC12709594, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03240-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsClassic psychedelicsPsychedelic effectsNonhuman primatesDrug effectsEffects of psychedelicsLow abuse liabilityNonhuman primate studiesAbuse liabilityPsychedelic studiesPsychiatric conditionsPsychedelic compoundsPsychedelic researchPsychedelicsVisual hallucinationsRodent studiesOperant behaviorNonhuman primate speciesPreclinical modelsInter-individual variabilityDose rangeDrug responsePrimatesMechanism of actionHallucinationsDrugThe ABCs of psychedelics: a preclinical roadmap for drug discovery
Kwan A, Mantsch J, McCorvy J. The ABCs of psychedelics: a preclinical roadmap for drug discovery. Trends In Pharmacological Sciences 2025, 46: 1224-1240. PMID: 40877079, PMCID: PMC12404667, DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2025.07.017.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsActivity-dependent gene expressionSerotonin 2APsychiatric disordersBehavioral phenotypesTherapeutic efficacyNeural remodelingPsychedelicsCellular plasticityReceptor selectivityDrug developmentGene expressionAutomated video analysisDrugSignal transductionDrug discoveryAgonistsDisordersDiscovery pipelinePsilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors
Shao L, Liao C, Davoudian P, Savalia N, Jiang Q, Wojtasiewicz C, Tan D, Nothnagel J, Liu R, Woodburn S, Bilash O, Kim H, Che A, Kwan A. Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors. Nature 2025, 642: 411-420. PMID: 40175553, PMCID: PMC12188471, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08813-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMedial frontal cortexFrontal cortexMouse medial frontal cortexSingle dose of psilocybinDose of psilocybinImpact of psilocybinDensity of dendritic spinesPyramidal cell typesStress-related behaviorsDendritic spinesStress-related phenotypesCell-type-specific electrophysiologyPsilocybin effectsPT neuronsSerotonergic psychedelicsRemodeling of dendritic spinesCell typesElevated firing ratesPyramidal tractPsilocybinIT neuronsPsychedelicsStructural plasticityFiring rateCalcium transientsFrontal noradrenergic and cholinergic transients exhibit distinct spatiotemporal dynamics during competitive decision-making
Wang H, Ortega H, Kelly E, Indajang J, Savalia N, Glaeser-Khan S, Feng J, Li Y, Kaye A, Kwan A. Frontal noradrenergic and cholinergic transients exhibit distinct spatiotemporal dynamics during competitive decision-making. Science Advances 2025, 11: eadr9916. PMID: 40138407, PMCID: PMC11939063, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr9916.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNeuromodulatory signalsCompetitive decision-makingCholinergic transientsNE signalingPremotor cortexAnimal's propensityBehavioral correlatesAcetylcholine signalingMatching pennies gamePattern of NEBehavioral eventsNorepinephrineCortexDecision-makingAcetylcholinePremotorFunctional relevanceOptogeneticsCould psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’?
Knox C, Kwan A. Could psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’? Nature 2025, 639: 45-46. PMID: 39966585, DOI: 10.1038/d41586-025-00454-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricClassification of psychedelics and psychoactive drugs based on brain-wide imaging of cellular c-Fos expression
Aboharb F, Davoudian P, Shao L, Liao C, Rzepka G, Wojtasiewicz C, Indajang J, Dibbs M, Rondeau J, Sherwood A, Kaye A, Kwan A. Classification of psychedelics and psychoactive drugs based on brain-wide imaging of cellular c-Fos expression. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 1590. PMID: 39939591, PMCID: PMC11822132, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56850-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAcute fluoxetinePsychoactive drugsMarkers of neural plasticityImmediate early gene expressionC-fos expressionChronic fluoxetineNative brain tissueBehavioral effectsPsychedelic propertiesBrain regionsChance levelEarly gene expressionPsychoactive compoundsNeural plasticityFluoxetinePsilocybinMDMAMeasuring drug actionTested malesPsychedelicsPreclinical assaysDrug actionKetamineFemale miceDrug classification
2024
Publisher Correction: Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions
Liao C, Dua A, Wojtasiewicz C, Liston C, Kwan A. Publisher Correction: Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2024, 26: 135-135. PMID: 39668187, DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00894-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
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