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
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD
Clara Liao, BA
Neil K. Savalia
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
Alicia Che, PhD
24Publications
1,404Citations
Decision Making
Dendrites
Prefrontal Cortex
Optogenetics
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Antidepressive Agents
Publications
2025
Psychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future
Masthay J, Kwan A, Chang S. Psychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future. Molecular Psychiatry 2025, 1-12. PMID: 40940559, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03240-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsClassic 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 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 ResearchStructural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions
Liao C, Dua A, Wojtasiewicz C, Liston C, Kwan A. Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2024, 26: 101-114. PMID: 39558048, PMCID: PMC11892022, DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00876-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAntidepressant interventionsStructural neural plasticityNeural plasticityPsychoactive drugsRapid-acting antidepressant drugsAction of psychoactive drugsRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulationExcitatory synaptic functionAntidepressant effectsPrefrontal cortexDepressive disorderNon-invasive neurostimulationAntidepressant drugsMood disordersNeurobiological actionsTranscranial magnetic stimulationElectroconvulsive therapyPsychedelic drugsCortical pyramidal neuronsMechanisms of plasticityLongitudinal effectsGrowth of dendritic spinesPyramidal neuronsStructural plasticitySynaptic functionVentral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons gate the acute anxiolytic action of the serotonergic psychedelic DOI
Tiwari P, Davoudian P, Kapri D, Vuruputuri R, Karaba L, Sharma M, Zanni G, Balakrishnan A, Chaudhari P, Pradhan A, Suryavanshi S, Bath K, Ansorge M, Fernandez-Ruiz A, Kwan A, Vaidya V. Ventral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons gate the acute anxiolytic action of the serotonergic psychedelic DOI. Neuron 2024, 112: 3697-3714.e6. PMID: 39321791, PMCID: PMC11581910, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.08.016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAnxiolytic actionVentral hippocampusParvalbumin (PV)-positive interneuronsAnxiety-like behaviorAction of DOIPV-positive interneuronsPsychedelic DOIAnxiolytic responseAnxiolytic effectsSerotonergic psychedelicsFast-spiking cellsParvalbumin interneuronsGABAergic interneuronsVHPCFiring rateDOIHippocampusInterneuronsTherapeutic potentialReceptorsPsychedelicsCellular triggersGenetic approachesElectrophysiologyPsilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction: Importance of Dose, Context, and Serotonin Receptors
Woodburn S, Levitt C, Koester A, Kwan A. Psilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction: Importance of Dose, Context, and Serotonin Receptors. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2024, 15: 3034-3043. PMID: 39087917, PMCID: PMC12166970, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00279.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderFear extinctionFear renewalExtinction retentionSerotonin receptorsPsilocybin effectsEffects of psilocybinExtinction-based therapiesProlonged exposure therapyFear conditioning paradigmAnalysis of sex differencesEnhanced fear extinctionFear learning paradigmAdministration of psilocybinConditioning paradigmExposure therapyFear learningStress disorderClassic psychedelicsPsilocybinSex differencesExtinction experimentsReceptor antagonismDrug effectsSerotonin
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